DEER FENCE INSTALLATION: EARLY STEPS 2
Preparation Middle Steps: Anchors, Supports, and Adjustments Finishing Touches, Gates, and Maintenance
EARLY STEPS, CONTINUED Choosing Metal or Wooden Posts If you don't have suitable trees along the fence line, or if you choose not to employ them, use either wooden or metal deer fence posts. Our preference is for round (1-5/8 inch) metal deer fence posts, which are stronger than angle-iron posts (the other alternative we offer) and which need no maintenance. These round black pvc-coated posts come with or without drive sleeves. Use the ones with drive sleeves (such as item 15-03E) if your soil has no rocks or very few, and if you don't need to worry about frost heaves (because you lack heavy clay soil, or you have heavy clay soil but your frost line is less than 2.5 feet deep). Use the 9-foot posts without drive sleeves (such as item 15-03K1) if your soil is rocky and frost heaves are not a problem (because you lack heavy clay soil or have a frost line less than 2 feet deep). Use the 10-foot posts without drive sleeves (such as item 15-03L) if you have loose sandy soil or if you have heavy clay soil with a frost line 2-3 feet deep. Should you prefer angle-iron posts (such as item 15-01) use our 9-footers for most conditions and use the 10-footers for very loose or sandy soil. In general, these posts are considerably weaker than round posts and should not be put at points on the fence that are likely to receive substantial stress. They also need periodic (six-monthly or yearly) inspection for places where the black powder-coat finish has been penetrated, and rust-preventive paint should be applied to these places. Should you prefer wooden posts, we offer cylindrical pressure-treated 5-6 inch round posts (such as item 15-09-10). One can also use pressure-treated 4 x 4 posts. All of these posts are very heavy, so shipping and installation costs are an important consideration. Plan on setting your wooden posts 3 feet into the ground or below the frost line, whichever is deeper, and 4 feet into the ground on the corners. Do not put wooden posts into cement footings unless you are prepared to shape the top of the footing so that no rainwater will remain standing against the side of the post--a circumstance that promotes rot. |
McGregor Fence Co. 508-888-8305