Setting Post Holes
The first step to actually building a fence is setting your post holes for all of the braces. Before the holes can be dug, the hole locations need to be marked.
We’ve already talked about finding your property lines and fence layout, so you should know where the corners will be. If you haven’t already, you need to mark the corners of your fences and place a t-post.
Use the marking spray paint to draw a circle around the T-post, this will be your corner post hole. Tie a string to the t-post about 1 foot off the ground using the following knot method:
Slip the loop over the t-post and slide it down to about 1 foot from the ground. Now, pull the string to the next corner of your fence row. Place a t-post where your corner should go and draw another circle around it with the marking paint. Attach the string to the t-post and pull the string as tight as possible just like it shows in this video.👇
Now you have your corner post locations. To mark where your brace posts will go, let’s look back at the H brace design.
So we have our corner post marked, the next post needs to be marked at the length of the horizontal brace post away from the corner post, and directly on the string line. The horizontal brace posts come pre cut at 8’ long, so we’ll put our holes at 8 feet apart.
Here you can see I pulled the string. You can barely see I marked another post at the top of the picture. Pull from the green t-post 8 feet and mark the post hole circle in line with the string. You’ll do the same thing for all of your corners. If you are putting in double H-braces, measure over another 8’ and put another circle along the string line.
Marking holes for Gates and Line Posts
The next thing to do is mark the holes for your H-brace posts at any gates you want to add to the fence line. Gates require an H-brace (our double H-brace) on each side for the fence terminations. Locate where you want the gate along the string line.
Place a circle mark along the string line for one side of the gate. Measure from the edge of the circle the length of the gate you are installing. Place another circle mark at that distance in line with the string. Now you have your gate location. You then measure 8 feet along the string line from the gate post holes and place another circle mark for the second hole of the h-brace assembly.
Wooden line posts are good to have every 50 feet along your fence line to add strength. Measure or walk off 50 feet from the corners and place a circle mark along the string line to mark where your line posts will go. If your fenceline is less than 100 feet, then you can just split the distance between the corners and put a line post.
If you’re running long fence lines, reference the NRCS specification guide again to make sure you have proper bracing. If your lengths require h-braces along the fence due to the longer length, mark these holes out just like the others along your string line.
Digging Post Holes
Now that you have your post holes located. You can start to dig your holes. Its good to do this when you already have your posts. You want to set the posts right after you dig the holes if possible. Rain can fill the holes and wash away your backfill dirt which is not ideal.
Using post hole diggers is pretty straight forward. Dig a straight hole 3’ deep that is at least 10 inches in diameter. You can put a mark on the handle of your post hole diggers so you know you’ve reached a depth of 3’ easily. Depending on your location, rocky soil may make this impossible. I recommend waiting for rain and digging 4-5 days after a nice rain so the soil is nice and soft. Too wet, will be a mess to work in.
Using an auger, either a hand held or three point hitch tractor attachment, you need to have another set of eyes and hands to make sure you’re digging the holes nice and straight. You can rent small hole augers, I’ve rented one like this and it’s a bitch to use. Back breaking work to get it maneuvered into the right place and pushing down on the machine to get it to dig the hole.
Depending on the location of your fence, you may have roots in the way. In this case, you have your work cut out for you. You may want to contract the hole digging if they are located in rocky or wooded areas with a lot of roots. Some way, those holes have to be dug, just have to get it done. If you know someone with a tractor you could possibly get them to dig the holes with an auger attachment. This is the easiest way to dig post holes.
There are attachments for skid steer loaders that can drill holes very quickly. They even have post drivers that will drive the posts in the ground and usually allow you to skip back fill and concrete. This will most likely have to be contracted, but it may make sense if you have a big job.
Setting Posts
With your holes dug, you will set the posts. Depending on the job size, you will have to bring the posts out to where the work is being done. A trailer is nice to have if you can use it to move your posts and tools around the property.
Throw a post in the corner hole first and level it up with a 4’ level. Make sure the post is level from both sides, east and west, and north and south. Kick some dirt back in the hole to keep it level.
Back Filling Holes
If you are back filling with concrete you have a choice, are you going to do this the easy way or the hard way? The hard way is the recommended method in the NCRS spec, which is to mix the concrete with water and pour the mixed concrete into the holes. This method would require you to use a wheel barrow and pour water into the mix. Mix up with a hoe or shovel and then shovel it into the hole.
This is probably the best way, but it’s really not feasible if you are building fences out in a remote location. The way I do it is cut the bag down the center with a shovel and pour the dry mix into the hole, trying to get as much as you can around the entire post. Fill the hole completely up with dry concrete mix and pray for rain. If it is not going to rain any time soon, you will need to bring water out to the location and pour it into the hole with a bucket.
Now we’re almost ready to start pulling fence!
WAGMI
Farmer