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Message
Replacing rotten posts in overgrown fence line
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:03 pm
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?
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?
7
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:10 pm to DownSouthDave
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 on 4/16/24 at 9:43 pm to argentus
I'm not opposed to this, I just don't know what the best way to get through tallow tree roots is. Most of the trees are under 6", but they are everywhere. It would be impossible to miss them.
Steel corner brackets?
Steel corner brackets?
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:47 pm to DownSouthDave
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.
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 on 4/16/24 at 9:49 pm to Slickback
And a PTO-driven auger should be plenty to cut through tallow tree roots, but I’m not sure about grinding the fence posts. Never tried that.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 10:33 pm to DownSouthDave
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.
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 on 4/17/24 at 7:33 am to Slickback
I'm working by myself, pulling them up with a chain would take quite a while, though it would probably give the best results.
What works for me is bush hogging everything I can, then working small to large. Start off getting everything I can with the weedeater, coming behind that with an electric pruner to get all the small trees and limbs in the way. That leaves a nice, wide open working area to cut everything flush to the ground.
If an auger will break through the roots, that's probably the way to go. I have just seen people talking about getting stuck and that seems like a pita. Tallow trees are super soft though, hopefully it's not a problem.
Any preference between 4" round post and 4x4 posts? The maker of the mesh recommends round over 4x4, but doesn't mention why.
What works for me is bush hogging everything I can, then working small to large. Start off getting everything I can with the weedeater, coming behind that with an electric pruner to get all the small trees and limbs in the way. That leaves a nice, wide open working area to cut everything flush to the ground.
If an auger will break through the roots, that's probably the way to go. I have just seen people talking about getting stuck and that seems like a pita. Tallow trees are super soft though, hopefully it's not a problem.
Any preference between 4" round post and 4x4 posts? The maker of the mesh recommends round over 4x4, but doesn't mention why.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 10:09 am to DownSouthDave
quote:
Any preference between 4" round post and 4x4 posts? The maker of the mesh recommends round over 4x4, but doesn't mention why.
No personal preference, we use the cedar because it's available. They're free except for having to cut them.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 10:17 am to DownSouthDave
Just use t-posts. Bang 'em on in.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 11:15 am to DownSouthDave
When you kill the "gd tallow trees" be sure and put Tordon or some other poison on the stump!
Posted on 4/17/24 at 11:30 am to DownSouthDave
If these two post are your only choices then utilize the 4” round treated to .60
Posted on 4/17/24 at 11:48 am to auggie
quote:
No personal preference, we use the cedar because it's available. They're free except for having to cut them.
Same here. A battery chainsaw cuts a 7 inch diameter cedar in eight foot sections in less than a minute.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:01 pm to DownSouthDave
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.
I put hooks for logging chain on the top of my bucket and it will snatch a post out of the ground quickly.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:16 pm to bbvdd
quote:
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.
This works great, as long as they're not broke off at the ground.
We try to get the broken part out of the ground and use the same hole. That way, the big rocks have already been taken out of the way.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:25 pm to auggie
I also meant to type that a brush cutter weed eater with a blade might work well with some of the smaller trees.
I have an echo, and it's the most used tool at my farm.
It will cut down sweet gums up to 2.5-3 inches in diameter.
ETA: I don't think we have tallow trees up here.
I have an echo, and it's the most used tool at my farm.
It will cut down sweet gums up to 2.5-3 inches in diameter.
ETA: I don't think we have tallow trees up here.
This post was edited on 4/17/24 at 1:27 pm
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:37 pm to bbvdd
quote:
I also meant to type that a brush cutter weed eater with a blade might work well with some of the smaller trees.
They used to have one called a Beneke that was bad arse. It had a blade like a circular saw. You had to be careful with that thing. You could take off some toes real easy.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 1:49 pm to bbvdd
I have a weed eater with a blade, but it's not good for this work. All the trees are close to the fence, that thing would get caught in the wire and cause all kinds of hell.
I do have a FEL, but rotten posts are pretty much all broken off.
I do have a FEL, but rotten posts are pretty much all broken off.
Posted on 4/17/24 at 5:13 pm to DownSouthDave
Are any of the posts concreted in? If you have access to a 3 pt auger you could trying using a smaller auger bit to see if it would eat through the leftover posts. Maybe a 6” bit? Hell if you have it there I would try a 9” that way if it does work your holes would be good to go.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 10:16 am to DownSouthDave
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
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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