Replace a Fence Post:

One of the main causes of fence posts going bad is that water drainage around the post itself it bad and eventually the wood gets rotted out and the post gives way. I happen to live in a very rainy and wet climate here in Portland, Oregon and I have had several fence posts give out in the last year or so. Most fencing experts will agree that after about 10 years in a soggy environment even pressure treated wood will have the chance of rotting. When the first section of our fence blew over a few winters ago I just figured the fence post was bad and didn't think twice about it. My neighbor and I split the fee to get it fixed and went on with life. Then the following year 2 more of the posts gave out and 2 more sections of the fence came crashing down. The estimate for fixing the posts and the 2 sections of fence was well over $350 and something that we agreed (the neighbor and I) that we should try to fix ourselves. I'm not a huge DIY type of guy and so I was only going to be a help in terms of digging and holding up the new fence post, but logistically I didn't know where to begin.

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The good news is that the Internet provides homeowners with all sorts of information and resources on projects of this size and difficulty. Most wood fence experts agree that the process of putting in a new fence post and digging out the old one is "moderate" in terms of difficulty. I had worked with a level and concrete before so I thought it was the type of project that I could take on and hopefully finish. Back to my yard. I have a naturally sloping yard but my back fence is up on top of a rock wall and the fence posts are pretty much at the edge of my neighbors yard that has a natural low spot where much of the water runs off from his yard into ours. Over the years the water has eroded the fence posts and caused several of them to rot down below the surface and eventually break off. When the strong southerly winds roll through our backyard the stress on the fence causes the sections of the fence to come undone and either lean over or fall off completely. The only solution is to dig out the rotted post and replace the fence post with a brand new pressure treated (PT) post. It's labor intensive and not the cleanest job around as you have to not only dig up the old post and cement block but you have to put in a new post and cement around it. When I examined more of the posts in our yard I realized that the company that installed the fencing did a terrible job. There was not one post that had the concrete line go above the dirt. How dumb is that considering it rains in Oregon all the time and rotted posts must be a big problem. When I had the fencing company replace the first post I told them specifically to cement the hole up above the dirt level so that water could not eat away at the post located below the ground. I think that by filling in the hole around the post with concrete (above the level of the ground), we shouldn't see any rotting fence posts for a long time. There are still about 20 posts in my yard that have hung on so far, but I assume they will all need replacing at some point. It does take a few hours to do 1 post and if you have multiple posts to replace in your fence expect 3 to 4 hours minimum between the digging and concrete setting. The supplies are cheap and the labor is free if you DIY but it can be a bit tiring on the back after a while. Make sure you mix plenty of cement when you are ready to fill in the hole around the new post since you want to eliminate as much water from getting into that area as possible once the cement hardens up. Use your level to make sure the fence is straight and when you attach the section of the fence back to the post use screws instead of nails. A contractor gave me this word of advice as fences held up with nails tend to separate more often from the post than those held together with screws.

Cost to Fix a Fence:

Ok, if you have a professional team come out and do your fence repair the basic costs are as follows. I called up a few different fencing companies and came up with a roughly average based on the pricing estimate I was given. To pull and replace a post is $130/each, if you have 2 posts you are looking at $260. If they have to add clips to the rails when attaching the fence back to the post it will cost an additional $15 (some places will supply this for free). The other cost associated with fixing your fence is the "setup fee" that several companies quoted me. A small fence setup fee was $150, essentially a built in cost to have them come out and get your fence back on the post. Seemed a little outrageous to me but people must be paying it. Both companies were able to come out within a day or 2 and do the work which was nice to hear, but the cost really deterred me from agreeing. If you have pets then perhaps you may have to pay the price to fix the fence and keep your yard in order. I was lucky that our neighbor has no pets and neither do we so fixing it was not a rush. We waited for a few good days of dry weather and then went to work on fixing it ourselves. Certainly, paying to have your fence post replaced and fence fixed can be worth it. Sometimes the terrain of your yard is such that placing a post onto a slanted hill is not easy and having a professional get it leveled and done right is probably the better choice. Our posts were all on somewhat flat ground (albeit elevated), but getting the fence level was the least of our concerns. At one point the guy who came out to give me the estimate suggested that I redo the entire fence since eventually all the posts would go (the house is 12 years old now). The cost was going to be $3200 and that included replacing or resetting posts and redoing the fence itself.

Is Fixing a Fence Post a DIY Project?:

I would say that fixing a fence post is the kind of project that most homeowners can take on. You need things like a wheelbarrow, quick dry cement, a decent shovel or pick to dig around the bad fence post, a post hole digger, a level, some gloves, screws to attach the fence to the post, and a power screwdriver so you can drive the screws into the wood properly and quickly. You may need new clips to attach the rails to the post. Fixing 1 fence post will probably take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours of time depending on how easy it is to access the post area and how tough the ground it around it. Add in a section of fence to be put back up or another post and you are looking at hours of work. Don't attempt this type of work when it's pouring rain if you can help it. Wait for a dry day and then get started. To help you get tips on how to successfully replace a fence post in your yard, we have supplied some DIY and expert advice via the links below:

• From the On the House Website. See HERE
• From Creativehomeowner.com. Our personal favorite tutorial online. Find it HERE
• Bob Vila's website - Great section on fixing fences. Go HERE

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