DEER FENCE INSTALLATION: EARLY STEPS 7

Preparation

Early Steps: Installing Posts
Using Trees as Posts
Choosing Posts
Round Metal Posts
Posts with Drive Sleeves
Attaching Brace Bands and Caps
Angle-iron Posts
Wooden Posts
Cement Footings

Middle Steps: Anchors, Supports, and Adjustments

Finishing Touches, Gates, and Maintenance

Cement Footings

See Video: Installing Cement Footings

When you are using metal posts, some of these posts should be put in cement footings. Determining which ones to put in cement footings requires a bit of common sense. In New England, where snow typically falls before the ground is fully frozen, the corner, end, and gate posts of all deer fences should be put in cement footings. All the posts to which earth anchors are attached should also be placed in cement footings. And so should some line posts (every other line post in a metal hexagrid fence, every third line post in a polypropylene fence).

Note that if your deer fence never needs to deal with heavy, wet snow at a time when the ground is unfrozen, that relieves its ground-gripping parts of an immense potential weight burden. And similarly, if you are putting up light polypropylene deer fencing weighing say a tenth of a pound per foot, that requires less ground-gripping power than metal hexagrid deer fencing weighing about a pound per foot. And if you are putting up a short fence with no run longer than, say 40 feet, that also reduces the potential stress. So if you a protecting a small California vegetable garden with 40-foot sides using polypropylene fencing, you may reasonably decide to forego the joy of installing cement footings.

To create a cement footing, start by digging a 10 to 12-inch diameter hole with an auger or manual post-hole digger. This hole should be below the frost line if there is deep winter ground frost, and 2 feet deep if frost is not a problem. If the hole is, say, 3 feet deep, fill the bottom 12 inches with large rocks (softball to hardball size), place the post in the hole, and measure to ensure that the top is 7 feet above the ground, adding or removing rocks as necessary to obtain the proper height. If the hole is 2 feet deep follow the same procedure without initially placing rocks but adding rocks if necessary.

Continue

Back to main menu