Rough guestimate of # of fence post

TSYORK · #1 04/19/10, 10:14 AM

I'm getting ready to fence in a grass pasture to put a few head of calves on. The pasture is a rectangle. There really won't be any cut around, etc. I'm going to have my post punched, but I'm trying to figure out how many I roughly need to purchase. My post are being put every 20 feet. Can anyone give me a in the ballpark calculation on how many I will need to do this?

TIA

wy_white_wolf · #2 04/19/10, 10:28 AM

How big is the pasture?

TSYORK · #3 04/19/10, 10:30 AM

LOL Well I'm about stupid! I thought I had put that in there... it's going to be roughly 6 acres.

wy_white_wolf · #4 04/19/10, 10:45 AM

Assuming the area is twice as long as wide (~360'x720') it would take ~109 posts plus 1 for each brace panel or gate.

Can't give much more of an idea than that because 6 acres would be square footage (261360^') instead of perimiter.

TSYORK · #5 04/19/10, 10:48 AM

I had thought around 100 posts would do it, so I wasn't that far off. I would say that the length isn't twice as long as the width. However, it's not a square either. It's probably more like 1.5:1

Thanks,

longrider · #6 04/19/10, 10:52 AM

Tractor Supply Company has an excellent fencing tutoral and fencing estimator. Give them a look.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/content...howcentralpage

geo in mi · #7 04/19/10, 01:01 PM

The old-fashioned way is to step it off. Seven steps should be 'about' 20 feet. Takes a little practice, though.

geo

geo in mi · #8 04/19/10, 01:45 PM

Or, wire loops attached to a twenty foot long cord. Push the first loop into the ground as you start, making sure it is tied to the cord to act as a loop collector.. When you get to the end of the cord, push in another loop, and give a tug to pull the first one out of the ground. Do this until you get to the end of the run. Count the loops that you have attached to the cord. Lengthways, Then add the short short side, then times two, to get total.

geo

uncle Will in In. · #9 04/19/10, 01:54 PM

GEO nin MICH gave some very practical advice about stepping it off. In my younger days any farmer worth his salt could step off any distance that they needed to know the length of, and come within a few feet of being exactly correct on his measurement. It takes some practice to get a long steasy stride. It made it easier if you could step off 3 foot steps every time. We always tried to get our line posts one rod apart. 20 feet is a pretty long space to have between posts. Makes it easier for horses and cattle to ride the wire down between the posts.

Bearfootfarm · #10 04/19/10, 02:01 PM

Quote:

20 feet is a pretty long space to have between posts

That depends on the type of fence.
Mine is all electric, with 50 ft between the line posts, and enough tension to keep them from sagging
If it were field fence, I wouldn't go more than 10-12 ft between posts

TSYORK · #11 04/19/10, 03:13 PM

It will be a high-tensile, all electric fence. The power box I have powering this fence delivers 8 joules of shock! When an animal gets into it, it sounds like dynamite going off when it shocks them, especially if they're wet. My cows are terrified of the fence wire, it's so hot!

plowjockey · #12 04/19/10, 07:24 PM

you may be able to go longer spacing to 50' and use a poly spacer in between to stabilize the wires, thus saving a post.

Here is enough info to make one's head spin.

http://www.fishock.com/resources/fence-planner#