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?

2 comments

2 Comments

hernandez.miles18d ago

Man, did you try using a clamp instead of a nail?

nathanwalker18d ago

Wait, @hernandez.miles, are you saying you actually tried to hold it together with just a nail? That's wild, man. You'd need like three clamps minimum for any real pressure. A single nail would just split the wood and pop right out.