How to Dig, Set and Concrete Fence Posts

hello there welcome to proper diy essentials series where today i'm going to look at how to dig set and concrete in wooden posts for fences and gates [Music] [Music] to increase the longevity of treated wooden fence posts it's a really good idea to paint the section going into the ground with a black bitumen based paint which is used in many applications just like this in the construction industry as a waterproofer i've started with this as it takes a little bit of time to dry and it's best to apply two coats so it's a good idea to get this out the way first before you do anything else [Music] with the paint drying i mark out an offset to my fence line with a string line tied to wooden stakes here i'm using a 300 millimeter offset which i can refer to throughout the installation because 300 millimeters is going to be far enough away from the holes not to conflict with the hole but also close enough that i can easily measure with a tape with this in place i not only mark out the center of the holes to be dug with some line marking spray paint but also extend these away from the center because as soon as you start digging the paint marking will be removed with the soil so it's a good idea to have these paint markings extended out in each direction just so you can keep referring to them [Music] so now i've marked up where my posts are going to go i'm now ready to dig however the first thing you need to think about before you put a shovel in the ground is potential services under there and the challenge i've got through this corridor that's only a couple of meters wide is i've both got gas and water in plastic pipes so it's not as if i can even pick it up with a cable detector so i think the main thing i'm going to have to be doing is just be very careful i start the hole off by using a post hole digger personally i found the best combination of tools to dig my 700 millimeter holes here are a post hole digger and a narrow drainage shovel you could potentially get away with just using one or the other of these although i found the shovel excellent for cutting the holes and the post hole digger excellent for extracting the spoil so in combination they work really well as my posts are 100 millimeter square i'm aiming for a 200 to 250 mil diameter hull which gives me at least 50 millimeters of concrete surround to the post but also not too big that i'll end up wasting concrete without a narrow shovel like i'm using here you'll really struggle to dig a neat deep hole down to this depth for the posts with these tools it doesn't take long to get down to the 700 millimeter depth i need [Music] i place a post in the hole and check with my offsets that it's in the right position if it doesn't fit at this stage or it's touching the side of the hole which means there's not going to be any concrete cover between it and the ground then now is the best time to re-trim the hole to ensure that you've got proper concrete surround [Music] [Music] it's good practice for the foundation depth of a post to be at least one third of the height of the post above the ground so for a six foot fence this would mean at least two foot in the ground here i'm using a 2.7 meter post for a two meter fence giving me just over one third of the height above the ground as a foundation [Music] i can't stress enough that using the correct tools here turns a quite difficult job into something far easier while giving a better finished [Music] product once i'm happy with the post positions i can pack the bottom of the hole just using the post itself i then placed a layer of gravel at the bottom of the hole for two reasons one to allow any water at the bottom to drain away from the post and two it's easier to adjust the level of the post by tamping gravel down rather than soil so here i've used around 50 to 75 millimeters of gravel at the base i check with the spirit level from an adjacent post or as i prefer to use a laser level which really helps to get things millimeter perfect i'm very happy to say that once again this video has been sponsored by its for all the tools you need they're open for trade and diys like you and me and their next day delivery means if you order anything before 7pm it'll turn up next day which is absolutely great for specialist tools like this that you really need to do the job they've got an absolutely great website full of power tools gardening electrical absolutely everything and the its price promise means that they refuse to be beaten on price from screw fix and tool station and with over 000 5 star trust pilot reviews i'm not the only person to think that so go and check out their website and if you spend over 50 pounds excluding vat and put in the code proper diy they'll also send you 30 pound goody bag with your order so go and check them out i'm sure you'll be impressed before concreting the posts in it's important to brace them in two directions i'm lucky here that i have a post on the wall close to hand which i can measure off and pin in place after i do this i check with the spirit level and then i eye it through to another vertical object like the corner of a house just to triple check that it looks correct to help keep it at the right height during concreting i fix a cross timber at ground level before clamping in place another brace at 90 degrees to the first and checking for vertical again [Music] both these posts are now set at the right level and i use my laser level for that which makes life really easy actually when you're doing a job like this now this at the right level i've now braced them in two directions and i've cut two timbers exactly the same length for the top and the bottom of this doorway i know both these posts are parallel to each other and this width is exactly 10mm wider than the 950 door that i'm intending to put in [Music] so i've just checked all the dimensions and plumb again and levels and everything and i'm absolutely happy with that and it's fairly sturdy so even if the wing comes up it's not going to move so i think it's time for a bit of concrete to mix the concrete i use six parts ballast which is a combination of sand and gravel with one part cement for more details on hand batching concrete please see my hand batching concrete video link in the card on the screen and in the description below so the concrete is mixed and it's ready to go in the hole and i can already hear the screams from some of you saying why didn't you use post cree well there's various reasons why i don't use postcrete some of which i'm going to tell you now on the voiceover because i need to get on and get this stuff in there so the pros and cons for mixing a fast setting mix in the whole concrete are as follows one postcrete is ready mix so there's no effort in the mixing of it like there is with traditional concrete it's cleaner because you essentially just throw it in the hole and there's no mixing outside of the hole because it's fast setting it also gains strength faster so potentially giving the ability to take loads the same day and get on with the rest of the job the contra is you don't know how well it's mixed with the water and if there's any pockets of high water cement ratio with a lower strength you can't see what's happening down in the hole it's almost impossible to form the required bevel at the top of the foundation to ensure that water runs away from the post and most importantly it's expensive at around about two and a half times the cost of a standard concrete mix but at the end of the day it's really your choice this is just my own opinion that's the post fully installed it's been about 24 hours since i poured the concrete so i think i've got enough strength now to carry on with the fence in here and the gate that goes between these posts so i hope you've enjoyed this video if you have please check out the other ones on my channel and please subscribe so from some posts that i don't think are going anywhere for many many years i'll see you next time [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Proper DIY

Views: 39,193

Keywords: Fence, Gate, Fencing, setting posts

Id: tdBfqxY-DRY

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 18 2021