Fence Posts

Also, I always heard they should be 7' long (3ft in ground and 4ft out) but when I call around some places have 6 1/2', 7' and 8' posts. Is 6 1/2 reasonable. I'm in southeastern PA, almost in Maryland and the frost line is 30" if that matters.

What about diameter, they have 4 to 5 in and 5 to 6 in diameter. Should I use the 5-6" ones for corners and the 4-5" for line posts?

I want a good fence that is going to last with a little headaches as possible but I don't want to overspend on size and number of posts either.

Thanks.

Ouch! Stuff is gettin' a little spendy 'taint it? :>)

Allan

Ouch! Stuff is gettin' a little spendy 'taint it? :>)

Allan

Bulding fence out here in NE is as common as breathing....we all get to do it. :>)

Forget the electric; you can always add that later if you are running some big bulls who like to 'rub & scratch' the fence and you feel you should have the need.

Normally, a 5 strand will hold just about anything except sheep, dogs, deer and antelope.

Well maybe not, come to think of it, my first wife escaped all my fencing! :>)

If you are putting in a 5 strand, then this is going to be a permanent fence and you want to build it right the first time because nowadays, it is quite costly (believe me).

For your runs, set the 6" wooden posts between 16 and 20' apart and plant 'em deep. Any portion of the post higher than the top of that top strand is totally wasted post. In between each wooden post, plant a heavy "T shapped" steel post. This gives you a post every 8 or 10 feet and keeps the stands separated as they should be.

The corners are the main issue. They have to be braced and bracketed to stand the load of those tensioned 5 strands. Build these corners with 8 to 12" wooden posts and 6" bracket members. You will have to brace with a "N shapped brace" coming left and a "backward facing N" going right. Then lay an additional horizontal 6" brace across the top of each "N" in between the two posts. (Hope all that makes sense).

What I mean is, the top of that corner post needs to be braced against the bottom of another post set in the ground a short distance away from it. This has to be done in both directions on your corners.

I would only use full bore barbed wire. Keeps the critters from rubbing on it quite so much.

If you build it right and build it strong, it will stay tight and useable for many, many years.

Hope this helps a little,

Allan

I always heard that high tensile & barbed wire are 2 different things, you can't make a 'real' h-t out of barbed wire? H-t is always smooth & special strong single wire.

Electric is pretty much a requirement 'here', while I hear it is an option or not needed in other regions. I guess based on my cattle & my local experience, electric is manditory, esp on such a small pasture. Just this side of the coin. :)

--->Paul

Yes, I've used an awfully lot of electric fence too; I think it is all high tension rated anymore, isn�t it?

The beauty of the electric is that you can throw it up in an afternoon, too. A single wood post on the corners and the "step-in" little metal posts, when tied to a charger will usually stop just about anything after the critters have had their proper "training". :>)

I've also used a hot wire run on the inside of a five-wire too; especially when I had the Holstein Bulls running in the pasture and many miles away from home.

It all depends on what the application is, I guess. Now, holding sheep or hogs is a whole �nuther chapter. I don�t wanna go there anymore��

Sounds like he wants to make a good, sturdy permanent fence. I just don't think he needs the electric component unless he is heavy into Brahmas. If he puts that top strand up around chest high, it should hold quite nicely, I would think. :>)

Have a good one,

Allan

Bulding fence out here in NE is as common as breathing....we all get to do it. :>)

Forget the electric; you can always add that later if you are running some big bulls who like to 'rub & scratch' the fence and you feel you should have the need.

Normally, a 5 strand will hold just about anything except sheep, dogs, deer and antelope.

Well maybe not, come to think of it, my first wife escaped all my fencing! :>)

If you are putting in a 5 strand, then this is going to be a permanent fence and you want to build it right the first time because nowadays, it is quite costly (believe me).

For your runs, set the 6" wooden posts between 16 and 20' apart and plant 'em deep. Any portion of the post higher than the top of that top strand is totally wasted post. In between each wooden post, plant a heavy "T shapped" steel post. This gives you a post every 8 or 10 feet and keeps the stands separated as they should be.

The corners are the main issue. They have to be braced and bracketed to stand the load of those tensioned 5 strands. Build these corners with 8 to 12" wooden posts and 6" bracket members. You will have to brace with a "N shapped brace" coming left and a "backward facing N" going right. Then lay an additional horizontal 6" brace across the top of each "N" in between the two posts. (Hope all that makes sense).

What I mean is, the top of that corner post needs to be braced against the bottom of another post set in the ground a short distance away from it. This has to be done in both directions on your corners.

I would only use full bore barbed wire. Keeps the critters from rubbing on it quite so much.

If you build it right and build it strong, it will stay tight and useable for many, many years.

Hope this helps a little,

Allan

Every once in a while you get a 'jumper' in cattle, I guess I wouldn't want to skimp on the height of the fence with short poles. They also try to reach over the top if it doesn't look like enough of a barrier to them.

Electric is a very good idea for cattle, in my experience.

I believe they generally use more posts & more wires for a cattle yard area, and less wire and less posts on pasture type areas. As always, it's a cost vs performance issue. A single hot high tensile wire with 50' spacing _can_ hold cattle, but not always real well. On the other hand 9 wires with 8' exposed posts on 8' spacing can hold bison. Where you want to fall in between those extremes is up to you.

The more wires you use, the stronger those corner posts need to be. Many corners, or lots of hills & valleys, all need extra bracing & will raise the cost of high-tensile.

--->Paul

First, I would get a good reference on building high tensile fence. My personal preference is "Fences" from USDI-BLM and USDA-FS. July 88 is the edition I have series 2400-Range 8824 2803. I think I got it from the US Gvt Printing Office for about $25.00. Then I'd sketch out the fence run to determine rises and swales. High tensile is much better suited for long straight runs rather than turns and slope. I dont have many places I can use it.

Seems woven wire is the local standard for line fence and barbed wire for interior. Fence (and all steel) is really high right now. It pays to shop around. I've bought some 47" 9-11 6" stay class III high tensile woven wire this spring. Pricing around it has ranged from $118 a roll to $205, all by the pallet. We have a cost share program running here that pays on line fence and interior so lot of new fence going up.