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Repairing rotten fence posts

calorgas

calorgas

Generic middle-aged man
Anyone tried repairing fence posts that have rotted at their base? The fence on one side of my garden is just starting to get a bit of a wobble on due to this, but the rest of it is pretty solid so seems wasteful and expensive to rip out and replace the whole thing.

There seems to be a couple of options; one is hammering a metal rod in next to the post (which then gets screwed to the post) and other is a concrete fence spur (which looks like would be a bit more effort to install).

Anyone tried either, and if so was it successful?
 
There is no easy fix. Least effort would be the most drastic - replace the lot.

The hassle is a consequence of the illegalisation of real creosote for most circumstances, and the gradual illegalisation of CCA - the first replacement for creosote - Copper Chrome Arsenic, originally sold as Tanalith.

What is your soil?
 
Hammer another post in next to it. Same idea as the metal rod, hammer another short post in hard down the side, secure with large nails, drill holes and fix with screws or loop of wire twisted to tighten. Treat the wood with environmentally friendly wood preserver for looks rather than effectiveness, rather than boiling creosote, arsenic/chrome pressure injection or old engine oil. If using metal stakes make sure it’s zinc coated galvanised. The concrete option is a bit of a PITA.

Alternatively replace the whole lot and do a proper job, it’ll look a lot nicer.
 
Fence posts are cheap. Dig them up, saw off the rotten bit, use the good bits elsewhere. To make the new ones last longer put them in Metposts or set them entirely in concrete so the soil is off them.
 
I had a rotten fence post and a friend of mine in that business dug a hole, filled it with Postcrete and put a new one in. That lasted about three years, but he found it was pretty simple to dig the rotted remains out of the Postcrete and hammer a new post in. So now he has a recurring task. About twelve months until the next one, I reckon.
 
stevec67 said:
Fence posts are cheap. Dig them up, saw off the rotten bit, use the good bits elsewhere. To make the new ones last longer put them in Metposts or set them entirely in concrete so the soil is off them.
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My old foreman gave me a right bollocking for cementing some massive gate posts in cos the ground was a rocky as hell and I’d been digging with a pinch bar for ages, the works guys were working same place and had a cement mixer going so I half inched a barrow load. He said they’d rot where the wood entered the cement and damp would gather, 30 years later the gate posts are still there, have a grin when drive past them every few years.
 
Amber Audio said:
My old foreman gave me a right bollocking for cementing some massive gate posts in cos the ground was a rocky as hell and I’d been digging with a pinch bar for ages, the works guys were working same place and had a cement mixer going so I half inched a barrow load. He said they’d rot where the wood entered the cement and damp would gather, 30 years later the gate posts are still there, have a grin when drive past them every few years.
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Very much depends on the surrounding soil and what timber the post is. Soil type in particular affects all suggestions thus far.
 
I should say that this a pretty solid fence, not those shitty wafer-thin diy store panel efforts that blow across town in a stiff breeze. And tbh I prefer the weathered look it has to what a new ones look like so would rather not replace the whole lot - not to mention the cost of doing that.

Vinny said:
What is your soil?
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Best quality Somerset cottage garden soil so deep, damp, and fertile and generally not full of rubble etc.

I'm currently thinking that the concrete spurs look like the best option. I can't wait for a hedge to grow, there are small kids next door and I don't really want them wandering into my garden tbh :)
 
Have a hunt - see if you can source chestnut posts locally. They will last 20-30 years in your soil, maybe longer, untreated.
 
calorgas said:
I can't wait for a hedge to grow, there are small kids next door and I don't really want them wandering into my garden tbh :)
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Put cheap chain-link up and plant a hedge at the base, to grow up and through it. A hedge will take no more than about 3 years if something like privet. Even yew is FAR swifter than you'd think.
 
Are the existing posts in concrete? If so then I’d put the metal post spikes that go into what Is left of the post. I have just done this after woodlouse sheared off my fence posts....

if not, the I’d prob go concrete to defeat the woodlouse
 
I’ve put several concrete spurs in myself. This is generally the best option unless you want to loose the slightly unsightly bit of concrete. I took that option replacing two gate posts and it took bloody ages to get the old posts out as I wanted to preserve brickwork one side.

Irrespective, you will need to hire a Kango if your posts have been originally concreted in.
 
paulc said:
Are the existing posts in concrete? If so then I’d put the metal post spikes that go into what Is left of the post. I have just done this after woodlouse sheared off my fence posts....

if not, the I’d prob go concrete to defeat the woodlouse
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Woodlice eat rotting wood. Your problem is the fungi that rotted the wood, not the crustaceans that ate the remains after the fungi had done their worst.
 
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