How to Install a Wooden Fence Post

Wooden fence posts are more susceptible to damage and weaker than metal posts. You should spend more money to buy durable wood and install good drainage, otherwise the wooden posts will rot after only a few years. Compacted soil over gravel is sufficient to hold most piers, but you should consider concreting for soft soils.

Table of Contents

Install the pillar in the ground or gravel

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Use this method if the soil is solid. You can mount the post directly into the ground as long as the soil is tight and can drain well. Installing posts into the ground is more labor-intensive and not as sturdy as concrete, but it’s cheaper and (usually) more resistant to rotting.

The gate post has to bear a lot of force, so it will work better if it is installed on the concrete foundation.

Choose a durable fence post. Follow local guidelines if available, as weather and availability of supplies will influence this decision. Unless you live in the desert, you should choose durable wood, there are two types of wood:

Pillar made entirely of durable core wood. Cypress, black locust, and osage-orange are great choices. Pacific yew, redwood, most cedars and white oak can last over 20 years in all environmental conditions. ^{[1] X Research Source}
Pressure treated wood with 2.5cm sapwood surrounding the core wood. Some of the woods you can use are: poplar, West North American pine, black pine, and Douglas fir pine. Buy this wood from a trusted supplier to avoid untreated wood.
Note – All wood should be labeled as suitable for use on the ground. Not all pressure treated wood can be buried in the ground.

Prepare wood moisture resistance (optional). Saw marks at the ends of wooden posts are vulnerable to moisture attack, so you should consider the following precautions if you live in a humid climate:

Bevel the top of the pole at a 45-degree angle to allow rainwater to flow away, or install a cap at the top of the pole. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Treat the ends of the cylinders with an oil-based protective coating, such as copper naphthenate. Wood protection paints are toxic, so you need to follow the safety recommendations on the product label. ^{[3] X Research Source} Apply multiple coats of copper naphthenate and let it dry for 24 hours after each coat.

Digging a hole. As a general rule, a 2.5m long pillar needs to be buried 60cm deep in the ground. If you want to bury the pillar in the ground, the hole diameter should only be slightly larger than the cylinder diameter, the closer the better. If you want to bury the pillar in the gravel, dig a slightly wider hole – about 20cm wide for a standard 4×4 post. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Use a hole puncher so that the hole has a vertical wall. If the soil is hard, use a shovel to cut through the topsoil and/or let the water seep into the soil.
Keep some soil (or gravel) nearby to fill the hole.

Pour gravel into the hole. Place a few inches of pea gravel or crushed stone to increase drainage. Tighten the gravel layer. This is especially important if the soil does not have good drainage.

You can use a wooden stick or the handle of a damaged tool to make a compactor, or use a discarded wooden stick.

Insert the post into the hole. Insert the post into the center of the hole, level it and align with the other posts. You should ask a support person to hold the post in place during installation. However, if you have to work alone, prepare 2 wooden stakes 2.5x10x120cm or longer. Then plug the wooden stakes into the ground on either side of the posts and connect the posts to these stakes with screws to brace them in a vertical position.

Remember to measure the distance between the posts to make sure that the top and bottom fences fit within that gap.

Fill the hole with compacted soil or crushed rock. Crushed rock drains better than soil, and also holds posts more stable if compacted and installed in solid soil. Regardless of whether you use crushed stone or normal soil, you should only fill 7.5-12.5 cm at a time, compacting each layer of soil (rock) backfill. ^{[5] X Research Source} Repeat until hole is filled.

Before each compaction, place a ruler on the post to adjust until level.
If you plan to plant grass at the base of the pole, use soil for the last few centimeters, not gravel.

Finally built into a small mound. Raise the ground at the base of the pylon to form a small “hill” that slides down from the pylon on all sides. The location where the post rises above the ground is the most prone to rotting. Good drainage here is especially important.

Install fence posts in concrete

Install the pillar in concrete when the stability of the pillar plays a very important role. You may need to use concrete when installing the fence on sandy, very soft or muddy soil. You should also use concrete when installing gate posts to increase stability. The biggest weakness of concrete is its ability to hold water around the pillar. This can reduce the life of the cylinder by many years. The installation described here avoids this problem, using a gravel base and a concrete sleeve with an extended bottom.

Prepare the fence post. All fence posts should be made of durable wood with a label that says it can be used in the ground. For more information on how to select and prepare fence posts, see the method mentioned above.

Dig a wide hole. The normal type of pillar with the size of 4×4 requires a concrete sleeve about 30cm wide. ^{[6] X Research Source} You will bury about 1/3 of the pillar length, plus a few centimeters for the base underneath. Large cylindrical hole diggers will make the job easier.

Power tools can be dangerous if the ground is as hard as rock. Instead, you need to use a digger, along with a crowbar, to pry the rock up.
The width of the hole should be uniform from top to bottom, not conical.

Add a few centimeters of gravel. A gravel or crushed stone foundation will improve drainage significantly. Pour 10 – 15cm of gravel into the hole and flatten it.

Pillar brace. Place the post in the center of the hole using a ruler to adjust the vertical position. To hold the pole in place, stick two stakes into the ground on either side of the pole. Nail or screw the pile to the post with discarded wooden slats. Do not drive all the nails or screws too tightly into the post, so that you can easily remove them later. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Repeat for each cylinder hole. Dig holes and brace the posts simultaneously so you can concrete all the holes at once. Thread the rope between the corner posts to make sure all the posts are in line with each other.

Add gravel. Adding a layer of compacted gravel will improve drainage better.

Concrete mixer. Wear safety glasses and waterproof gloves. ^{[8] X Research Source} Pour a bag of ready-mixed concrete (or as much as you can transport) into the cart and fill it with approximately 90% of the water required on the package. Mix for a few minutes to check the consistency, then slowly add water until the concrete has the right consistency. ^{[9] X Research Source}

To reduce labor, you can rent a mobile concrete mixer or a concrete truck.
To save money, you should mix your own concrete: 1 part Portland cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts rough stone by volume. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Some quick-setting concrete mixes can be dry poured into the hole, then added water and mixed right into the hole. This type of concrete is usually weaker and more expensive, which is the price of a fast curing speed. ^{[11] X Research Source}
Be careful not to let the concrete get too mushy. Add water little by little until the concrete can easily run off the shovel.

Pour concrete into the hole. Pour concrete into the hole to the level of the ground. Work quickly to use up the batch of concrete before it hardens. Be careful not to splash cement water on the pier.

Use trowel to make concrete into a slope. Smooth the top surface of the slope with a trowel, and smooth it out from the pier. Try to create a slope of about 1.25cm above ground level and gradually expand to 2.5cm at a position below ground level. This slope allows water to flow away from the post, preventing water accumulation that leads to rotting.

Let the concrete dry for a minimum of 3 days. Allow concrete to dry and harden before installing fences or placing loads on posts.

Fill the gap between the pillar and the concrete. After waiting for the concrete to harden, you seal the gap around the base of the cylinder. This gap expands when the weather is hot and then cold, creating an opportunity for water to gather and cause rotting. Seal with a concrete to wood bond, such as silicone or acrylic rubber for outdoor use. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Advice

Allow some time for the fence to naturally lose moisture before painting, or the paint will prevent moisture from escaping and causing decay. ^{[13] X Reliable Source University of Kentucky Cplege of Agriculture, Food, and Environment Go to source} Depending on the moisture content and freshness of the wood during processing, drying times can be up to several months. You should also consider using a waterproof paint that will last longer than regular paint.
Install the posts in the front corner. After installing the corner posts, stretch the wire between the posts to determine where to install the other posts. Usually the corner or last pier is larger than the rest, they are made in an “H” bracing design and use another for stability. If burying is required, these pillars should be buried deeper than those in the middle.

Warning

Most woods will warp over time. Some woods have more warping than others.
Before digging in the ground, remember to call the authorities that manage the water pipes and underground cable networks to have them come and mark the locations with pipes or cables below. ^{[14] X Research Source}
Some pressure treatments and wood preservatives contain harmful chemicals. Wood that has been treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is notoriously toxic, but is no longer sold to people in the US or Europe. If you use CCA-treated wood, do not install it in contact with drinking water or keep pets out of the way. Wear a mask when sawing wood and do not burn excess wood. ^{[15] X Trusted Source United States Environmental Protection Agency Go to Source}^{[16] X Research Source}

Steps

Install the pillar in the ground or gravel

Install fence posts in concrete

Advice

Warning

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