Replacing Wooden Fence Posts Concrete

I need to replace a wooden fence post that was set into concrete.

Replacing wooden fence posts concrete.

Remove the rotted fence post and dig out any wood left in the fence post hole. I had contemplated digging out the concrete to set in a new post again with concrete but have found the concrete is part set into submerged wall. I ve tried a lot of different methods for removing 4 4 fence posts sunk in concrete but this fence post removal strategy the easiest one i ve found. Pull the fence section away from the rotted post.

Burying the concrete below the surface may look nicer but it s a surefire way to accelerate wood rot. Pour concrete so it extends a few inches above the grass. The post has snapped through rot at the base and the rot has set in so far that the post snapped about 2 inches beneath the surface. Usually the existing wooden post has rotted at ground level because it has been concreted in by someone who did not take 5 minutes to trowel the top of the concrete to a slight dome allowing the rain water to run off.

Slide a 24 inch long 2x4 under the fence on each side of the rotted post. Pull the post out of the ground using a 2 x 4 to lever it if necessary. Dig out the concrete footer if there is one then set a new pressure treated post and backfill the hole with crushed gravel or concrete. The general rule of thumb when setting a post is that the depth of the post s hole needs to be 1 3 to 1 2 of the actual above ground height of the post.

The diameter of your post hole should be three times the diameter of your post. Taper the edges to drain water away from the wood post. Thankfully the process is actually quite simple and knowing how to do it will allow you to replace anything from a single rotten beam to an entire fence. Set a new fence post.

So six foot high fence posts ideally need to be buried three feet into the ground. Replacing a fence post may seem like a daunting task especially if concrete held the original post in place. Here are a few tips on how to set a fence post so it won t rot. Screw a piece of scrap 2 4 to the post a couple of inches from the ground put a landscape timber alongside as a fulcrum and use a long metal bar as a lever.

Most of the time repairing or replacing fence posts is a hugely awkward difficult job.