fence issue

[tedneeley]

When it was very windy over the last weekend, my backyard fence was swaying quite vigorouly. to the extent that if I didn't secure it, it would've bent or broken. I guess one of the posts wasn't secure enough inside the ground. so we tied that post to the one opposite to it and it stood the wind for that day.

I need a long term solution for this. Should I remove that section, dig the hole deeper for the post, possibly put some concrete in it and secure it that way? Or is there an alternate solution that works just as well without removing the section of the fence?

I don't have much help or tools to do this. Could you offer any suggestions? Thanks.

[Banty]

What - no neighbors to fight with over this fence?!

Where will I get my day's amusement, then??

You dissapoint me...

Banty

[tedneeley]

OP here. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

It's a 6 ft fence. Standard fence that builders put. The posts are wooden. Not metal. I don't think it's rotten because it's about 4 years old and it looks in good shape. My backyard has a retaining wall made of railroad ties that's supporting the dirt. So I figure the post just became loose or something.

Thanks.

[nospambob]

[John H. Holliday]

What kind of fence-- and how high is it?

[J.A. Michel]

I put up a fence awhile back. It was going to be subject to very strong North winds, so I built accordingly. I potted the posts 4ft deep, and used the "board on board" fence design. Board on board lets the wind pass through the fence and reduces wind loading. You might want to go with longer posts and install them deeper. I've seen fences easily blown over with posts that were 2 feet deep.

[Rich256]

If that is a wooden post I it is probably rotted off. And I expect it was set in concrete. The tough job is getting the old concrete out. I prefer to tamp the dirt in around the post and not use concrete. That is a little more work when installing but a lot easier when you have to remove them again.

If it is a metal post you probably will have to set it in concrete.

[Joseph Meehan]

To do it right, you should remove that post and the two sections of fence on either side. Take a look at the post and see what is going on.

30% of the post should be under ground. If not you need a longer fence and deeper hole. Some soils may require more. You can also then check the condition of the post.

Bad news is whatever is wrong with that one post is likely to be found shortly with the other posts.

[Rich256]

I still think the post is broken off If it was set in concrete it would not be loose and it usually rots there. The fence and post may look like new but the concrete holds the moisture causing it to rot faster. You wont know until you do a little digging. I had something similar just a week ago. Turns out two posts were rotted off. Fortunately my soil is very sandy and easy to dig but those chucks of concrete were a pain to get out. Fence companies putting in new fences just cut the old post off and dig a new hole next to it.

I like to use a preservative such as creosote on the area of the post that will be buried.

[Tom]

you don't need to remove the bad post or any section of the fence

buy from your local home depot a bag of quickcrete and 2 new posts remove a single board from both sides of the bad post and dig a hole there for the new post, fill with concrete and attach to fence

[Rich256]

That is a great idea. I am on sand so really don't need to worry much about drainage.