digging holes for new posts


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Old 08-19-04, 11:21 AM
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digging holes for new posts

i'm planning to build a new cedar fence in my backyard in areas where there has been no previous fence. i'm a bit concerned about the difficulty of digging 42" holes (i'm in the midwest and i've been told i need to go beneath the freezing point). do i need a special tool for this? a simple spade will certainly not be sufficient...

thanks.
 
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Old 08-20-04, 08:11 PM
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Post hole digger.
 
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Old 08-21-04, 09:32 AM
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Or rent a two-man power auger

fred
 
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Old 08-23-04, 01:48 PM
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how tough is it to use a one-person augur? and what would you recommend the one person augur or one person post hole digger? (the augur is about double the price of the post hole digger -- is there a correlation between price and productivity?)
 
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Old 08-24-04, 07:17 AM
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The one-man auger will beat you up.
 
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Old 08-24-04, 08:27 AM
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Speaking from the experience gained from digging several hundred post holes (ranches, yards, etc), rent a two person auger and recruit a helper or two. Make it a weekend project and fire up the grill and open the cooler when the last hole is dug.

One man augers and post hole diggers are one of the main reasons that acceptable post hole depth tends to decrease as the day wears on - fatigue seems to hinder the ability to accrurately read the tape measure.
 
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Old 08-24-04, 10:05 AM
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thanks. great advice. one follow-up: what does an augur do? if the post hole digger actually scoops the dirt out, how does the augur extract the dirt (especially for a 42" deep hole?)
 
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Old 08-24-04, 12:06 PM
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It works just like a twist drill and channels the dirt back up to the surface.
The best auger, other than the powered TWO-Man, is the one attached to the back of a pto tractor. Really quick!!!

fred
 
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Old 08-24-04, 02:15 PM
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Shhhh, fred............don't give away ALL the secrets right away. A little sweat is supposed to be a character builder.
 
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Old 08-25-04, 08:01 AM
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To dig a 42" hole with a post hole digger, wouldn't you need one with extra long handles? There's always squatting or laying down on the ground.
 
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Old 08-25-04, 10:23 AM
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Only a true masocist would dig a post hole laying down. It's bad enough digging one kneeling!! (Been there, done that. )

They make clamshell post hole diggers with handles that operate as a linkage for digging holes deeper than ~30" - 36". I've never used one, but I've seen them.
 
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Old 08-25-04, 12:06 PM
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i've seen the post hole diggers with 4 foot handles. if i'm going with a powe augur, will it make it to 42"; do i need a special extension for that as well?
 
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Old 08-25-04, 02:39 PM
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You'll probably need an extension - the rental center should have them in various lengths. Don't get one so long that you can't control the auger when you start the hole.

Are you sure that ALL the posts have to be 42" deep? We don't have frostline issues here (Calif.) but I usually only set my corners really deep. The others can be a little shallower.
 
 

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