Fence Post question

[thegriffiths]

I am about to put a corral fence beside my barn and I am using various types of wood for the posts. Mostly its going to be locust. I will be putting them in the ground about 2 feet down without cement. My question is:

Is it better to leave the bark on or take it off?


Thanks.

Thegriffiths

[just_sawing]

Take the bark off. You said locust. Are they honey locust of black? If they are Honey locust (The ones with the real wicked thorns soke them in oil. Black out in to the ground.

[GREEN_ALIEN]

Not an answer to your question, sorry. But a fence post should be set at 3 feet deep. It will stay upright much longer and be harder for animals to push outta shape.

Ted

[bachelorb]

Originally Posted by GREEN_ALIEN

Not an answer to your question, sorry. But a fence post should be set at 3 feet deep. It will stay upright much longer and be harder for animals to push outta shape.

Ted

I was going to say the same thing. We went 4 foot down with concrete in our cattle corral. I still see the posts move when were working them

[bill not in oh]

Yep... Pretty much if you're fencing anything other than rabbits or chickens those posts at 2 feet deep won't stay up long...

[Tricky Grama]

I've read that concrete will make them wiggle & likely to break/fallout than if they're just set 4' down in the dirt. Do your have bois d'ark trees (also called osage orange or hedgetrees. NEVER rot.)

Patty

[thegriffiths]

I knew someone was going to tell me to go that deep. Problem is that when I go more than 2 feet deep I hit solid stone. Not pieces mind you, but solid rock.

I plan on having about 10 goats, a horse or 2, and maybe a cow and calf at the most on my farm. I wonder what other options I have since I cant go any deeper.

I dont have osage orange Tricky Grama, but my locust is Black Locust so it will last as long as that.

Thegriffiths

[bill not in oh]

Couple of crazy thoughts here...

If the rock isn't too thick, maybe you could jack hammer through it.

OR drill a hole in the rock and the bottom of the post, drop a piece of galvanized pipe in the hole and place the post over the pipe. The pipe would have to be a tight fir in the holes. You could then also brace the posts on the outside of the corral for additional support as the pressure on the fence will be from inside the corral. You might be able to give them enough additional stability by using a deadman on the outside. Cutting holes in the rock wouldn't be any fun with a bit OR a jackhammer but....

[agmantoo]

What material do you plan on using for the fence itself? You could get cattle corral panels that interlocks and sits on top of the ground and affix fence to that. If you are going to use high tensile multiple strand wire the line posts will be fine at 24 inches depth. With the high tensile you need only good corners. Properly designed corners with double horizontal braces on each side with all posts at 24 inches deep should suffice. What you are attempting to prevent is the corner post from "uprooting" with the extra horizontal brace on each side of the corner post. If some fasteners were partially inserted into the corner posts and then concreted around in a dug post hole and, then tamped with good soil that would also minimize the lifting. This would hold IMO

[hoofinitnorth]

If you're using HOT electric tape fencing on those posts, 2' should be fine, PROVIDED it is properly installed (significant ground with enough joules on the charger) & timely maintained. At least with horses. Not sure about the calf or goats.

[fordy]

Originally Posted by thegriffiths

I knew someone was going to tell me to go that deep. Problem is that when I go more than 2 feet deep I hit solid stone. Not pieces mind you, but solid rock.

I plan on having about 10 goats, a horse or 2, and maybe a cow and calf at the most on my farm. I wonder what other options I have since I cant go any deeper.

I dont have osage orange Tricky Grama, but my locust is Black Locust so it will last as long as that.

Thegriffiths

............There is nothing a goat would rather do than lean against a good , strong fence so it can scratch itself . Horses , absolutely love to rub their big , fat butts against a well built fence . Always , run a hot wire acouple of feet out from your fence if possible , as there is absolutely no reason to allow any animal to ruin a perfectly good fence . fordy...

[thegriffiths]

I am going to use high tensile electric fence now. I had planned on the rest of the place being that way, so I might as well do that here too. I will be able to make the corners strong enough (2 will be the barn itself).

Thanks for the help everyone.

[littlejoe]

Not familiar with locust posts, but I have heard that black locust makes a good post.
In answer to your first question........... this country is full of yellow cedar, makes extremely good posts for our climate. I know f a lot of them that have been in the ground for over a hundred years. Always peel the bark off, no exception. One left with the bark on will last maybe 20 years, depending on conditions. one set in concrete will not last, the concrete "sleeve" will cause it to rot prematurely, due to water running down the sides and becoming trapped.
No more livestock than you are anticipating in your corrals, 2' should be sufficient, under most soil conditions. This area is heavy on the clay side, extremely tight. You need the depth and strength when crowding conditions occur. It might help to use a dead man in the corners to keep your braces up and tight.

[OkieDavid]

I guess you have to weigh the effort/return. Which is more valuable- running a jackhammer/rockbar for an hour/hole and being done with it -vs- spending a couple of hours a year straightening/retamping posts.......
If electricity is readily available a hot fence would be my preferred method, if not.....I guess I'd spend this year setting posts.

David

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by thegriffiths

I am going to use high tensile electric fence now. I had planned on the rest of the place being that way, so I might as well do that here too. I will be able to make the corners strong enough (2 will be the barn itself).

Thanks for the help everyone.

Good decision, I think. Be certain to use extremely strong anchors on the barn. And make sure those posts in the barn are SOLID as with properly built and tensioned wire you can put several hundred pounds of tension on each wire X #of wires = a lot of pressure on that barn.

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by OkieDavid

I guess you have to weigh the effort/return. Which is more valuable- running a jackhammer/rockbar for an hour/hole and being done with it -vs- spending a couple of hours a year straightening/retamping posts.......
If electricity is readily available a hot fence would be my preferred method, if not.....I guess I'd spend this year setting posts.

David

I have the same problem here. If you dig you hit mountain. The rock goes on to china.

As for using electric. Make sure you have good spacing for the goats. When I first put up mine the babys could go threw with no trouble. I had to bring the spacing down to 6" at the bottom. Now I'm doing a new field at 4". I only have the tight spacing at the bottom tho. Also, If it's possible use some trees as the corners. They hold up better than any post.

will be putting them in the ground about 2 feet down without cement. Is it better to leave the bark on or take it off?


Thanks.

Thegriffiths[/QUOTE]


Now to answer your question: Yes, there is a wood boring insect that will bore into the wood especially if you leave the bark on. The bark will keep the inside wood moist which is what the insect looks for. By removing the bark the wood will dry out faster and you will have less problems. It would be helpful if you spray a insecticide on the post afterwards.

If you don't remove the bark soon it will fall off and your post will look like Swiss Cheese.