When people think about how to best secure a fence, they might think about using concrete bases. Here at Northland Fence, however, we prefer to drive our fence posts during the installation process instead of using concrete. Our 15+ years of experience in the field and our constant desire to deliver the highest quality fencing possible has led us to choose driving over concrete.
We drive our fence posts at least 4 feet into the ground. When you drive a fence post that deep, you don’t have to worry about the potential for heaving, cracking, or erosion compromising the integrity and structure of your fence. This also provides a cleaner installation process, not leaving any messy spots from digging for concrete, nor is there any waiting time for drying after the fence is finished being installed.
We want only the best for our customers. We believe in treating them and our employees like family, which means not short-changing them on quality when we install our fences. Learn more below about the different ways to secure your fence and how driving works in the long run.
The way your fence post is installed directly impacts the life of your fence as well as what you might need to do to maintain it over time. If you don’t drive your fence post into the ground, many people will instead opt for concrete in order to create a sense of stability.
If your fence post isn’t driven into the ground, you will need something else to support it so it won’t easily fall over and it will be able to support the weight of the fence around it. Many people might opt for concrete because it’s more readily available to them or it’s the only method they’ve heard of before.
Here at Northland Fence, our years of experience have led us to see the benefits of driven posts versus concrete in the long-run for our customers. Driven posts provide the best strength and lifespan with the least maintenance. If you have driven fence posts, you don’t need to add anything to them in order for your fence to stay strong and secure. Most homeowners and small fence installers don’t use this method because the machinery to drive fence posts costs over $1,000 for a decent driver. That doesn’t make sense for a homeowner using the tool only once or the smaller contractor without a budget. At Northland Fence, we install thousands of fences a year, so we our able to purchase the highest-grade tools to help our customers get the best possible fence.
There are many variables that come into play when you decide to use concrete in the support system for your fence posts. The post size and depth all impact how much concrete you need in order for it to maintain good integrity. These numbers can vary anywhere from 1 bag per post to 11 bags per post.
This can add up quickly and still have the potential to fail due to erosion, inclement weather conditions, or even man-made accidents such as a car hitting it. In addition, there is a lot of additional work that comes with installing a post using concrete. With concrete, you have to dig up a much larger area to make room for the installation. Then there is the drying time to consider where you have to be potentially delicate around your fence posts until it’s fully cured.
With driven posts, once it’s in the ground, it’s totally secure. There’s no additional wait or messy dirt to worry about afterward. This is just one of the many reasons we at Northland Fence choose to drive our posts when installing your fence.
In order for fences to be nice and secure, they have to be driven into the ground an amount that depends on the fence itself. It’s generally recommended that at least 50% of the length of what’s shown above ground is buried below ground. This means if you have a 6-foot tall fence, there would be 3 feet buried underground.
However, putting the post deeper into the ground than the above suggestion will not hurt the fence. In fact, it will make the fence a little more secure. The deeper it is underground, the less you have to be concerned about potential issues of erosion affecting your fence.
Overall, there are many pros to driving your fence posts into the ground versus using the traditional method of concrete bases. With driven posts you get:
While some people may opt for setting up a fence themselves, there are many benefits to hiring a professional that can outweigh some of the potential cost concerns that many think they’re saving by doing it themselves.
The type of fence you want to set up will greatly impact the amount of work and money that goes into its installation process. As an average homeowner, you may not have some of the necessary materials and equipment needed to properly install your fence the first time. In addition, mistakes can sometimes be costly, not only in money but in time. Hiring a professional ensures that it’s done right the first time, quickly and easily. And, our course, our work comes with our industry-leading guarantees on parts and labor. If there were problems with your DIY installation, then you’ll be footing the bill for repairs.
At Northland Fence, all of our employees are in-house, meaning we don’t contract out work when installing fences. This ensures that all of our employees are reliable and up to par with the standards we find best for our customers.
In addition, all of our fences come with two warranties: a labor warranty and a material warranty. Our labor warranty is 10 years long. We’re so confident in our quality and so dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction that we will come to fix any problems you may have for free in the first ten years.
We also offer a free estimate to anyone looking to get started on building the fence of their dreams. We want to work with you to make sure you’re completely satisfied with the end product. We won’t hide any fees from you and will help you get the best bang for your buck. Because of our long-term experience in the fencing industry, we know how to get good deals on all of our materials and we directly pass those savings on to you.
If you have any questions about fence installation or want to get started on your dream fencing, give us a call today at 763-316-4881 and we will be happy to help.
Does each fence type determine how deep a post should be buried?
The height of your fence is what primarily impacts the depth at which a post is driven. It’s recommended to drive your fence at least 50% of the above-ground height into the ground. This means if you have a 6-foot tall fence, the post would go at least 3 feet underground.
What is the lifetime of a wooden post?
Wooden fencing doesn’t last as long as ornamental steel, vinyl, or even chain link. With wood comes rotting, cracking, and many other problems that drastically shorten the lifespan of your fence – especially in our Minnesota climate.
Is it possible to set up a post without adding a concrete mix?
If you drive your fence posts into the ground, you won’t need to use concrete to support them. This offers not only a cleaner installation but a longer and sturdier lifespan for your fence as a whole.
When we install a metal fence post, we want to make sure that you are going to get a strong, long lasting wooden fence. That's why we choose to install American made, contractor grade, heavy-duty, 20 weight or 13 guage steel posts and install every one with precision leveling them three ways: inline, side-to-side, and across the tops. The best galvanization process is typically from an American mill.
We try only to install American posts for all 6' tall residential fences and have for the last 15 years.
The galvanization treatment is what gives it a long life against the outdoor harsh elements.
Thick, contractor grade, galvanized steel posts will give you a fence line that resists Oklahoma storm gusts and severe weather better than cheaper home improvement center installations with 16 or 17 guage posts. Even if you were able to find a store with 15 guage post, it would not still come close to our 13 gage post.
The life expectancy of a heavy duty, steel metal fence post is easily 4x times greater than short lived landscape timbers.
Landscape timbers don't last as long, succumbing quickly to rot, mower and weed eater damage, splitting and cracking, sometimes severe twisting and warping, and weathering damage that weakens the holding power of the large nails securing the panels to the posts.
It seems the only posts we repair and replace are landscape timbers or 4x4 treated posts. That's why we choose and recommend heavy duty, contractor grade, 0.095" inch thick or greater, galvanized steel posts.
The metal post above is rated schedule 20, and measures 0.095" inches wall thickness.
For 6' foot high residential installations, we use an 8' foot long contractor grade, galvanized metal post that you cannot buy at the home improvement centers and set it over 2' feet in the ground.
These posts are a 13 guage posts. The home improvement centers typically carry only a 15, 16, or 17 guage post. (The higher the number = thinner the wall thickness. The LOWER the number = THICKER wall).
Pictured below is a cheap metal conduit pipe that is used by a certain home improvement center to build wooden privacy fences for their customers. (17 guage pictured below)
Being 0.055” inches thick (17 guage), it is poor quality for Oklahoma, with our severe annual weather and frequent strong winds.
Would you want this being installed on your property? We certainly wouldn't.
It is hard to see the difference unless you take the post cap off.
Support your local fence companies that give you great value (excellent materials, excellent workmanship, at excellent prices) rather than national chain store, corporate giants who don't care if you get a poor quality product at an exorbitant price.
Choose a fence builder that ensures your hard earned money will be invested in a fence that will stand up against the strong Oklahoma winds.
Question: What is the metal fence post installation process?
Answer: The ideal way to install metal fence posts are to excavate the soil to create a 6" inch diameter hole approximately 20-24" deep for a typical 2 3/8" diameter, round metal post. Drive in with a post driver to temporarily set the post in line with the string or the existing fence to your desired depth. Plumb the post. Then pour your concrete. Replumb the post individually and/or in-line with existing set posts.
Question: What metal fence post do you use for a 6' tall wood privacy fence?
Answer: The recommended metal fence post for 6' foot tall wood privacy fence is a 8' foot long, domestically made (made in the US), round, 2 3/8" inch O.D. (outside diameter), 13 gauge post. A 13 gauge post = a wall thickness of .095 inches. This post is often called a schedule 20 weight post. Ensure you are actually getting a 13 guage or 20 weight post with a micrometer to check the wall thickness from your supplier.
Question: What are the "best" metal fence posts you can buy?
Answer: We recommend domestically produced galvanized steel posts (US made). The US steel is a higher grade and better quality than import posts. Chose at least a schedule 20 weight, or 13 guage post that has a wall thickness of .095" inches for a typical 6' foot tall residential wooden privacy fence or a 6' tall commercial chain-link fence. This will ensure future wind loads on the residential privacy fence or the commercial chain link (if a large ad or promotional banner or windscreen or privacy slats are added) the fence will easily withstand a 100% wind load over the face of the fence.
Question: What are the benefits of a metal fence post versus a wood post?
Answer:
99.9% of the time a galvanized metal fence post will outlast a wood post. From over 14+ years of experience, the only posts failing (rotting, or breaking off at the ground level) are wood posts.
Meaning they will not warp or twist as they dry and are exposed to the elements.
Often after the wood panels have failed after 20 years, the steel posts are good to install new panels for another 20 years.
Question: What's the process of cutting metal fence posts?
Answer: If your going to DIY the fence removal, you can cut an existing metal post with a reciprocating saw (aka Sawzall) and a standard 6" inch blade with a finer or higher teeth count for cutting metal specifically (longer than 6" you increase the chance of cutting nearby utilities such as your communication cable to you or your neighbors house). This is usually easier than a grinder. The reciprocating saw creates very few sparks and heats the metal less generating less toxic fumes compared to a grinder.
For over 15+ years we've been a proven Oklahoma City fence company protecting your loved ones and livelihoods.
We are a U.S. Air Force veteran owned and 2nd generation family business. We are Oklahoma City's trusted & proven fence company.
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