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Replacing rotten posts in overgrown fence line

Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:03 pm
Posted by DownSouthDave
Beau, Bro, Baw
Member since Jan 2013
7396 posts
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:03 pm
I have an old horse farm. It was sitting idle for 15 years before I purchased it. I'm rehabbing the property in order to board horses.

There is over a mile of v-mesh no-climb fencing on it. The entire run of it is overgrown in gd tallow trees. I'm reclaiming the fence line little by little.

I'll be building a lot of new fencing to match the existing v-mesh. The existing mesh is still in great shape so I want to reuse it. The problem is that a lot of the fence posts are rotten and some have rotted completely through. The corner posts seem to be in good shape, only the 4x4 or landscape timber posts are in bad shape. What's the best way to remove old fence posts that have rotted through? I'm thinking about just dropping new posts, but I feel like roots will be a problem.

I have a 60hp tractor. Will either a 3pt auger or fel auger be strong enough to cut through tallow tree roots or mulch up old fence posts? I have a ridiculous amount of these to do eventually, but probably a 100-200 to do in the short term. Not really looking to do them by hand.

Any suggestions?
Posted by argentus
Baton Rouuuuje
Member since Sep 2023
6 posts
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:10 pm to
Just like when nurses remove every other stitch to prevent other stitches from tearing, you can add a new post in the middle of the older posts without disrupting the older structure. Make sure the new posts are set and solid before pulling the old ones back into line.... Soften the foundation of the older ones the pull them back into line and bond the line into the newer ones. Steel corner brackets suit this need very well.

This post was edited on 4/16/24 at 9:18 pm
Posted by Slickback
Deer Stand
Member since Mar 2008
27693 posts
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:47 pm to
I’d try a chain and a front end loader to pull them up, and if that fails, chainsaw them at the ground. Place the new fence posts right in the middle of the existing ones.

I’m slowly refencing a whole pasture of old barb wire fence myself and will be replacing all the wooden posts within the next year.
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
28357 posts
Posted on 4/16/24 at 10:33 pm to
Are you going to be working by yourself?
If you have help, it's pretty easy to pull up the old fence posts, using 2 old shovels with the points worn concave then sharpened.
Me and my neighbor do this routine pretty often. I'm mid 60s and he's mid 80s.
Then you should be able to re-auger into the old location pretty easily.
We can usually get 10 or 12 posts changed out in a day like this.
I don't know much about those tallow trees though, we don't have those. Plenty of other tree roots though.
We use the auger on the 3 point hitch on an old 50HP JD tractor and it does just fine.
Luckily, we have plenty of cedar available for new posts.
This post was edited on 4/16/24 at 10:50 pm
Posted by Kingpenm3
Xanadu
Member since Aug 2011
8984 posts
Posted on 4/17/24 at 10:17 am to
Just use t-posts. Bang 'em on in.
Posted by Red Stick Rambler
Member since Jun 2011
1210 posts
Posted on 4/17/24 at 11:15 am to
When you kill the "gd tallow trees" be sure and put Tordon or some other poison on the stump!
Posted by bbvdd
Memphis, TN
Member since Jun 2009
25180 posts
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:01 pm to
any chance you have a bucket on your tractor?

I put hooks for logging chain on the top of my bucket and it will snatch a post out of the ground quickly.
Posted by ImaObserver
Member since Aug 2019
2297 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 10:16 am to
I have had excellent success in the past extracting the stumps of rotted off fence posts by using an old three quarter inch bridge timber lag bolt approximately 12 or 14 inches long. Using a couple of feet of chain, I sllipped a heavy washer and an enlarged chain link over the bolt, then with an electric impact wrench, I screwed the lag bolt down into the center of the stump of the post. The stumps always seem to pull easy fairly regularly since the rot was primarily around the outside and not at the center of the posts.

Here is a possible source for them up to 18 & 20" long. Mine came from an old county bridge that was replaced. LINK
This post was edited on 4/18/24 at 11:06 am
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