c/fence-erectors

My old boss in Phoenix swore by using a 4-foot level for every single post, even on long runs.

I tried it for a whole summer and honestly, it just slowed me down without making things any straighter. What's your go-to method for keeping a line true over, say, 100 feet?

A weird thing I saw with vinyl fences in a new build area

I was out in that big new housing part of Henderson last week, doing a quote. Every single house had the same basic white vinyl fence, the kind you get in a kit. But on about half of them, the top rail was already starting to bow out between the posts, maybe an inch or two. These places are only a year old. It made me look closer, and I think the posts are set too far apart. The spec sheet from the builder probably said 8-foot centers to save money, but with the heat we get, that vinyl just can't handle the span without support. It's going to look awful in another summer. Has anyone else run into this with builder-grade vinyl jobs, and what's the furthest you'll space posts on a 6-foot tall panel?

Just realized everyone says to dig deep for cedar posts, but I tried something else.

I had a job in a rocky part of town where digging a full 3 feet for every post was a nightmare. After the third snapped auger bit, I started setting them at 2 feet and packing the hole with a gravel and concrete slurry mix instead of just dirt. That was two seasons ago, and not one of those 15 posts has budged an inch, even through our winter freezes. Has anyone else found that the old depth rules aren't always the only way?

Heads up on those new composite fence posts versus steel

I had to pick between the composite ones that promised no rust and the standard steel posts for a big job in Seattle last month. Went with the composite to avoid corrosion, but they flexed way too much in the wind, and now I'm redoing a whole section with steel. Anyone else run into this flex issue with the newer materials?

Read a study that says pressure treated pine lasts longer than cedar in wet ground

Found a report from the University of Georgia's forestry department that tested fence posts in the ground for 15 years. In their wet soil test site, the pressure treated southern pine posts had almost no rot, while a lot of the untreated cedar ones were shot. I always thought cedar was the go-to for lasting forever, but maybe not in every spot. Has anyone else seen this play out on a job in a really damp area?

TIL I've set exactly 1,000 posts in the ground

I was updating my job log and the total just hit that round number. It's wild to think about all those holes, from that brutal rocky job in Sedona to the easy sandy ones. Anyone else have a personal count that snuck up on them?

I think the push for composite posts on every suburban job is getting out of hand

We did a 200-foot cedar fence for a place in Maplewood two years ago, and the homeowner just called to say it still looks perfect with zero maintenance besides a quick hose down last spring. Meanwhile, I see crews in the same neighborhood replacing 5-year-old composite sections that have warped or faded. I get that composite is low maintenance, but for the price, a quality wood fence built right seems to last just as long if you pick the right material. Has anyone else noticed composite not holding up like the sales reps promise?

Just saw a fence in Portland that used railroad ties as posts

I was walking through a neighborhood in Portland last week and saw a fence that really made me stop. The whole thing was built using old railroad ties as the main posts, with regular cedar boards in between. They had sunk the ties about 4 feet deep and used huge lag bolts to hold the rails. It looked super solid and had this cool, industrial feel. I've never seen that done before on a house. Has anyone here ever built something like that, and how did you handle the weight when setting the posts?

Vent: A simple post hole in rocky ground near Boulder took me three full days to dig by hand.

I had to chip away at a single boulder the size of a car tire with a digging bar and a spud wrench, which felt like a trip back in time compared to the auger jobs I usually get now.

My uncle told me to always set posts in wet concrete, not dry mix. Tried it on a 50-foot cedar fence in Spokane last fall and the whole thing is leaning now.

I finally gave up on using a post hole digger for rocky ground.

Last week on a job in Boulder, I was trying to set a line of posts in soil that was half gravel. My old manual digger was just bouncing off. The homeowner, who used to work in construction, came out and said, 'You know, a demo hammer with a clay spade is the only thing that works here.' I rented one for the day and it cut the time per hole from 45 minutes to about 10. Has anyone else found a better tool for that kind of ground?

A homeowner in Phoenix asked me to build a fence that would 'confuse the birds'

I was doing a quote for a vinyl privacy fence last spring, and the guy was really nice but had this one wild request. He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'I need the top of the fence to have a pattern that birds can't figure out. They keep landing on my old one.' I asked what he meant, and he pulled out a sketch of these weird, wavy picket tops, like a roller coaster. I had to explain, as gently as I could, that birds can land on pretty much anything (they land on power lines, you know?). We settled on a normal flat top, but I still think about him sometimes, wondering if the birds are still winning. Has anyone else gotten a request that just made you stop and blink for a second?

A homeowner in Denver pointed out my post spacing was off, and it made a huge difference.

I finished a cedar fence last fall and was pretty happy with it. The homeowner, an older guy who used to build decks, came out and said, 'Your posts are a solid eight feet apart, but your pickets are spaced for seven and a half.' He was right. I was using a scrap wood block as a spacer and never checked it against the actual post gaps. Now I measure the full run and divide by the picket count before I even start. It adds maybe ten minutes to the job but saves a lot of fuss. Has anyone else had a simple tip from a customer change a basic habit?

A hidden root ball under a post hole cost me an entire afternoon

I was setting a line of posts for a privacy fence in an older neighborhood here in Portland. The third hole hit what felt like solid rock, but it was actually the buried root ball from a massive tree removed years ago. I tried a digging bar, a pickaxe, even a rented demo hammer for an hour. That single hole took from 10 AM until almost 4 PM to clear properly. Has anyone else found a better way to deal with old stumps without bringing in a full excavator?

Had a gate hinge shear clean off a 6-foot cedar fence in a windstorm yesterday.

The client's kid said it sounded like a gunshot. What's your go-to heavy-duty hinge for high-wind areas?

A homeowner in Asheville told me my post holes were too deep

I was setting a cedar fence for them about two months ago, going for a solid 36 inches down like I always do for frost heave. The guy came out, watched for a minute, and said, 'You're just making more work for yourself, you only need 24 inches here.' I stuck to my guns and explained the code and why the extra foot matters. He kept shaking his head, saying his old fence lasted 20 years on shallow posts. Sure, maybe, but I'm not building a fence that might tip in ten years. Has anyone else had a client try to talk you out of doing a job the right way?

My post driver snapped on a vinyl job in Charlotte yesterday

The handle broke clean off on the 5th post, so I had to finish the run with a sledge and a block. Anyone got a brand they trust for heavy daily use?

Had a post hole collapse on me in wet clay near Tacoma last month. My usual trick with the auger just made it worse.

My uncle told me to always set my post holes 6 inches deeper than the frost line in Michigan, and last winter proved him right when my neighbor's fence started heaving and mine stayed put.

Has anyone else found a specific depth rule that saved a job from the weather?

Had a cedar post split right after setting it last Tuesday

I was putting up a six foot privacy fence in a backyard in Springfield, and everything was going smooth. We had the holes dug, concrete mixed, and got the first three posts set and braced. The fourth post was a 4x4 cedar, looked perfect. I drove a nail partway in to hold the brace line, and about ten minutes later I heard this loud crack. The whole thing split right down the middle from that nail hole, maybe an eight inch split. Had to stop everything, pull the post out of the wet concrete before it set, and cut a new one. Lost over an hour of work and a bag of mix. I'm thinking maybe the wood was too dry or I hit a knot. What's your go-to method for bracing posts without risking splits like that?

Vent: A customer in Bellingham asked me a simple question that changed how I look at posts.

I was finishing a cedar fence install yesterday when the homeowner asked, 'How long until these posts will need to be replaced?' I gave my usual answer about proper concrete and drainage. He just nodded and said, 'Right, but you're setting them for the next guy, not for me.' It hit me that I was thinking about the 10-year warranty, but he was thinking about the 30-year lifespan. Made me realize I should always spec for the long haul, even if it costs a bit more upfront. Anyone else had a moment that made you shift your standard specs?

Changed my mind about using a string line for long runs after a job in Spokane.

Honestly, the number of guys I see not checking for buried lines before they dig a post hole is wild.

Tbh, a crew down the street hit a fiber optic line last month and the whole block lost internet for a day. How do you even start a job without calling 811 first? Anyone else have a local utility story that makes you cringe?

That week in July where every single post hole turned into a rock fight

Honestly, a job in Boulder last summer had us hitting granite after 8 inches on every hole, and my crew spent three days straight just on the digging, which completely blew our schedule and budget.

Tried using a 4-foot level on a 50-foot vinyl fence run in Charlotte last week, got a surprise.