cibula11

I am building a 4ft fence in my back yard. I have dug my post holes 36"-42" deep. Would It be okay, after plumbing the posts, to put one bag of 80 lb. quikrete in the holes and then back fill with dirt? I just don't really want to put 3 bags of concrete in each hole as I have 20 to fill.

glennjanie

Hey Cibula:
I can certainly appreciate your concern; that stuff costs a lot of money. Sackreet used to have a statement on their label, "If the post could be set in undisturbed earth it wouldn't need the concrete at all. The concrete is used to make a solid connection between the post and the undisturbed earth".
With that in mind, if you could put the dirt back in the hole in layer and tamp each layer to the same compaction as the undisturbed earth you wouldn't need the concrete.
I have a 20' flag pole in my front yard which sometimes has 2 3' X 5' flags on it. I set the PVC socket for that pole by compacting #56 limestone around it. That is very small rocks, not much bigger than your nail on your little finger.
The pole has stood through spring rains, winter freezes and winds up to 50 mph with rain, and it still looks good. Rocks are cheaper than concrete.
Glenn

cibula11

I figured it wouldn't need to be filled completely with concrete. Thanks!

My deck (before I tore it off) only had one bag at the bottom. I think our soil is good enough that it kept much from moving. Plus, I've also heard that the post for your fence needs to be down at least half of the total heighth of your fence. Mine is a 4 ft fence and I've already gone down 3 ft.

Square Eye

I recently put up a 4' chain link fence, then had to take it down.. Dog pen, dog gone now lol...
I had tamped dry bag mix in the holes as I plumbed the post.
The moisture in the ground did set the concrete and they were set well enough that 3 of the 10 corner/gate posts broke off rather than come back out of the ground. I only used 1/2 of an 80 lb. bag per post.

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