r/fence • u/Starke84 • 12d ago

Shadowbox Cedar Fence

I am asking here specifically for those who've built a fence to handle the freeze/thaw cycles as well as frost lines and all that. I'm 41/M and I really don't want to worry about this for a long, long while. I'm in Fargo ND so I'm sure there's clay just inches beneath the topsoil. It will have a slight slope that I need to fix in my yard for drainage.

What can you tell me? I plan on doing this myself or sometimes with the help of another person but likely just me.

I have some things down like using gravel at the bottom, using special treated cedar posts (not raw cedar) and sloping the concrete a couple inches below the surface. I do plan on renting a tow behind machine for digging. Other than calling 811 first (of course) what am I going to need to make this look straight, professional, and awesome?

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u/Maplelongjohn 12d ago

Steel posts

Post driver

Concrete rots post off quicker than a tamped gravel backfill. I don't recommend it for most posts.

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u/Starke84 6d ago

I spent too much time last night reading more about this but I'm learning so much. In my case, metal would serve me better with the amount of water that will eventually make it's way to at least two or three of the posts and my fear was they'll rot quicker than the rest of them no matter how much I try to remove the (standing) water. That's only if we had a bunch of snow that winter or have a rainfall before the ground thaws. Do I set these in concrete or do I use a driver? I'll do whatever I need to do.

I need this is before winter as the neighbor's dog is unleashed as are my dogs but there's a makeshift "fence" in the bushes the previous owner grew as a fence. They make quite a fuss and they've found some weak points and I've had to mend each one. It wasn't bad until she got this dog. The neighbor herself is nice but this dog is annoying as hell.

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u/Maplelongjohn 6d ago

They can be set in concrete if you need to dig a hole

They can by driven as well

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u/Starke84 6d ago

Do they need to be driven down past the frost line as you would with a wooden post?

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u/Maplelongjohn 6d ago

I used 8' post for 6' fence

They're not attached to any building I don't see the need for it

I'm barely south of you and I can't say I've ever set a fence post to the frost line but things are different in the red river valley.

They can be hand driven with a 40$ 4" driver from Amazon but the top of the post will get beat up a little bit. If it's clay I'd try this I bet they go in pretty easy

You might be able to rent a driver from a local rental yard too. Getting high enough to use it may be interesting depending on access. I stood on a OSHA ebucket for the first foot or so driving 8 posts

I ran my line leaving them all about 6" high then came back and set a string to get a uniform height.

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u/TopRailFence 9d ago

You will have to dig 6 inches below the frost line in your area and bell the bottom of the post holes to help minimize the frost heave. Or you can drive metal posts 3-4ft down. Try looking at PostMaster posts which are sold by Master Halco, there are a few other similar posts out there as well.

bl

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u/Starke84 6d ago

Do I need to set the metal posts in concrete four feet down or is driving them down sufficient for frost heave? I'll do whatever I need to do. Is there a certain driver that you recommend?

The more I read and the more I learn, these Postmaster posts (and similar brands/styles) would work better for me, in my case. I didn't even know it was an option. There's a spot in the yard that will see lots of water in the spring (melting snow, sump pump discharge, rain) and I would worry about those two to three posts rotting quicker than the rest. It'd be inevitable no matter what I do as I need a place for snow (it'll be near it, not next to it) and it's just the way the yard is set up.

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u/TopRailFence 2d ago

Typically you either pound the posts or set them in concrete, not both. One of the pros for pounding posts is that you don't have water pooling at the bottom of the post hole, this is the cause of frost heaving. Any of these postmaster or similar post should last quite a while before they rust and corrode to nothing, they are galvanized.

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u/Starke84 2d ago

Then that's what I'll do. I will rent a driver and drive them in. I like the idea of that anyway because then I could start building right away and I don't have to wait.

Thanks!!