Suggestion for Pulling 4x4 wooden fence post.

[cp]

I have a about 18 4x4 post I need to remove in rebuilding my fence with metal post.

Trying to avoid digging them out.... ouch !!!

Would welcome any suggestions.

Thanks

[Charlie Self]

cp wonders:

I've pulled a few with a standard bumper jack set into a loop of chain around the post. Some come up easily this way, some don't.

Charlie Self "An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence." Honore de Balzac

[Anne Watson]

Been there, done that. Wrap a tow chain around the post. Then set one of those big bumper jacks so it catches the chain. Jack it up. Might need to set a 2 by under the jack to spread the base support.

[BruceR]

If you don't have the bumper jack, lay the chain over a bare truck wheel rim positioned close to the post. as you drive off with the chain attached to your bumper, the wheel rolls and pulls upwards on the jack.

-Bruce

[Richard Cline]

Soak the ground before trying to pull the posts. The jacks are the right way to go. Some posts will break so you cannot escape the need to dig. I have to replace a couple every year. Those that are planted in concrete are much harder to pull.

Dick

[Wilson]

[Bay Area Dave]

I used a small hydraulic jack pushing against a board screwed to the edge of the post. worked like a dream. the jack is so small it's easily held in one hand. just be sure to place a board or block under the jack to prevent it from digging into the ground and to provide a level surface.

dave

cp wrote:

[Dave Hinz]

Cut 'em off at ground level with a chainsaw, put the metal post next to it. It'll rot eventually, and it's lot less work than digging or pulling 'em. Me, I'd probably wrap a chain around them & pull 'em up with the backhoe/loader, but that's not always an option.

Dave Hinz

[BruceR]

make that "post" instead of "Jack" 8^)

-Bruce

[Fred the Red Shirt]

Are they set in concrete?

If not, my first inclination would be to smack them near the base with a sledge hammer and wiggle them back and forth and from side to side to loosen them. Then I'd try levering them up with a diggin iron or crowbar.

If that didn't work, I'd try a bigger hammer.

If they are very hard to get out, I'd consider cuting them off flush with the ground and putting the posts in new holes next to them.

Maybe I'd consider cutting them off flush with the ground and then drilling a hole in each to accept the new metal posts.... Depends on how long I expected the wooden posts to last.

[Doug Miller]

I'll second that. We used this method to pull about a dozen posts some years back -- the first one was so easy, I let my son (~4 yr old at the time) work the jack on the rest. He thought that was way cool.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

For a copy of my TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter, send email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[thehatter]

The easiest fastest way I know of to pull posts without a machine is I use a

4x4 @ 10' long as a lever, what ever you can find as a fulcrum and a short piece of chain.

I use a shorter piece of 4x4 as the fulcrum with a couple of blocks to saddle the fulcrum and keep it attached with a bunji cord.

If the posts aren't set in concrete you can pop them out in about 2 mins a piece.

[Laptopuser]

"cp" wrote in news:lzwlc.17744$_41.1121223@attbi_s02:

We had to pull a couple last summer; first one I lifted right out, but then we worked on the second for an hour before realizing it was set in concrete. At that point we pulled out the sawzall, cut it off about 6" below the surface, and filled the hole in. Good as gone. We weren't replacing these, but if we were I'd have just dug a new hole a few inches away from the old concrete.

-Derek

[Thomas Kendrick]

There are several methods which have already been mentioned:

1. Cut off at ground level and abandon,
2. Bumper jack and chain, better yet two bumper jacks on opposite sides,
3. Long lever method,
4. Soak and digging bar method,
5. Chain over a tire rim method - gotta be careful here: neighbor hooked up his 4WD truck front bumper to the chain. Put it into compound low and started backing up on dry driveway. When the post broke, the chained piece launched toward his windshield. Could be an expensive way to remove a post.

My favorite is #2 with a pair of 48" farm jacks and a short length of

1/4" cha>I have a about 18 4x4 post I need to remove in rebuilding my fence with >metal post. >

[Jim]

They actually sell a jack specifically for that and it looks just like an old car jack but it is taller and beefier. They aren't very expensive either if I recall correctly... harbor freight sells one called a "Farm Jack" for $40.

I'm sure you can find one at any farm supply store too, but I haven't actually LOOKED for one in about 20 years.

The trick is to get about 10' of logging chain, wrap it around the post about 3 times and leave a loop to hook over the jack jaw. Just hold tension on the chain as the jack goes up.

To be honest, we normally replace the jack with the bobcat or backhoe, but the jack does work quite well and quickly. About the only thing you may have problems with is the corner posts. These usually have some concrete around the base and are almost impossible to pull up with a hand jack. You just can't get the jack base far enough away from the post so it isn't on top of the cement at the bottom.

Good luck Jim [e-mail] (Doug Miller) wrote in news:ThAlc.2384$ [e-mail]:

[Lawrence Wasserman]

If they are set directly in the ground (no concrete) you can jack them out with a bumper jack. Use a lenght of chain with a slip hook and/or securely attach a block of wood to the posts for the jack to push on.

[cp]

Excellent suggestion !!

Thanks !

[Bill]

Many, many years ago I worked for a fence erector. Quite often we had to take down old fences. This is the way he pulled posts.

1) He had a cable (or chain) with a hook on both ends - Say about 8 feet long

2) One end he hooked to itself around the base of the post.

3) The other to the axel or bumper of a vehicle.

4) Important part! He had an old post that was leaning over facing the post and had the cable running over it holding it up. This should be near the post to be pulled

5) As the vehicle backed up the old post started to stand up from the cable pull which then exerted a near vertical force on the post to be pulled.

Worked all the time.

Good luck

Bill

[Mark & Juanita]

If you do use one of these jacks for its intended purpose, be extremely careful not to allow any body part you value (including things like arms and head) in the path of the jack handle. If you slip while jacking up a heavy item, or the handle slips while lowering a heavy item, that handle will induce severe injury. At least that's the case with the jack my dad has and that I dealt with when I was growing up.

[NoOne N Particular]

I used an engine hoist to remove a couple. It works great too.

Wayne