flores.mark•24d agoMost Upvoted

Old timer told me my post holes were all wrong and saved me a headache

Last month on a job in Phoenix, this guy who's been building fences since the 80s walks over and says my holes are too wide at the top. He showed me how I was digging them like a cone instead of keeping the sides straight down. Changed my whole method after that, now I use a shorter shovel and check with a level every 3 scoops. Anyone else get a tip from a random dude on site that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisab3224d ago

Oh man, I feel that. Had a similar thing happen with a concrete guy who pointed out my forms were bowing in the middle. Fixed it with a few extra stakes and it saved me from having to chip out a crooked slab later. Sometimes the old school guys just know their stuff, no ego about it.

ruby_bell4724d ago

Read somewhere that the cone shape actually weakens the base because the wider top lets water pool and erode the soil faster. Your guy knew what he was talking about for sure.

pat_harris24d ago

Yeah, that's exactly right, @ruby_bell47. The cone shape is a classic mistake. You want the base wider than the top, period. The water runs down the sides and just undercuts the whole thing. I've seen a whole row of fence posts lean over after one season because someone mounded it up like an anthill. Always tamp the dirt down flat or even make a little slope away from the post to shed water.