Replace fence posts without disturbing fence

[Paul Giverin]

I've got a six foot high wooden fence..... a proper constructed one and not a fence panel one. Its got 4"x"4" posts, several of which are quite badly rotten just below the surface. How easy is it to replace the rotten posts in isolation without disturbing the rest of the fence?

Thanks.

[Chris Hogg]

Easy enough

[newshound]

I agree that this is an easy repair method, if you don't mind the appearance.

But if the OP wants to *replace* we need more details of the construction, and also to ask how old it was, and whether alternative precautions are necessary to extend the life in future.

[alan_m]

Until you find that the wooden posts have been bedded in with a barrow load of concrete.

[Chris Hogg]

Then he will need one of these

[Bill Wright]

I put new posts midway between the old ones, and left the old ones in place. I intended to remove them but couldn't really see the point when it came to it. I would have had to join the rails where the old posts had been.

Bill

[Vir Campestris]

Even then it can be hard work (DAMHIK)

ANdy

[Brian Gaff]

Job for an illusionist by the sound of it. Brian

[nospam]

It's not.

Saw the ends off the arris rails up against the rotten posts, lift out the panel, replace the posts (as others have said, this is easy or hard depending on how much concrete there is), replace the posts (don't bother making the mortices), refit the panel using these brackets

to attach the ends of the arris rails. If there's too much concrete around the old post bases then divide a two-bay run into a three-bay run so you can put the new posts somewhere easy. However you decide to tackle it, I would use concrete spurs and bolt the new (or, possibly, old) posts to them so they won't rot again.

[nospam]

Ooops, forgot to point out the b obvious that you'll need some new arris for one run and to transfer the feather edge.

[GB]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier with an SDS drill?

[Paul Giverin]

I hadn't considered using concrete repair spurs. Perhaps that would be the easiest option. I would still have to chip away at the concrete at the base of the rotted post to enable the spurs to go deep enough but it sounds easier than replacing the posts. Thanks.

[dennis]

I did several like that except with the bigger spur posts you can get.

You use a big SDS drill to break the concrete on one side, dig out the rotten post from the remaining concrete fill the resulting channel and drop the spur in, bolt it up and fill in the rest of the hole. It doesn't need to a continuous ring of new concrete as it requires virtually no tensile strength.