T Post Fencing Questions

1,919 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by chris1515
jaborch99
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Let's see if I can explain this in an understandable way ...

I need to fence in a small area of my back yard for my dog and I'm planning to use t posts and 4' field fence, using Wedge Loc brace sets. I want it to be built correctly, but I've never built a fence so I'm relying on Google and Youtube for most of the how-to.

Two corners of the yard will be formed by the fence meeting the back of my house at a 90 degree angle. I'll drive a post into the ground as close to the house as I can get it. The next corner will be about 30' away with a 4' wide light-duty gate in the middle.

Here are my questions:
  • Since the end of the fence that intersects the back wall of my house isn't a corner post (its essentially an inline end to the fence line), I"m not sure about the proper bracing. Is an N brace or an H brace best in this case?
  • Will the posts that hold the gate need extra bracing? If so, what kind?
BrazosDog02
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Every termination or corner is going to need bracing of some sort because you are going to be pulling against it when you stretch the field fence. Personally, I don't consider using t posts as "correct" for this task. That said, you aren't trying to contain bulls or stretch half a mile of fence so they might work pretty swell. The only thing I'd suggest otherwise is that you get your brace posts solidly driven into the earth, and the deeper the better. Your line posts can probably be 1.5-2' in Max. They aren't doing anything other than hold fence up vertically. There is not horizontal load. To minimize costs, and you'll need to verify with wedge loc, you may be able to get away with a dead man style brace. I used this for high tensile horse fence and it was easier to build and held up better than an H brace.
jaborch99
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BrazosDog02 said:

Every termination or corner is going to need bracing of some sort because you are going to be pulling against it when you stretch the field fence. Personally, I don't consider using t posts as "correct" for this task. That said, you aren't trying to contain bulls or stretch half a mile of fence so they might work pretty swell. The only thing I'd suggest otherwise is that you get your brace posts solidly driven into the earth, and the deeper the better. Your line posts can probably be 1.5-2' in Max. They aren't doing anything other than hold fence up vertically. There is not horizontal load. To minimize costs, and you'll need to verify with wedge loc, you may be able to get away with a dead man style brace. I used this for high tensile horse fence and it was easier to build and held up better than an H brace.
Thanks for the input. What's a dead man style brace? That's a new term for me.
Touchscreen
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Before driving in the T-posts invest a little time in understanding where your various underground utility lines are run, especially if your fence is getting close to any easements along the sides or back of your lot. You don't want to find one of those the hard way by hitting it with a T-post.
will.mcg
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It's where instead of or in addition to the H or N brace you add another post but cut it about 1' high out of the ground & run a diagonal brace from it to the H , N or Single normal height post.

Hopefully someone with more tech savvy than me will draw a picture for you. They are also called "kickers".
BrazosDog02
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Ok, so my fault. Here is the brace I was talking about...in the link it's called an angle brace. I've always called it a dead man but perhaps that's not correct. Nonetheless, this is what I mean.

https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C774&title=Fences%20for%20the%20Farm#Construction
Ribeye-Rare
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Good luck with your project, and thanks for referencing the Wedge-Loc stuff.

I must lead a sheltered life, 'cause I'd never heard of those before and I can see some uses for that sort of thing.

Anybody here ever started driving an 8' t-post with a hand driver? Do you stand on a pickup tailgate or is there some other trick? Andre the Giant is not available for my project, unfortunately.

Thanks.
TwoMarksHand
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You could use a ladder.
Trench55
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I don't know if rocks are an issue, but they are in my part of the country. When I had a 6 foot fence installed around my back yard, the contractor used a jack hammer to make starter holes to make it easier to drive the T-Posts into the ground. First time I'd ever seen that trick and thought it was a great idea.
BrazosDog02
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Ribeye-Rare said:

Good luck with your project, and thanks for referencing the Wedge-Loc stuff.

I must lead a sheltered life, 'cause I'd never heard of those before and I can see some uses for that sort of thing.

Anybody here ever started driving an 8' t-post with a hand driver? Do you stand on a pickup tailgate or is there some other trick? Andre the Giant is not available for my project, unfortunately.

Thanks.


I'm 6' tall and drive them with a driver when necessary.

I can reach them well enough but if not...you use what you got dude. Tailgate, friends shoulders, ladder, whatever it takes. You're getting into "get r done" territory. There is no book. Just creativity.

As for rocks, I have limestone here and have a hammer drill with a 24" rock bit that is just big enough to fit a t post. I drill down, break off the tab on the t post, and drove the t post in. If it doesn't go more than 24" then it's surrounded by solid limestone and that's good enough.
Kenneth_2003
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Touchscreen said:

Before driving in the T-posts invest a little time in understanding where your various underground utility lines are run, especially if your fence is getting close to any easements along the sides or back of your lot. You don't want to find one of those the hard way by hitting it with a T-post.
Definitely call 811.

It's FREE. It takes 10 minutes to submit the request, and I can potentially save you tens of thousands or more.
chris1515
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You might want to evaluate that field fence idea. How big is the opening in the fence? If it's 4 inches, that's big enough for a dog to get their head through and regardless of whether or not the rest of body can get through, that seems potentially problematic. If the fence is only 4 feet tall, can you dog jump that?

If you're looking for a long term fence, I'd look into chain link or something else.
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