Privacy Fence Leaning in N. TX Soil

[Robbo]

We're getting our house ready to put on the market so we can move to live on acreage like we've been dreaming about.

One thing that I have to take care of is our leaning fence in the backyard.

It leaned a tiny bit when we bought the house a couple of years ago but in the last couple of months has rapidly started leaning a lot more.

It was put in DIY by the previous owner so I figured he probably didn't put the posts down far enough and they were going to have pulled up... but when I went out back behind the fence I was surprised to see, as well... it looks like the ground out about 3 feet from the fence has all pulled up/separated.

For what it's worth, it's been quite dry here in DFW and our house backs up to an old hayfield that was purchased by a church, so they don't do any watering etc. to the land. I have also been quite bad about watering the back yard.... they killed all the grass out from the fence with some kind of weed spray that also killed a little of my grass on my side of the fence. After that I started putting my grass clippings back behind the fence to cover up the bare ground. So it's hard to see the crevice that is in the dirt. (marked in red on photo)

My thought before I saw the big crevice and that the earth 3 feet out from the fence had pulled up, was to pull the fence back plumb, then dig down around each fencepost one by one and add some more concrete. But now I'm wondering.... if I do that while the ground is in this condition... when it rains again and the ground gets saturated will that crevice close up and then start pulling my fence the other way? Or will the weight of the fence keep it plumb? It may not convey in pictures but all the land between the the crevice and my fence is all higher like the whole 3' patch of earth was pulled up with the fence.

Or maybe should I water the yard well, and put a soaker hose behind the fence for awhile to saturate the ground before I start the fence repair??

Appreciate any info or point in the right direction.


















Thanks,
Rob

[BarbadosSheep]

oh, that looks very bad!

[fordy]

.......................Typical residential fence..........poles set too shallow , not enough cement and strong winds always , identify those fence jobs that start leaning way before they should , had they been built correctly !
.......................All holes should be 3 feet deep , 9 inches in diameter , galvinized posts should be 2.5 inches outside diameter , 8 feet long , 3 feet in the ground 5 feet out , set on 8 foot centers !
.......................All 3 horizontial runners should be treated 2x4's and attached too pole brackets with 1\4 inch lag screws . , fordy

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by fordy

.......................Typical residential fence..........poles set too shallow , not enough cement and strong winds always , identify those fence jobs that start leaning way before they should , had they been built correctly !
.......................All holes should be 3 feet deep , 9 inches in diameter , galvinized posts should be 2.5 inches outside diameter , 8 feet long , 3 feet in the ground 5 feet out , set on 8 foot centers !
.......................All 3 horizontial runners should be treated 2x4's and attached too pole brackets with 1\4 inch lag screws . , fordy

Yep, dug one of the posts up... 8 foot post for 6 foot fence that is BARELY (if even) 2 feet into the ground and the hole was shaped the wrong way so the concrete just gets narrower the lower it goes. The PO did it DIY and it's what I think of as a "Home Depot Special". Made of those preformed fence panels so the runners aren't even 2x4... look like 2x3 maybe. Lasted almost 3 years. We bought the house in 2009 and he said he had done it in 08. the lean showed up bad this summer. Oh well... the guy next door paid to have his installed this past Feb and it's already leaning

I should have a fun couple of days ahead of me

Rob

[Ross]

I wonder if you can jack the fence back to plumb then can you simply add additional posts set correctly between the original ones?

[Bearfootfarm]

I'd take the posts off and plumb the fence, then remount the posts, digging a better hole and adding more concrete.

If those brackets are bolted or screwed on instead of nailed, you may be able to just slide them up out of the way to dig deeper

Plumb the corners and pull a string to use as a guide

[jwal10]

The fence here did that. The neighbor put it up. lucky for us the posts were 4"x4" wood. We removed every other panel and turned them around to balance out the weight on each post. Made for a more interesting fence too. Was not a wind problem....James

[fordy]

..................Those are very good pics , after reviewing the current situation , here is what you could do............Establish a string line across the back of your entire fence line such that IF all posts were straight the fence panels will connect up too each of the side fence(s) ! The string line should be tied at each end too the LAST post such that when finished all posts will be in correct alignment with each other !
...................Now , first , you'll need too pull up each corner post(one at a time- not all together!) , dig the holes down too about 30 inches deep and REcement . Now , move over too the next post , dig it out too the proper depth and recement . You should also run a string line so you can establish a datum too make sure all posts are the same basic heigth across the back of the fence . As you work your way across the back of the fence you can Re mount each individual fence panel . You will need too allow the cement too set up for 3 or 4 days so it can cure somewhat before putting a load on the post .
...................Those fence panels don't look that bad so they should give you several more years of service ! Also , I always set my fence panels so that the bottom of the wood never touched the ground because they will eventually rot at the bottom if set down on the ground . It will take ~1.5 80lb. sacks of sackcrete too fill your holes , don't fill the holes completely up , leave about 3 inches or so ,UN cemented at the top so grass can grow around your posts . Mix your cement in a wheelbarrow and have a helper pour it into the hole , pre moisted each hole by running several inches of water into the bottom , since the soil is so dry . Also , I would start too water , each newely cemented post so the soil doesn't dry out and pull away from the posts . DONOT water the old holes because the clay will be much harder too dig out with posthole diggers . Have fun , lol , ! , fordy

[mothernature]

Just wait! It will not ever rain here in north Tx again, but, the fence will melt from the continuous overbearing heat and you can just put up a new one!

[Robbo]

Thanks for all the replies.

We're moving in less than two weeks so I added up what my materials cost would be and then got some quotes to have it done... due to us trying to get the new place ready, get packed and get/keep the house ready to show I just had it done.

They came out and took the panels off, pulled up the poles (easily done by hand b/c the ground was dry and pulled away). Replaced several poles, broke the concrete off some of the poles and dug the holes deeper and shaped them larger at the bottom and re concreted them. After letting them set up they came back on Friday and put the fence panels back on.

After adding up my costs of what I would've bought to do it, it cost me $250 in labor for them to do what they did... for that, I'm happy to pay at this time. If we were not moving/selling etc. so soon I probably would've done it because I'm just cheap that way haha... but under the circumstances I'm happy I had it done because it would've taken me 2 more days than it took them which could've been spent packing etc.

Thanks for all the tips. Fortunately for me I can use them as the new place needs a lot of fence put up haha


Rob