How deep should a pipe fence post be?

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wayneNWAR

Posted 4/15/ 12:14 (#)
Subject: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

north west arkansas

I am gonna build some pipe fence and in the past we have always concreted the posts in, but I am wondering about just setting the posts in crusher dust instead. I thought I would probably go ahead and concrete the ones at gates and such. Do you think this would work? I just thought this sounded a whole lot easier and cheaper than doing concrete. garvo

Posted 4/15/ 12:21 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

western iowa,by Denison

work good-and your not out anything if it does not Galaxie64

Posted 4/15/ 15:08 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

WY, OK

What kind of fence?  We'll just pound them right into the ground as long as it isn't a corral fence.  So far has worked great in water gaps, won't be the most beautiful thing in the world but works.

fourbrats1

Posted 4/15/ 15:28 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

powell mo

Use a post driver and drive them . I drive 99 percent of my pipe post . About the only time I concrete a post is if we pulled one out , and it has to go back in the same hole . 2hcattle

Posted 4/15/ 16:32 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Southwest OK

Unless you spend a lot of time and effort tamping the rock they'll get really loose. Driving them is a much better option. wayneNWAR

Posted 4/15/ 19:03 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

north west arkansas

I would love to drive them but do not have a driver. It seems like drivers are fairly high also? Southern Farmer

Posted 4/15/ 19:08 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

West Texas

West Texas

Front end loader with a bucket full of dirt will push most anything into the ground

cr39

Posted 4/15/ 20:34 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

I did that today. John Deere with a full load of dirt in the bucket. I am using I think 2 3/8" oil field pipe going 4' in the ground. For a bigger job we hired a guy with a track loader last year. Very sturdy, as I ran into a corner post a few days ago and it didn't bend. JDSWMO

Posted 4/15/ 21:05 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Not here it won't.
We have a hard pan anywhere from 3" to 2' under the "good" dirt that takes a driver/hammer to break through. I've set a 953 cat on top of a four inch pipe and raised the front of the track a foot off the ground, moved the post about six inches and that was it. wayneNWAR

Posted 4/15/ 21:08 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

north west arkansas

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X2. Alberta Pioneer

Posted 4/15/ 21:12 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Warburg, AB

cr39 - 4/15/ 19:34

I did that today. John Deere with a full load of dirt in the bucket. I am using I think 2 3/8" oil field pipe going 4' in the ground. For a bigger job we hired a guy with a track loader last year. Very sturdy, as I ran into a corner post a few days ago and it didn't bend.

How long have you done this if I may ask? I've wondered about them rusting. Do you cap them at all? I have no idea how long it would take that 1/4" wall to rust, but with wood posts being close to double the price... Probably worth the work regardless. How do you hang the wire, weld on a bent nail? Hanging electric wire won't be that hard, 1/2" hot roll bent into a small "L" and welded on will hold those insulators for rods/step-ins.

Bruce dt

Posted 4/15/ 21:21 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Fairbury, NE (Southeast)

Dad wants to set a bunch of oilfield pipe for pasture line fence. Not excited about the idea, but how fast do T-posts rust out?
Wouldn't be much different. JDSWMO

Posted 4/15/ 21:25 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Here according to the guys that sell pipe, new pipe is supposed to last 80 years, 120 if you cap them.
With barb wire I just wrap the wire around the post twice but allot of guys weld a U shaped loop to the post to tie the wire to. JDSWMO

Posted 4/15/ 21:28 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

I have a neighbor that roams the countryside doing that sort of thing if you can't find someone closer to home. cr39

Posted 4/15/ 21:36 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

I only use the oilfield pipe for corral post that I weld continuous fence to. I use hedge posts for barb wire fences. Oil field pipe and hedge should last a lifetime or close to it. This is on clay ground that has been packed down forever, so it would be worth a try I would think. mrpeeper

Posted 4/15/ 21:37 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

NE KS

go for it. we tried some last fall setting some posts, used fly ash where we hung a gate and 'screenings' in line, if you checked it today you couldnt tell a bit of difference. We just sloshed a little water and dirt in with the screenings as we filled the holes and stirred it around. Not sure why we spent all the money on fly ash and quick crete over the years! outlaw2u

Posted 4/15/ 22:27 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Northern KS

fourbrats1 - 4/15/ 14:28

Use a post driver and drive them . I drive 99 percent of my pipe post . About the only time I concrete a post is if we pulled one out , and it has to go back in the same hole .

as in one of those handheld air or hydraulic operated drivers?Do you have to buy any special sleeves etc for it to fit properly to drive it? olivetroad

Posted 4/15/ 22:35 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Kingdom of Callaway - Fulton, Mo

I used concrete for pipe posts but then switched to just driving them in the dirt. It works great - faster, easier, cheaper. Fences hold up just as well. Red Cows

Posted 4/16/ 16:21 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

SE SD

3' in the groung with out Crete? Or more? olivetroad

Posted 4/16/ 18:44 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Setting pipe posts for pipe fence.

Kingdom of Callaway - Fulton, Mo

I go four feet deep when driving them in. I don't know that it is necessary, but it sure sets them in solid.

On corners or crowd areas I have been known to use a 10 foot stick and put it five feet deep. You can drive them in, but you cant pull them out (with the skidloader).

I bought all the fencing from a closed feedlot this past winter. They had a 3 acre pen with three foot posts set in concrete and right next to it across a feed alley was a 3 acre lot with the posts just driven in four feet deep. The fence set in concrete wasnt standing as well as the driven post fence.

Have used pipe and tubing for a pipe fence. Tubing wins hands down. The pipe is PTA to work with and is usually heavily rusted, which eventually eats through the paint no matter how you treat it.

Look around, you can probably find a place that stocks tubing for fences. I use 11 gage for the posts, and 14 gage for the rails. The length of the tubing I got was 21-feet per tube - meaning I could get 3 posts per tube. For my fence, that meant 2-feet in the ground and 5 feet above ground.

Unless you're contemplating having livestock (especially cattle) that will use the fence for scratching, there's no reason to go 4-feet deep. I have my posts 2-feet deep with a 6-inch diameter concrete footing in very sandy soil (little support from the soil) and the fence has been in-place for nearly 10 years. The posts are spaced at 10-foot intervals. The fence is finished with horse wire to keep the dog in - and the neighbors' dogs out.

What you'll find, is that as you put the rails on, the fence becomes much stronger as you're tying everything together. In fact, the power company excavated under one corner post to get to an underground service, leaving the post with the footing exposed with a hole under it over a weekend. It sagged very slightly (about 2-inches from the weight of the concrete footer), but when they filled the hole, they lifted the post back level and backfilled - no problem.

I used 4-inch, schedule 40 tubing for gate posts, and those I did set 4-feet deep in concrete footings. I have two gate panels across my driveway - each panel is 11-feet long.

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