# Some fencing tips



## greybeard (Apr 6, 2014)

For about 50 years, I built fences just as I was taught by my father and uncles, using the traditional double H braced corners and H post braces in the middle of a long run. "Long" being as much as 1/2 mile or more. I've never had one fail or had to repair or replace one. You've all seen these types or have some yourself, but here's what they look like.
The end of a fence where  a gate is needed:










An H brace requires 2 big posts, a horizonatal post. A corner requires 3 big posts; 8" top or better, two 3-4" top horizontal posts.
If I had to buy the big posts that are in the ground today, they would be $15 each for 8" tops and have to dig a hole for each--3-4' deep. In my clay, that's a lot of hard digging, even for a pto driven posthole auger.

There's a better way, that I learned about a year ago from a wise old cattleman on another forum, and they last just as long, are less expensive, and require digging only 1 hole for corners or mid fence braces.
You will need:
1. One big post (how big depends on how long the fence is, how tight you stretch the wire, and what type wire, but a 8" top post will work for all but the most massive fence. Approx cost-$15
2. One diagonal brace post for each leg of the corner: 3-4" diameter top, of a length = to twice the height of the top of your fence wire. an 8' long post will work fine. Approx cost ea- $10.
3. One wire tensioner or strainer.  You can get these at any supplier such as McCoys, Lowes, or Tractor Supply.  You will need 2. Approx cost-$4 ea.
4. About 20' of slick (non barbed) wire. The kind used on high tension elec fence works great--but not the little thin elec fence wire.
5. One flat rock for each leg of the brace assembly.
It will look like this when finished. (this is near the end of a fence that has a gate just a little further down to the right, otherwise there would be 2 diagonal posts)






If this was a corner, there would be another diagonal going off at 90 degrees from the one above. If it were a mid fence brace in the middle of a long run, there would be another diagonal on the oposite side of the vertical post. I have done this on an 1800' fence recently, 5 wires stretched tight as a banjo string. Also fenced in 40 acres in sandy soil using only floating corners and braces and the corners didn't give an inch when I pulled the last wire tight.
A diagram of the above:





Avoid using a shorter diagonal placed at a steep angle--that, will tend to push the big post out of the ground.  The diagram above is actually drawn wrong. The junction of the diagonal to vertical post should be about 1' lower.

There are some other diagrams here:
http://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/IA/IA-92Drwg.pdf


Another tip.
I use these type latches on my tube gates.





Found out the hard way, That the clamping force of the bolts on the tube is not enough to hold a mean cow. The cattle bump the gate hard and the latch just twists, and allows the gate to open. They come with a hole in the center of the "U" bracket.
Install it as shown, but then drill thru the existing latch hole, thru the gate tube and install a bolt and nut.


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## bonbean01 (Apr 6, 2014)

Thank you for posting that!


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## Bossroo (Apr 7, 2014)

Great Information Greybeard !        One thing that I would change ...  Instead of a flat rock, I would set the brace piece into a hole filled with concrete since a flat stone will have a tendency to migrate / tilt ( due to rain) over time causing the end post to tilt from the fence wire tention.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 7, 2014)

Thank you very much.  I'm getting ready to put up my perimeter fence and you just kept my wallet in a little better shape.


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## greybeard (Apr 7, 2014)

Bossroo said:


> Great Information Greybeard !        One thing that I would change ...  Instead of a flat rock, I would set the brace piece into a hole filled with concrete since a flat stone will have a tendency to migrate / tilt ( due to rain) over time causing the end post to tilt from the fence wire tention.


I'm in East Texas, 90 miles from Gulf of Mexico and we get a lot of rain in most years--over 50 inches which is high for Texas. I've never had a problem with the brace coming off it's perch, tho one thing I didn't mention is that I staple the fence wire to the diagonal where the wires pass that brace once everything has settled down.
Most people, (myself included) initially question why the whole thing doesn't just move in the direction of wire pull. It can't since the geometry (angle) in the diagonal brace relative to the ground and absolute vertical would have to change, and the strainer wire prevents that from happening.
For me the big plus is not having to dig as many holes and not having to use as many vertical posts in corners and mid fence braces. I'll get out today and take some pics of some corners I recently did. I hate digging postholes in mid summer when the ground is like cement.

(for those in northern climates, make sure you get the vertical posts buried deeper than the frost line, to prevent frost from heaving that post up out of the ground, but that applies to any system.


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## Bossroo (Apr 8, 2014)

Greybeard, I love the idea of less work and accomplishing great structures at a lesser cost.   I am sure that the brace post placed on a rock works well in your soil type.  However, In northern Cal., we have a soil type called Myer's Clay ... when it  gets wet it expands and when one walks on it after a nice rain, one leaves footprints about 2" deep and then one gets to carry 10 lbs. of very sticky mud on one's boots.  Then when this soil dries out ... in the summer time when there is NO rainfall, this soil forms a mozaic of up to  1" cracks.  Therefore anything that lays on the surface gets to migrate or tilt.  On my ranch in the San Juaquin valley in central Cal.,  I have 6 types of soil meandering to a different type in flows ( erotion from the Sierra Nevada mountains for eons of time)   about every 10 feet.  From light brown silt, to salt flats, to red, yellow, black, and white clayey soils.  So, it will work here, but not over there in the same fenceline.  I hope that this helps some folks to understand what will work in their neighborhood.


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## greenmulberry (May 2, 2014)

That's interesting. I wonder how well it holds up to freeze and thaw. I don't think I will use it as the first line design, our soil is soft so digging an extra hole is probably less work than cutting those angles on the brace posts for me ,and going to the store to buy the rock, every time I go to TX I am so jealous of you all and your rocks. If I need a rock I have to go out and BUY one. We have NO rocks here on my property. 

I am going to keep this in mind if I ever find I am trying to put a fence somewhere that there are big tree roots though. Tree roots really get me down.


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