I walked outside after a sleepless night because of the storm that just rolled through only to see that my neighbors fence was leaning right over my dogs house! While my pup was not sleeping in it last night due the storm I will definitely not be letting him into it while that fence looks like its about to fall. I decided before I went to talk to my neighbor to do some investigation about why only the post over my dogs house was leaning over and how to fix it.
Leaning fences are caused by degradation of either a structural post or ground around it. If a fence post was installed incorrectly or is very old it may be rotted. Significant weight(ie ice/snow) or wind can stress a fence to breaking and loose or wet soil may move, dislodging the post.
Knowing why your fence is leaning is the first part of the battle, fixing it is a different story. This was the start to getting this fence fixed and both me and my neighbor happy again.
Identifying The Cause
This is the important part because the best plan can be totally useless if it was based off of a house of lies…haha(random show reference). Ok, but this can really flush it all down the drain and waste a lot of your time so pay close attention to the details when your out there sherlock.
Walk up to your fence and try to straighten it with your arm. Be careful not to put too much stress on it as this could very well cause it the finishing blow and could be dangerous to the person standing right next to it, you. Look around the base for any indications of wood or concrete coming out of the ground. Check out the ground around the post for any squishiness or shifting. Lastly go try to wiggle a couple other posts around it. Now lets talk about the things you saw.
- Rotting Post – This is the big one that probably causes the largest headaches. Sometimes due to age or materials the post may have degraded to the point that it can no longer hold itself or the wood attached to it. If the post was very wobbly and you did not notice anything odd with the soil than this could be your culprit.
- Poor Craftsmanship – This can be the cause of the first issue or something totally different. If the installer(if its you don’t be too hard on yourself) did not ensure the quality of the materials you might be in a world of hurt. Some of the most common ones are using untreated wood or an incorrect mixture of concrete which can cause it to break apart and loose its integrity. If it’s this than you might have seen a wobble in some of the other posts as it might be a recurring problem.
For the best type of fence material, especially for a privacy fence, read here.
- Overly Moist Soil – This is probably less common especially if the fence was installed properly as it is very challenging to move that much dirt when you have about a couple hundred pounds of concrete to move as well. If the soil is made of easily eroded materials or is unstable in general it could be causing or exacerbating the issue. If you have constantly moist dirt you could look at a way I identify the best drainage system to use or reset your post and try to give it more structure. Standing water does quicken rotting so it may be a good idea to solve that problem while your out there.
- Weather Damage – Very heavy winds or combinations of storms and snow/ice can make a fence very weighted down and challenging to hold up straight. For strong well made fences this may not be an issue, but if your fence is made of primarily plastic materials or something else that is more malleable you may be dealing with this issue. It may be harder to fix and you may be stuck with the answer to either clean it off often or replace it all together.
Make Your Plan
Now that your know the cause you plan will be sure to work. The good investigation gives you the basis you need to get things moving in the right direction. First is your tools and materials.
Tools and Materials
- Replacement post and wood(10 or 12 ft treated 4×4 and slats). Don’t get too short of a post as it will likely be going 3 ft into the ground in addition to the height you want it.
- Support lumber. Two 10 ft 2x4s are good enough and it only needs to be treated if you plan on leaving it out there later on.
- Concrete. This depends on your hole size and the important part is that you need enough to fill the hole to a couple inches below the dirt. Below is a quick reference table for how much concrete you will need for you post.
- Level. This is going to make it easier to find if your fence it plum(ie perfectly vertical)
- Shovel or post hole digger. Either one is fine, but make sure you have one that will fit into your space in case it is tight or small.
- Something to mix the concrete with. This can be scrap wood, a piece of metal, or anything. Get creative cause your already spending enough money.
- Optional items are things like straightening straps of a metal straightening rod. These are quick fixes and I don’t recommend them.
| Depth | 6″ diameter | 9″ diameter | 12″diameter |
| 12″ | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 14″ | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 16″ | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 18″ | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 20″ | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 22″ | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 24″ | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 26″ | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 28″ | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 30″ | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 32″ | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 34″ | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 36″ | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Plan out the Weather
Don’t forget this crucial step as this may ruin your setting concrete. If it is going to rain soon or just recently rained it can totally throw off even quickcrete. Also, if it were to start raining in the middle of fixing it you may find yourself with a big mud hole and perhaps a little more shifting earth. Don’t get caught by surprise and cause a bigger problem than you already had.
Depending on how much concrete you needed and if you already had the tools needed you could be looking at a cost as big as $120 or as small as $30 so do some quick math to see what you can save on and what you can’t. Don’t skimp on materials as this will definitely come back to bight you, but being thrifty is not being cheap. Now we are ready to get to work!
Fix That Fence!
Support your fence with the 2 2x4s you got. If you got creative than that works too, but by wedging the lumber into the fence and digging the other side into the ground it should be good enough. If you are having trouble keeping the end in the ground stable due to soft earth then either use scrap wood or cut off a foot of the 2×4, hammer it into the ground, and screw it into the base of the supporting 2×4. This offers extra stability and is sure to not let it move.
Plum. Plum just means to make it perfectly vertical. Using your level, attach it to the side of the post to make sure that you are setting it up well to be vertical on every side. Once that is set and not moving. Use the level to make sure your fence line is also horizontal. You don’t want to lose the forest through the trees and step back from a finished product to find that your fence is a foot lower in this spot.
Reattach undamaged pieces and remove unrecoverable pieces. If your post is still good then use it! Also your leaning fence may have broken off some other slats making it seem like they are broken, but if they are still sturdy then reattach them. This a great way to reduce costs and if you clean your fence after your done they might look relatively new anyways. If a slat or post has any signs of rot or bends like a solid piece of wood should not then get rid of it. Don’t let all of your hard work be for nothing. Make it look good and stay looking good.
Dig a new post hole. Some like to dig an entirely new hole and some prefer to dig up the concrete and use that hole. The fastest and easiest way is to dig a hole right next to the old post and attach a stabilizing post to the fence. This, however, won’t work if your original post is done for as your fence doesn’t magically get longer on one side and shorter on the other.
Digging up concrete can be tough, but if it is too much to get up with a shovel or come out with the post then you can go the sledge hammer way or renting a chipping hammer. I prefer to break it up with a sledge. I will dig all around it and then hammer away. With a few good strikes it normally breaks apart so the pieces are easy to take out or keep in ground pushed away from the whole. Just make sure you have dug out enough of a whole around it.
When digging the post it is important to know what your state codes are for fences as sometime you are required to dig a certain depth and diameter for filling with concrete. While you may say no one will know, the worst case scenario is that someone gets hurt on a freak accident of your fence falling and it will all come back to the person who installed it…you. If you do it right the first time you won’t have any future pain. You just need to a quick search like “[insert your county hear] code for fence post holes”.
Install the post. Set up your post all the way to the ground and plum with the fence line. Some methods that may help to stabilize the post are to just screw it in to the fence line as your are already stabilizing it with other 2x4s. your can screw in a small 2×4 across the slats to keep your post flush if you don’t screw it in right away. Be creative, just make sure that it will stay put as you don’t want to wake up the next day with a fence post rock solid and at a 45 degree angle to the rest of the fence.
Also, sometimes when installing a post you can add gravel to the bottom of the whole to help stabilize and drain water from around it. If find this unnecessary because unless you have very moist and mushy ground it is not needed. If you do have that type of ground then it may be a drainage solution you are looking for.
Ensure its secure and that the fence is plum. Double check every thing as you are about to make it stay that way for a very long time.
Pour and mix concrete. Wet the bottom of the hole(note, this method works for quickcrete but not guaranteed for all types of concrete. For best results, use the provided directions for the concrete you bought). It needs to be wet as the soil will soak away some of the water mixed with the concrete. Now pour in your quickcrete and pour in your water as well. mix it with whatever you got for the job and allow it to set. It can set pretty solid in under 24 hours, but you really need to wait for up to 48 hours for it to really set well.
Ensure post is cut to size. I like to do this at the end as you can make sure your post has plenty of depth in the hole and you don’t have to worry about making it an equal height as you will simply cut it to the perfect height when you are done. Get your ladder and go to town. Be careful and have someone holding the ladder while you are cutting. This can be done with power tools like a circular saw(probably the straightest), a hacksaw(you don’t have to cut twice on either side of the post, but it is a messier cut), or a hand saw(my preferred, but it is slow and tiring).
Alright, step back and enjoy the sight of your beautiful fence. You may want to set the dirt back around the post, but you can enjoy your handy work. That fence post is going no where anytime soon.
Quick Fixes
Post buddy or steel stake. These are used by driving in the metal plate between the post and the concrete or earth the post is falling into. A short term fix that generally is just that, short term.
Straps. If you are in tight spaces and need something to pull your fence into place this can work until you can get around to it. It is quite the eye sore, but it will work until the time is right.
Steel wire. This can work for a slightly more long term solution as you can install it out of sight and it very sturdy. This, however gives mostly vertical support and doesn’t help quiet as much moving side to side, unless you have more support for that.
Support structure. Definitely short term as this is something that you would use to make your fence plum while replacing the post. Setting it up days ahead of time won’t hurt and it may keep the damage from worsening until you have all the time to get it completely done.
I recommend just fixing the problem. These are temporary fixes that will just kick the can down the road. Eventually you will run across the same can again and ask yourself with a frustrated sigh why this can just keeps showing up. Just put the can in the recycling and be done with it.
Keeping Your Fence Looking Good
If you found yourself in the camp of poor craftsmanship then you may have a bit more work to do. The good thing is that this is the only post that finally gave in, but it may be only a matter of time before another post falls due to being improperly set. This is exactly why I recommend fixing it right the first time and it will save you a significant amount of work in the long run.
Perhaps if your fence is too far gone than consider a more sturdy replacement.
If you replaced wood consider painting or power washing. It really will make it look practically new, and if you replaced a post a few slate it may be a little bit of an eyesore. These are a couple things that may help it to look like you just installed the entire thing.
If you are struggling with that green or black gunk and it keeps coming back then you probably have an algae or mold problem. Simple power washing will get rid of it temporarily, but if you want to be rid of algae and mold for the season then I have a couple ideas for you.
Related Questions
Why is my fence black or green?
What type of drainage system is right for me?
How is treated wood different from untreated wood?