Leaning fence
#1
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Leaning fence
Hello,
I recently put up an 8 foot fence that is now leaning on one side. I called the contractor a week or so ago and he said he’d come out to fix it but has yet to. I was thinking of fixing it myself instead of dealing with him. My thought was to brace the sections of leaning fence and fill in the areas where the concrete has pulled away from the soil. The soil is crap. I water weekly but still have massive cracks which is why it’s pulling away and the fence is leaning.
If you all have better suggestions or ideas please let me know! Thanks
I recently put up an 8 foot fence that is now leaning on one side. I called the contractor a week or so ago and he said he’d come out to fix it but has yet to. I was thinking of fixing it myself instead of dealing with him. My thought was to brace the sections of leaning fence and fill in the areas where the concrete has pulled away from the soil. The soil is crap. I water weekly but still have massive cracks which is why it’s pulling away and the fence is leaning.
If you all have better suggestions or ideas please let me know! Thanks
#3
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Simply straightening the fence and "filling in" is likely just a Band-Aid fix for the problem. My guess is that the posts are not set deep enough into the ground. The general rule of thumb is for 1/3 of the post to be in the ground which for a 8' high fence is quite deep. Without that depth the fence simply has too much leverage over the soil at the surface and the fence is easy for the wind to push over.
Norm201
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#4
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Yes 8 foot high fence. I believe they went 3 feet for the posts. That was one of my concerns when I first spoke with them because of how dry and cracked my soil is.
What other suggestion do you recommend if adding more concrete or soil is just band-aid? Should I just keep after this contractor or is there something I can do myself?
What other suggestion do you recommend if adding more concrete or soil is just band-aid? Should I just keep after this contractor or is there something I can do myself?
#5
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The posts should have went deeper. About the only good fix I can think of other than replacing the posts would be angle off of the fence to give it more support .... and the odds are that wouldn't be pleasing to look at.
#6
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You can go bigger with the concrete to offset a shallower burial depth for the post. You are building more of a footer as opposed to simply filling a hole with concrete. To be effective the amount of concrete needs to be surprisingly big to bear on enough soil and prevent movement. Simply pushing the fence back upright and filling the gap in the ground with concrete won't do it.
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Update and question,
I got the contractor to come back out and he put some temporary braces up to hold the fence in place until we get rain as we have been in a really bad drought. I've been watering twice a day for a total of 4 hours and the soil is improving slowly but surely. He assures me this is all that is needed, but has recommended that I place down some St. Augustine sod on either side of the fence to strengthen it. I checked on the price for this and it is quite substantial. Is this worth doing?
I got the contractor to come back out and he put some temporary braces up to hold the fence in place until we get rain as we have been in a really bad drought. I've been watering twice a day for a total of 4 hours and the soil is improving slowly but surely. He assures me this is all that is needed, but has recommended that I place down some St. Augustine sod on either side of the fence to strengthen it. I checked on the price for this and it is quite substantial. Is this worth doing?
#9
The idea that you have to water the posts and hope for the soil to improve is nuts!
I've heard of watering a garden but never fence posts.
It is really a simple problem of the posts not being deep enough for your soil type.
Unless you specifically asked for the posts to be as deep as they are your contractor is responsible and shoud remove and reset the posts.
I've heard of watering a garden but never fence posts.
It is really a simple problem of the posts not being deep enough for your soil type.
Unless you specifically asked for the posts to be as deep as they are your contractor is responsible and shoud remove and reset the posts.
marksr
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