Fence building question

[Wampuscat]

I'm wanting to build a 3 or 4 rail ranch fence along the front of my property. I had 2 - 14' electric gates installed last year with metal gate posts set in concrete. I'm wanting the fence posts to 4x6 treated posts and use 1x6x16' corral boards for the rails and top plate.

I'm not a fan of setting treated wood fence posts in concrete. I want to terminate the fence at the 4 metal gate posts which means digging post holes with a tractor auger next to the gate posts. This seems like I'm taking a big chance that the gate will lean when the hole is dug. I know I can crib up the gate to take the weight off and mitigate the chance of the gate post leaning.

Should I dig all the way up to the concrete around the gateposts and pour sack concrete for the terminating fence posts? I'm kind of concerned that the old post and new post concrete won't bond, giving it a poker chip effect. Any ideas? Not sure if I'm over thinking this or not?

My fence will be about 300' long. I can build it for just under $2000. The local fence builders want $4800 for the job. I hate having to use the local fence company that built my gates. They took 6 months to get them in and had to redo their first few sorry attempts. The gate posts, at first weren't even lined up with the road and old fence-line. Then the first two gates were about as straight as my longbow.

[Sleepy]

I don't really know much about anything when it comes to fence building, but I know what you mean when you say you don't want to concrete your treated post.

Why couldn't you concrete some square tubing and fit the treated post inside the square tubing? Have the square tubing/concrete stop at 8-10" below grade and cover the rest with backfill. Seems legit, but I don't know anything about building fences lol

[one66stang]

Can you not just tie into the gate posts and eliminate a post? Possibly weld a piece of c-perlin to post to screw wood rail to?

[bowhuntntxn]

You could terminate the fence short of the gate, and put a walk thru gate on it, using the existing gate post as the stop. Then your first fence post would be far enough away from the existing one, there would be no issues with sag or bonding..

Just a thought.

[Wampuscat]

Can you not just tie into the gate posts and eliminate a post? Possibly weld a piece of c-perlin to post to screw wood rail to?

I have to admit that welding or screwing 45* angle iron to the gate posts has crossed my mind. I've been concerned that if we decide to paint the fence to match the reddish beams on the house, that the rails terminating at a black gate post will look odd. Now if I opt for painting the fence black that'll work out OK. Have to run the black fence idea past the wife though. That also means I'll have to paint all of the 4" and 6" field fence posts black to match. The T-posts can stay green.

[Wampuscat]

You could terminate the fence short of the gate, and put a walk thru gate on it, using the existing gate post as the stop. Then your first fence post would be far enough away from the existing one, there would be no issues with sag or bonding..

Just a thought.

The only issue with that is there are 4 gate posts. 4 walk-through gates would be 3 too many. Thanks for the idea though.

[RodinaRanč]

I have a 3 rail split cedar yard fence with a metal sidewalk gate/gate posts...i simply added a small vertical wooden channel (cut on a table saw), the depth of the tongue of the rail to each gate post (drilled/tapped the gate post to attach the channel). Then leveled the rail & ran a carriage bolt thru the channel & the rail...made for a clean transition.

[bzzboyz]

Why don't you just attach to the steel gate posts with some self tapping screws through the wood rails?

[Wampuscat]

Why don't you just attach to the steel gate posts with some self tapping screws through the wood rails?

The metal drive-through gate is set back about 8' from the fence-line. We want the fence to angle in to the gate at about a 30* or 45* angle.

[Briar Friar]

Several thoughts.... (Please forgive me...I didnt read all the posts)

1) Set the treated posts away ( by several feet, ie. 3-4 ) from the metal posts and cantilever them toward the terminal metal posts
2) use self tapping screws and screw the wood fence rails directly to the metal posts...or...
3) drill through the metal posts and bolt the wood rails to the metal posts

Note...Ive noticed that often people set treated posts improperly into concrete. Most folk set the posts IN concrete...with concrete below the wood...wherefore...the concrete acts like a bowl and retains water so the post....even though treated and rot resistant (keyword resistant)....sits and subsequently rots in a bowl of water. Solution: set treated posts in direct contact with soil...(some say pea gravel...I say it doesnt matter...IMHO pea gravel is just more material cost...either the soil is condusive to impeding water infiltration or not and pea gravel wont make that much difference...maybe a difference in high clayee soils?...Im not a taker yet)...so WHEN (not if) the rain water flows down the post it will flow to the soil and drain away from the post and the post wont sit in water.

Ive done number 1 when butting/hovering a fence against a neighbors structure...in case they ever came to dispute property lines or complain about space for repairing their exterior, etc.

God bless!

[dogman11]

I go here a lot for tips and tricks for building fences. Pretty good forum. Guy named "fenceman" is the one I'd ask for any and all advice if I needed to know something.

http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=16

[Wampuscat]

I go here a lot for tips and tricks for building fences. Pretty good forum. Guy named "fenceman" is the one I'd ask for any and all advice if I needed to know something.

http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=16

Thanks I'll look there.

[Hix]

Could you not wrap the metal post in 1x4 and 1x6 treated boards on three sides and have the fence attached to the 1by. Making the gate appear to be hung from a wooden post. Or stop the rail at the metal post with short supports and wrap the post in stone and or Brick on a concrete footer?


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[Wampuscat]

This is my gate as it is now.

[Crazy Horse]

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