Know anything about gravel??

[jill.costello]

I am trying to be prepared for the men who will be setting my fence posts; I offered to have a load of gravel delivered for them to put a few shovel-fulls around each post as they work, but good lordy! There's like 89 different types of gravel!! I'm leaning towards "stone dust/screenings" but someone jump in here and set me straight!

[stranger]

I'd use half or three quarter stone around them for better drainage

[poppy]

Originally Posted by jill.costello

I am trying to be prepared for the men who will be setting my fence posts; I offered to have a load of gravel delivered for them to put a few shovel-fulls around each post as they work, but good lordy! There's like 89 different types of gravel!! I'm leaning towards "stone dust/screenings" but someone jump in here and set me straight!

I personally wouldn't use that Jill. That stuff packs down and gets like concrete. It would not drain well. Around here most people use regular road gravel or even pea gravel.

[jill.costello]

Ah ha! Drainage! Didn't even think of that; I was just looking to set the posts "firm". Thanks.

[Jim Bunton]

To set the posts I would use a 3/4" road mix. crown it around the top and most of the water will run away from the post. I am not an expert just some one with a little experience. Depending who is putting up the fence they may be the ones to ask.

Jim

[fordy]

Originally Posted by jill.costello

I am trying to be prepared for the men who will be setting my fence posts; I offered to have a load of gravel delivered for them to put a few shovel-fulls around each post as they work, but good lordy! There's like 89 different types of gravel!! I'm leaning towards "stone dust/screenings" but someone jump in here and set me straight!

...............There are only two basic ways of securing posts in the ground , concrete poured around the post , or some method of compacting , or tamping . With tamping or compaction of the soil and\or gravel around the post the process is diametrically opposed too drainage of water , away, from the post . Afterall , you want the soil as tight as possible around the perimeter of the post ; this , of course , probably results in a shorter service life of a wooden post .
..............My preference would be to have steel pipe posts , cemented in the ground and welded together for long life and a level of strength that regular wooden posts can't provide . If you have access too old telephone poles , they are the absolute best fence posts available and they can be tamped in with no trouble .
..............Have you considered having the contractor come too your home and show you what type and SIZE of posts he plans on installing for your fence , as well as explaining HOw he plans on installing the posts , BEfore he actually starts the Job ? I had several customers ask me to "show" them what type of posts I was going to install before I actually started the job . And , finally , ALways get two estimates . , fordy

[plowjockey]

I would not suggest placing gravel around fence poats when setting.

It will not compact as well as dirt, plus you could end up with frost movement, as water may collect in gravel and freeze.

Setting in concrete is best for corner posts. Second is to have the line posts hydraulically driven in. Third is to tamp loose dirt around post.

It's not a good idea to drain water down posts anyway. The material around the post will always be loose allowing easier post movement.

[Bearfootfarm]

Many fencing companies use "post drivers" so they wont be backfilling any way.

The ONLY place you need gravel would be the bottom of the hole

[plowjockey]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

Many fencing companies use "post drivers" so they wont be backfilling any way.

The ONLY place you need gravel would be the bottom of the hole

This is the best way to have wood line posts installed. I can't imagine drilling and tamping each line post.

Concrete in the corner posts and you have a 40 year fence.

[fantasymaker]

DONT! Why bother? You dont want anything in there but the post and some very compacted dirt.

[RedneckPete]

In most areas, if you drill a hole and just leave it open, the hole will fill up with water. What on earth makes people think that if you fill that hole up with (clear) drainage stone that the water will magically disappear? Most of it won't go anywhere, the chunks of stone will displace some of the water, but all the spaces between the stones will still be filled with water. Your post is still sitting in a permanent puddle.

What you want to do is put something in the hole that will displace ALL the water. That means something without voids. Concrete, tamped stone with fines such as crusher run or stone dust, and even dirt will do the job.

Pete

[poppy]

Probably depends on where you live. Around here it is wet only in the spring and farmers and carpenters always put pea gravel around wood set in the ground. Not all the way up but near the bottom of the hole. Posts last a lot longer here with it. Rain water absorbed by the posts will wick down and needs a place to get away. I would agree concrete is the best solution in wetter areas as long as the bottom of the hole does not have concrete in it.

[texican]

Dance with the one that brought you.... Tamp with the soil that's there, is always the best bet. If you have sandy soil, you might need to sink a deeper hole. If you want the post (corner posts especially) to be bombproof, use bigger posts (crossties are golden for this purpose), and use sakrete (drive nails in the posts (especially round ones) below the surface, to give the concrete something to set up on. You can pour the sakrete in dry...... natural moisture will set it up later.

I can't think of any reason I'd want to use gravel. Well tamped clay or dirt that came out of the hole is all I've heard of old timers using. Some of my 'dirt set' posts are still solid sixty years later.

[artificer]

IF they tamp well, the soil that came out of the hole will work well. That means tamping after backfilling evey few inches, not backfill then tamp.

Drainage: this is a regional thing again. If you have clay soils, then use the clay that came out of the hole. If you have sandy soils, they drain well, and gravel (compaction base) is easy to use.

Ask the people doing the fence what they want. It might save some money if they don't want any gravel for your posts.

The reason to use gravel other than cement is that its MUCH cheaper, and you can later remove the posts. I would spend the extra on posts that were treated so you don't have to replace them that often. (50 vs every 5-10 years)

Michael

[WindowOrMirror]

The folks that are advising you to skip the gravel are right. Drill hole, place post, fill a bit back in... tamp it SOLID... repeat until you've tamped 1" layers solid back to the top, and then make sure the dirt on top is crowned so it sheds water.

[ibcnya]

If you have a clayish type soil you'd be better off tamping the clay back into the hole to keep the water away from the post. The last thing you'd want to do is put gravel into a hole that does not drain water away.
And there is one thing that is better than a telephone pole and it's a hedge post.

[Cotton Picker]

Hi Jill,

My vote would be to use the dust/screenings. It will set up hard, but will be more conducive to drainage than concrete. Dry sacrete will eventually absorb enough moisture to set up and will then be a solid mass, once again, poor drainage and like concrete, no fun to remove. That and concrete/sacrete will drive up the cost of your project considerably.

Here's an interesting article about setting fence posts:

http://www.askthebuilder.com/713_Fence_Posts.shtml

It has a pesky advert. I just reset the page and it went away.

Look at concrete this way. Should you have a need to replace a post later on you will have to work mighty hard to remove the lump of concrete to facilitate using the same post hole.

As for using dirt/soil. Nature intended for dead wood to break down rapidly when it comes into contact with the earth. The combination of microbial action,moisture and oxygen, insures that dead wood breaks down pretty quickly after it hits the ground. Because gravel is stone, it does not contain the microbes that soil does.

Another consideration. Soil, while the cheapest and most available i.e. you just removed it to make the hole, by design, retains moisture. When combined with soil's natural plasticity, adds up to bad news for a sturdy fence line.

David

[plowjockey]

Originally Posted by jill.costello

I am trying to be prepared for the men who will be setting my fence posts; I offered to have a load of gravel delivered for them to put a few shovel-fulls around each post as they work, but good lordy! There's like 89 different types of gravel!! I'm leaning towards "stone dust/screenings" but someone jump in here and set me straight!

I guess I should have asked - what kind of fence are you putting up?

That would help to determine how to set the posts.

[MELOC]

if your soil is anything like mine, you will remove lots of "taters" (big rocks) when you dig the holes. it's often hard to drive posts here because of the glacial till and the rocks it contains. since you won't be putting any big rocks back in to hole with the rest of the "diggins", you need some material to put back in there. i vote for crusher run.

[rambler]

Livestock fence, decorative fence, ??????

Wood posts, metal posts, ?????

Sandy loose soil, heavy clay soil, ?????

Are the fellas doing the work used to building fence, or a bunch of hunk to do the grunt work they haven't done before?

Makes a difference.

--->Paul