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Post Hole Problem,,,,,,, suggestions?

L

Lloyd In South Carolina

Member
You all have seen my gate project, dug the holes to set the posts this past weekend, neighbor used his Bobcat posthole auger, made quick work of that.

However, 30 mins after he left the holes (one is 6' deep, the other is 6'6" had filled in with 12 to 18" of water!! The plan was to mix concrete and set them in it,,, however not if the holes are wells!!!

Suggestions?

These are 8"x8" I beams, hinge brackets are welded to them, holes are diff lenghts cause the beams were scraps that are odd lenghts. Gates are heavy, want to make sure they do not sag overtime.

Thanks for any ideas!

Lloyd
 
The water shouldn't be a problem as the concrete will displace the majority of it to the top as you add the concrete to the hole. Regardless of that, the concrete will still set up wether the holes are dry or not as the chemical reaction that causes it to harden will create the required heat to do so, it will just take it a little longer to do it than if the holes were completely dry. One thing you can do to somewhat offset the existing water is to put some dry concrete mix in the bottom of the hole first and basically use the water in the hole to mix it instead of adding the water to it first. Given the bull tallow on my property I've had to set alot of posts in wet holes over the years and haven't had any problems with the concrete hardening or the poles sinking, or anything else, and that includeds the ones holding up the roof of my shed.
 
Sounds like my house. I put half the dirt back in and push the post in with the skidloader. Dump in the rest of the dirt.
 
(quoted from post at 14:51:28 04/04/11) You all have seen my gate project, dug the holes to set the posts this past weekend, neighbor used his Bobcat posthole auger, made quick work of that.

However, 30 mins after he left the holes (one is 6' deep, the other is 6'6" had filled in with 12 to 18" of water!! The plan was to mix concrete and set them in it,,, however not if the holes are wells!!!

Suggestions?

These are 8"x8" I beams, hinge brackets are welded to them, holes are diff lenghts cause the beams were scraps that are odd lenghts. Gates are heavy, want to make sure they do not sag overtime.

Thanks for any ideas!

Lloyd
Click to expand...

I would add some gravel for a base and then use dry fast setting concrete directly out of the bag. The cross ties for my horses are set this way, and they haven't pulled them out of the ground yet.

USING DRY FAST-SETTING CONCRETE DIRECTLY OUT OF THE BAG:

Excellent results can be achieved under certain circumstances by pouring dry fast-setting Concrete Mix around the post directly from the bag, allowing ground moisture to finish the job. Pre-wetting the hole and pouring in a small amount of water after the dry mix will hasten setting.

http://www.packagepavement.com/setting_post_qk.html

-Horsepoor
 
Concrete piers that King Herod poured in his harbor (in the Medeteranian) during thetime of Christ are still there and sound.As stated abpve,under water or not should make no difference.
 

Are you using bag mix? There is a big difference between good mix you get at a lumberyard, and the junk they sell at home depot and lowes.

The concrete will force the water out. Just mix it a little dryer than normal.

If you are having a truck bring it in, just ask them to make it dryer, use less water and it will be fine.

I would also suggest driving in about 4 re-bars around the post, just make the concrete hang together better.

Gene
 
I agree with Wayne.
Dip some out and Put dry in then the post.
I believe the post will need a second post and pier 15' away on the fence line with a top tension strut, and a diagonal compression strut from botton of your post to the new one. Your gate system is just too heavy for water saturated soil, even at that depth. Extending the henge post twice as high with a guy wire to the 15' distance with an earth anchor on it would look less desirable, but be effective.
Wheels on the traveling end of the gate/s would solve both problems. Jim
 
Cool, no I'm not using the cheap pre-mix stuff. Mixing my own in a mixer on site,,,,, got lots of little concrete projects to do as we build.

I'm going to go with that, mix it dry and dump it in there.

Feeling really good about when I dig my well!! LOL

Thanks, Lloyd
 
Lloyd, I suspect the problem might be that the auger used was a well-drilling auger. You can fix it by digging another post hole with a post hole auger, then taking that dry hole and putting it in the hole you already have, kind of like a sleeve.
 
i read on the inernet that there was going to be a shortage of postholes this year due to fighting in Kzabostan,

however, you can still get the acme portable hole and just use a "J" bushing for it
 
Dry post hole market never really took off in this area ,,I recall a fella claiming he had a truck load of them on the back of his truck at the feed store ,to sell cheap ,, We all went togo see them , and his truck bed was Empty , ! The fella claims 'Some sun dagun done stole them All '
 
Ya gotta watch out for unscrupulous fellers that will take old basements and cut 'em up and sell 'em as postholes. Then guys take 'em home and find out they won't hold dirt.
 
I was going to try digging a second hole, and hope it was dry to replace this one,,,, then I'll just need to move the driveway about 200'....... but then when I started looking closer,,,, the water looked kinda dirty,,, sorta black and very slippery.....

I hit OIL!! Gonna move away from here!!! Anybody got a refinery for sale?

L.
 
I've never had any issues with usin the ones that were cut up from an old basement. You just gotta put them on a lathe and turn em so their round. Cause you can't put a round post in a square hole.
 
Coulda been the same feller that came by here; he was selling used TVA power-pole holes; they were all at least 8 ft long. He was selling them by the foot; just cut off ever how much you needed. I thought they were too big for anything but corner posts.
 
Cement don't care if the hole has water in it. The water does though and will leave as the cement is poured ina hole out the top quicker than a wink. I lived at a lake where you needed to have a sea wall. Water would be over a foot deep in the forms when they put in the forms and when they poured.
 
dont worry about the water you mite fill in to the level you want then just add the concrete,or cement dry. it will set up in a few days and draw the water into it self. cement and concrete makes heat even under water, so dont worry ,you can add as much as you like dry and add water to the upper ,use post hole digger or bar to punch and stir if you want. it will set up no problem, i know i have done it 1000"s of times and i have done lots of concrete work for a living , along with heavy construction . good luck.
 
How many millions of people west of the Red River wish they could hit water at 6 feet, insted of 1600. If it is coming up artesian style, I think just packing rocks and gravel for now, and pour a watery batch of cement on it in summer, if it dries up by then, yep, some people out west wish they had that problem...
 
That thar's black gold, Texas tea. Load the family up and move to Beverly (Hills that is). It worked for me.
 
Lloyd, your post hole is just in upside down. Turn it over so the water runs out....
 
I am only just half joking when I say this: Don"t let the government hear about water in the holes.

I AM NOT making this up, footings were dug then rain started resulting in them being filled with water. The government then deemed them wetlands.

EPA also has a say in this, anything added to the water may cause an environmental impact.

My advice is to get the work done fast, before some goody two shoes tries to make a name for him (Or) her self. DOUG
 
I coulda sold him some that weren't wet! Just bail out the water, and tamp dry concrete mix in as filler. Don't hang the gates till things dry up.
 
I had one fall offn my truck once, you guessed it, it bounced a couple times, and landed in the middle of the road, and became a pothole! Good thing it were a 6" one, and not a 30 incher!
 
I had a riding arena built with cinder block sides. The footers were dug pretty deep and before the concrete arrived it rained and they filled with water. The builder took a garden hose, filled it with water, put his thumb over each end, stuck one end in the hole with the water and then stretched the hose and took his thumb off the end, all the water drained (siphoned) out of the foundation excavation. Pretty neat and pretty quick.
 
If you can find or have mixed hydraulic cement you should have no problem. It is made to be poured under water and sets up hard and fast.

Leonard
 
Lloyd, Afix, 1/2 of a 4 in strap hinge to a broom handle and the other to a qt coffee can. Arrange the hinge and coffee can so the coffee can will lay flat in the bottom of the hole.
Dip out all the water you can, set in the post, pour in about 2 gal water, pour in 1 to 2.5 sacks of sack-crete. use a small re-bar rod to tamp and mix up the water and sack-crete in the hole, re-level and leave for 3 days, then come back and weld in braces, hang your gates.
NOTE**** be sure to get the hinges at the right height before you start concreting things in. Also I would add extra bracing to insure no movement later on down the line in time. Use double H braces, Bell out the bottom of the hole and stop concrete 6 ins below grade level. Hope this helps.
Later,
John A.
 
I don't know why everyone is so hung up on post holes, the obvious choice would be "sky hooks". You never have to worry about your posts shifting around due to frost and they'll never rot or rust (depending on what they're made of) 'cause they won't even be touching the ground.
Go to the hardware store and ask for some #10 Sky Hooks!
 
(quoted from post at 19:09:59 04/04/11) I had a riding arena built with cinder block sides. The footers were dug pretty deep and before the concrete arrived it rained and they filled with water. The builder took a garden hose, filled it with water, put his thumb over each end, stuck one end in the hole with the water and then stretched the hose and took his thumb off the end, all the water drained (siphoned) out of the foundation excavation. Pretty neat and pretty quick.
Click to expand...

He must have been able to lay the end of the hose down an incline or I wouldn't think it would have syphoned out.
 
Lloyd, if you fill the holes with concrete, with NO agitation, it will force the water to the top and out. After you have forced the water out, then you can rod or vibrate the concrete to consolidate the mixture. You should do NO stirring (or agitation) until the water is "floated" out.

Other posts probably told you the same thing - I didn't read them all.

Paul
 
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