Fence Leaning

dripping mud

Hi all, just last summer i had a backyard fence put in with the neighbours through a contractor. Well, 1 year later and the fence is leaning big time because the concrete he poured is very sloppy in the hole. Is there any way i can fix this because my wife is driving me so fu..... nuts about the leaning fence i just want to leave the whole damn house and run away but i cant because i know she will hunt me down. Thanks for any advise.

send_it_all

If there's anything I hate, it's a sloppy hole

JamesNLA

LMFAO

Agreed man.....agreed. However, good times!

Leaning hole....fence rather.
I'll ASSume these are PT 4x4 or the like, and that they are spaced no more than 8 feet apart. So, get some 2x4 or whatever to support the existing posts, and dig out the dirt all around the the post's concrete. The more probable reason it's leaning is probably a combo of not deep enough and not enough concrete. Anyhow, dig down below the bottom of the posts, making sure that you are at least 3 feet deep assuming these are 10 foot posts. So now that you have dug out below the post, you will need to vertically support the post (so it don't fall into the new hole you just dug). Now that you have your properly dug sized hole, put a few inches of 3/4" gravel rock in the hole, next, fill it all the way up with concrete. Wait till it cures and remove the bracing, no go do the next one. There may be easier ways to do it, but just like anything in life, if you want it to last, you need a good foundation. Maybe you want to send some pics to Mr. Lowest bidder construction company, and let him know how crappy his work is!

AtlanticWBConst

JamesLNA's advice is pretty much dead on.

We did a repair like this about 2 years ago for a client. Fence still looks great.
The only thing I would add is to do the posts all at one time, not one at a time. It will help take the stress off the posts if they are all done together. (that way the fence segments won't be 'pulling' against eachother)
You will also be able to align the entire fence more precisely, by doing all the posts at once. What I mean is to prep them, brace them first, then do any 'tweeking' to align them all together,.........and then pour you concrete and set them at the same time....

BTW - Did you try contacting the person or company that installed this fence?

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DecksEtc

I'd be calling the contractor back and make them fix it. They should have some sort of warranty that should cover a defective installation - whcih is exactly what it sounds like to me.

nywoodwizard

I don't cement wood post in at all,they are more prone to rotting out at the grade level,We tamp them in ,not by filling the whole hole up at once,but from the bottom up as the soil gets compacted on the way up it will be very solid.chances are the contractor dug the hole put some dirt back in with out tamping and then capped the upper portion of the hole with cement or just kicked all the dirt back in and only tamp the top some, either or are both useless,it would take months or even years for that lower portion to tighten up, and in turn will lean as fence absorbs alot of wind.Its not rocket science to install a fence,just a little hard work.Some soils are not to great to tamp (moist)which in turn we will use some sand and pea gravel to get it tight.the only fence we concrete in is chainlink and Pvc.


The king has left the building

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

troubleseeker

What do you mean "the concrete he poured is very sloppy in the hole" ? Sounds like the posts were not set deep enough, three feet is the very mininum if you expect the fence to have a chance of staying straight, deeper for a tall fence. I also do not subscribe to the fascination of concrete poured around wood posts. There seems to be some kind of belief that just because there is concrete in the hole, the post will be there for eternity, when in fact, if the end of the post is encapsulated in the concrete, you have in effect created a concrete bucket that will keep the post permanently wet. My preference is to tamp the hole full with a mixture of fines and medium stone.

nywoodwizard

The actuall depth for a wood post should be 30" at the least for a six foot fence,and i'm glad to here someone else who knows better about cementing wood post

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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Mrmac204

on my dad's fence we poured the wall, and put in post holders - not sure if that's the name, they are a "U" shaped piece of metal with a bit of rebar welded to the center/bottom. We trued these up, built the fence - over 20 yrs now no problems.

747

I remember when they use to dip fence post in hot tar let them dry a couple of days then install.

eddymn

an easy way to straighten a fence is to simply tamp on one side of the concrete. I have done some adjusting on my fence every few years. Take a 2x4 and a light sledge. If you want the vertical to be level or plumb, start tamping on the side you want to move towards you. Obviously, don't tamp the concrete...rather the dirt right next to the concrete. That will compact the dirt right next to the post cement and it will move towards you. It is simple and will make the fence more secure than it ever was. You may have to tamp down about a foot so have an 18 inch 2x4. You will need more a wee bit more fill to replace the compacted dirt.

theartisan

if the posts are not deep enough the fence will continue to heave every year with the freeze thaw cycle, high winds, or heavy rains