Things You'll Need:
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Step 1
Determine how much support your fence will need. While there's no point in putting up concrete posts for a chain-link fence, you may be disappointed with the lack of support a flimsy metal post gives your concrete fencing.
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Step 2
Select plastic posts for small or light-duty fences such as picket-style. (Be aware that if the fence will be more than 2 1/2 feet high, you may have to reinforce plastic posts with wooden inserts.)
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Step 3
Pick metal posts (round or square) for chain-link and plastic fences.
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Step 4
Take a good look at wooden post choices. They come in a variety of sizes and types of wood. Pine is cheap and is available in treated forms for outdoor use. Heavier woods, especially hardwoods, look excellent stained and will last a long time, but are much more expensive.
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Step 5
Consider concrete posts. They come in 4-by-4-inch size and vary in height. They're available predrilled for different fence styles - chain-link, panels and rails. These are very solid - and may look odd with some fences.
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Step 6
Keep in mind that concrete and wooden posts can be painted but that they'll require repainting every so often.
Comments
BeckiH said
on 6/4/2007 We are building a tension wire fence for livestock, but I want a round top rail on the fence. In Montana I saw a fence built with a round top rail that was grooved to fit like a fence post cap onto the angled top of the round posts. Has anyone ever seen this before? Can I buy the posts pre-cut to accept the grooved top-rail? If not, does anyone know a good plan to construct such a fence? Thanks!
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Pay attention to how wet the wood is when installing a fence. Only put beams in the posts tight if you know they're saturated with water. Otherwise, leave some space to compensate for the wood expanding when it gets wet, especially with split rails. You don't want to put together a split rail fence completely dry, hammer the beams in tight and then have it rain so all the wood expands and the split rail posts, with their extra large holes, split! Leave some room for wood expansion particularly if the wood for the fence is extremely dry.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 When running chain link fence it is a good idea to set your corner and end posts in concrete. This allows for the tension placed on each as you tighten the chain link with a come-along or ratchet system.