An old timer told me my post holes were too shallow and he was right

Honestly, I was putting up a cedar fence in Springfield about 5 years ago and thought my 24-inch holes were plenty deep. This retired guy from down the street, who used to run a crew, just shook his head and said, 'Son, that frost line is 36 inches here. You'll have a wavy mess in two winters.' I changed my whole process after that. Now I always check the local frost depth first and go at least 6 inches deeper. It added maybe 2 hours to that job, but that fence is still straight. Anyone else get a piece of advice that totally changed their basic setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

emerycarr1mo ago

My uncle swore by a two-foot hole for fence posts until his whole mailbox setup tilted like a drunk sailor after one winter. He spent a whole weekend with a level and a shovel fixing it. Now he digs down three feet and packs the gravel so tight you'd need dynamite to move it. Some lessons you only learn the hard way.

terrywilson1mo ago

Gotta disagree on the gravel part. Packing gravel super tight can actually trap water against the post, which rots wood faster or rusts metal. You want good drainage at the bottom of the hole. I use a few inches of gravel for a base, set the post, then pack in the dirt and tamp it down in layers. The real key is getting below the frost line so the ground doesn't push it out. Did your uncle switch to concrete for the mailbox post after that?

ericnguyen23d ago

Wait, so you're saying the deep hole with packed gravel actually works better than I thought? @emerycarr I used to think concrete was the only way to go for fence posts, but after my shed's posts rotted out from trapped moisture, I switched to gravel. My neighbor does the same thing you're describing and his mailbox post has been solid for like 8 years now. I always figured shallow holes were fine if you packed it right, but seeing stuff tilt after one winter makes me want to go the extra foot. Gonna try that three foot method with a gravel base on my next project.