# Putting Up A Fence Alone



## SonRise Acres (Jan 14, 2019)

i need help on the best method of fencing pretty much alone (will have my two young sons who can help but will only be able to assist due to age and size) and best corner post.

I am currently going through a divorce. This leaves me alone after big promises of “oh I’ll help since it’s the boys animals”. Sigh. So I need to get a second pasture fenced. I have all the fencing and posts that I need already purchased. I am going to simply duplicate the set up we already have (nearly square but slightly rectangle though the naked eye couldn’t tell). We used old telephone posts for our corners in a very sturdy manner. I can’t use those because I am alone and can’t handle them nor do I have the skill to cut them. So, my two questions are:

1) corner posts - least expensive but sturdy?

2) how do I do this by myself with minimal help? I know the method. Built other fence rows. But give me your best tips for going solo. I want to get this done between now and the spring because this girl doesn’t want to build fence in 100+ temps.


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## Baymule (Jan 14, 2019)

Do you have a tractor, mule or 4 wheeler? Any of those would get the heavier post to the desired corner. Do you have a friend that would loan you one long enough to set the posts and get the rolls of wire to location? We have 8 acres, all fenced in 2"x4" non climb horse wire. It took me, my husband and a neighbor to get it all done, and pastures/gates divided up. 

This sounds like a good time to call in favors, friends, neighbors, family or stop strangers on the street and ask for help. There is no shame in asking for help. If there are no handy trees to attach a come along to, for stretching the wire, any of the above equipment will stand in nicely, or even a truck. 

You can do this by yourself, if you have to. There is nothing like divorce "I'll show you" to get you fired up. LOL LOL 

You can use T-posts to make your corner braces. Use a longer one for the corner post and drive it deep for a good anchor. Then place a T-post at an angle, braced against the other post to make a letter "N". I bet that is clear as mud. 

Let me call in the expert. @greybeard !! Calling @greybeard !!!


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## Baymule (Jan 14, 2019)

I want to add; I admire your determination. You go girl! I'll be your cheering section.


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## SonRise Acres (Jan 14, 2019)

Baymule said:


> I want to add; I admire your determination. You go girl! I'll be your cheering section.



Thank you! The whole thing came as a massive shock and was literally overnight. I grew up a city girl with a single mom who couldn’t buy a gallon of milk without full makeup. Yes, I learned a lot during our marriage but always in the helper role since he grew up on a cattle ranch. I have YouTubed a lot (fixed an issue with my car and toilet that way), have done “try and fail and try agains”, and am learning I CAN do this. My kids are counting on me and I MUST be strong.


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## Baymule (Jan 14, 2019)

Yes, you can do this and you are made of stronger stuff than you know.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jan 14, 2019)

Bay is right,...... i was a single mom...you can do any darn thing that you set your mind to doing...add me to your to your cheering section. Wish we were closer, would love to give you a helping hand.


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## Rammy (Jan 14, 2019)

Why do you have to live in Oklahoma, darnit? I just checked your profile to see where you were to see if I could come and help. Shoot! 
There are alot of threads on here that might help as well as some very knowledgeable members. Do you know alot of people in your town that might help? Church members? I had some help here doing my fence when I bought it years ago and cooked hotdogs and burgers for them for lunch.
You can do this and you are strong.


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## Latestarter (Jan 14, 2019)

You can use any vehicle to drag the posts to the corner locations. Once the hole is dug, line one end up over the hole and "walk the post upright" so it slides into the hole. For stretching the fence, as mentioned use a come along attached to whatever... tree, bumper, etc. What are the fence lines to be? Wood posts or T-posts? How big an area are you trying to fence? I've done most of my fencing by myself so I know you can as well. Just have to find the most efficient and effective way to do it. If there's a Salvation Army place near you, you could call and ask them if they have any folks who might like to earn a little extra $$ by helping you out.

Where in southern OK are you located? I'm in NE TX. I haven't finished my own fencing yet what with physical challenges, weather, and whatever else, but if not ridiculously far, I might be able to lend a hand.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jan 14, 2019)

Rammy said:


> Do you know alot of people in your town thay might help?


Does your high school have an AG group?  Might call the Ag leader - those kiddos are always looking for a little extra money - or might need volunteer hours...


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## greybeard (Jan 14, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Then place a T-post at an angle, braced against the other post to make a letter "N". I bet that is clear as mud.



Not enough information..
What type fencing wire?
Which kind of livestock?
How long will the fence be?
How old are your sons..approximately? (My twin brother and I fenced 124 acres here when we were 14 and 15 years old)
I've seen the teelock thingies to make corners out of teeposts, but for anything beyond a poultry fence, I can't imagine using them for corners even if they are 8' tee posts driven in 3.5' feet. The diameter of the tee posts simply doesn't present enough cross section of soil to prevent movement of the posts, not to mention the tee post itself will bend except very close to the diagonal brace.

Oklahoma is a wide state. Southern Oklahoma can be anywhere from Idabel to  Marrietta to Eldorado and the soil makeup varies to the extremes as you go West. Softer ground on the southeast part of the state, and more rocky ground in the south central and southwestern part.
(I drilled a lot of holes in Western Oklahoma, but they were several miles deep.  )
If the fence isn't going to be over 500-600 ft long, you can use 6" X 8' posts with a horizontal brace (H design) and it will hold in most cases. I've done it here.
You might get by with true 4" wooden tops posts, making an H with a floating brace on the tension side.*
If it's a much shorter fence, you can just do the floating brace corner without the H but the single post in a floating brace needs to be planted of sufficient depth to prevent movement.**
6" would be better, but 4" might get you by.
6" turned posts usually measure closer to 7"and 4" usually measure closer to 5" diameters.





The connectors to make corners with all teeposts are called Wedge-locs and I'm not a fan of them at all, won't use them but I have seen them used on dog runs and for garden fences so they might work for you depending on the answers to the ?s posed.

http://wedgeloc.com/index.html


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## greybeard (Jan 14, 2019)

Latestarter said:


> You can use any vehicle to drag the posts to the corner locations. Once the hole is dug, line one end up over the hole and "walk the post upright" so it slides into the hole.



maybe...I've done it, probably 100 times in my life, and a dozen times in the last 2-3 years but 'ouch'. Depends on the density of the utility posts and how much creosote is inside them. Some of the ones I've used weighed several hundred lbs. 
I've used a lot of sawn utility poles and rr cross ties for corners. Even tho picking up just one end, they are still extremely heavy and difficult to handle alone when standing to vertical, then, having to pick straight up while in the vertical position and drop straight down into the hole.


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## Latestarter (Jan 14, 2019)

Yeah... good point, completely disregarded/missed/forgot the telephone pole part of the comment...


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## greybeard (Jan 14, 2019)

If only the top section of the utility poles are used, they are lighter, as they are smaller in diameter and, over the years, the creosote migrates down the pole to the bottom (butt) section in each summer's heat making that bottom section  heavier still. More recently made utility poles use different preservatives than creosote and may not suffer this problem.


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