How To Install Chain Link Fence Posts

Fences add value to property while providing security. Chain link fence is practical for safely containing small children and pets without blocking the view from a yard. Install chain link fence posts for the first phase of constructing your new fence. Properly set posts will keep the fence well-grounded for years.

Things You'll Need

• Building permit--possibly
• Surveyor services--possibly
• Work gloves
• Leather work boots
• Helper
• Tape measure--at least 100 feet long
• Wooden stakes
• Cord
• Carpenter's square
• Spray paint
• Post-hole digger
• Marker
• Wheelbarrow
• Shovel
• Concrete mix and water
• Level

Instructions

How To Install Chain Link Fence Posts

1. Check local zoning regulations pertaining to fences. Some areas restrict fence height and require property easements. You also might have to pay for a building permit.

2. Contact all local utility companies and service providers for assistance in locating buried water and sewer lines as well as electric, telephone and television cables. There is usually no charge for line or cable location, but repairing damages could be costly for you.

3. Locate the surveyor stakes marking your property lines. If you cannot find these stakes, hire a licensed survey crew to determine the boundaries.

4. When you are ready to install the posts, wear work gloves and work boots. These will protect your hands and feet against blistering and other injuries.

5. Measure the length of each side of the proposed fence enclosure. Decide where to put the gates.

6. Mark a guide line for the front wall of the fence and drive wooden stakes into the ground in line with this. Plant the stakes two feet to the outside of the planned location for both front corner posts. Tie cord between the stakes, running 3 inches above the ground.

7. Lay guide string to mark the sides and back wall of the fence. Plant a stake two feet to the outside of one of the front corners, in line with the proposed side of the fence. Tie cord to the planted stake, run the cord along the side and tie it to a loose stake with enough slack to reach two feet past the back corner. Put the 90-degree angle of a carpenter's square inside the intersection of the two strings. Ask your helper to move the back stake into position and plant it where the two strings cross perpendicularly. Use this method to square the marks for the other three fence corners.

8. Mark each post location with a spray painted "X" whose center is 3 inches in from the cord line. Start with corners, then the posts on either side of the gates. Separate the gate posts according to the gate manufacturer's specifications. Run a tape measure along each of the fence walls to evenly space each inner post. Posts can be installed up to 10 feet apart, but a distance of 6 to 8 feet ensures greater stability in case of strong wind.

9. Make a marker ring around each fence post where it will cross the cord string. Subtract 2 inches from the planned fence height for posts at the corners and gates and 6 inches for inner posts. Mark these distances from the tops of the posts.

10. Dig the post holes. Untie the cords from the stakes and lay them aside. For inner posts, use a post-hole digger to make holes 6 inches in diameter and 2-and-a-half feet deep, centered over the spray painted "X" marks. For corner and gate posts, make the holes 6 inches deeper and 2 inches wider.

11. Mix the concrete in the wheelbarrow. Gradually add small amounts of water to the dry concrete mix, stirring with the shovel to achieve a consistency as thick as stiff mud.

12. Plant the inner posts first. Retie the cord lines. They should cross over the holes leaving 2 inches to the outside and 4 inches to the inside of each. Correct any hole displacement before planting posts. Shovel in concrete and fill to within 4 inches of the surface. Stick the fence post into the wet cement and push it down until the marker ring is level with the cord and the outside of the post is just touching the string. Place a level against the post and stand the post upright, or plumb. Ask your helper to hold the post in place, with the level beside it, while you fill the remaining hole with dirt. Step the fill dirt firmly in place to set each post.

13. Plant the corner and gate posts. These will stand higher than the inner posts, and their greater diameter will push the cord lines to the outside. Remember, these holes are wider and deeper, so they will hold more concrete.

14. Cover the posts with caps. Use guide caps on inner posts, and set top caps on gate and corner posts. Allow 24 hours for the concrete to dry before attaching anything else to the posts.