DEER FENCE INSTALLATION: EARLY STEPS 3
EARLY STEPS, CONTINUED Because they are thicker and stronger than T-posts or metal angle-iron posts, it is often worth using wooden deer fence posts at corners (only if no trees are available) and at places that can be expected to bear major loads. Avoid using untreated wood, because most untreated wood in contact with the soil will rot in a year or two. By and large one should set wooden deer fence posts roughly 20 feet apart, and the deer fencing should be loosely attached to them with five or so U-nails (items 17-01 and 17-02). As a general rule, the fencing should be pulled tight enough so that it stands straight and rigid, but no tighter. Metal Fence Posts: Round Posts Round steel posts (items items 15-03E thru 15-03M) make very good long-lasting posts for deer fence that are easier and less expensive to install than wooden posts. Should you get round posts you should order brace bands with them (item 15-12) to provide a firm fence attachment point on the posts and prevent any possibility of sagging. The main disadvantage of these and other metal posts is that they look less “natural” than wood and do not grip the soil as well–so they are not recommended for use on corners, on sharp turns, or at sites with loose soil unless they are placed in cement footings the same size as those described above for wooden posts. If you decide on round posts, the type you get should depend on frost and soil conditions. if you have heavy clay soil with few rocks and deep winter frost, use our 10-foot posts without sleeves (item 15-03L). If your ground has a lot of rocks, like most New England soils, the rocky soil will grip the post well and prevent it from being heaved out, so the best choice (irrespective of frost conditions) is our nine-foot posts without sleeves (item 15-03K). If you face none of these problems, because you have few rocks in the soil and a frost line that goes less than two feet deep, the best choice is eight-foot posts with 30-inch sleeves (item 15-03E). To set a 10-foot post in non-rocky soil you should prepare the way with a digging bar (item 15-03PB) and pound the post in with a manual post driver (item 15-05). The driver is a weighted metal cylinder open at one end and closed at the other, with handles on the sides. To use it, one takes it up a ladder and slips it over the top of the metal post to be installed. It is then raised and dropped anywhere from a few inches to nearly its full length so as to tap or pound the post into the ground. When you use this tool, be sure no one is ever trying to assist you by holding the upper portion of the post to be driven with their hands, because the heavy descending driver can remove literally inches of flesh from the hands. As you proceed to drive in the post, eyeball it from the front and side every so often to make sure it is straight. Keep driving it down until only seven feet three inches remains above the ground. If you have not prepared the way with a digging bar, this pounding is likely to distort the upper inch or two of pipe to a point where it may no longer accept the post cap that goes on top. If this happens, get a plumber’s two inch pipe cutter (item 15-03G) and cut the top few inches of pipe off so that seven feet remains above the ground. |
McGregor Fence Co. 508-888-8305