I keep seeing people set posts in concrete without checking for frost lines.

Back when I started in the 90s, my boss in Grand Rapids would make us dig down 36 inches for every post, no matter what. Now I see crews just going 18 inches deep, even up north. That's a big deal because a shallow post will heave after one hard winter and wreck the whole fence line. How do you guys handle frost depth specs for different areas?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.max15h ago

You mentioning Grand Rapids and that 36 inch rule really hits home. I used to think that was overkill for some jobs, especially with how long it takes. But then I saw a whole section of fence I helped with pop up like a zipper after a bad freeze. Now I just look up the local code and add a few extra inches, no questions asked. It's not worth the call back.

victor6519h ago

Yep, that frost heave'll teach you real quick.

kevinallen3h ago

But what if the frost line is already deeper than code?