ROUND POSTS AND EXTENDERS |
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Round posts (1 5/8 inches in diameter, 17 gauge) make good and very long-lasting deer fence posts. If you are in an area with heavy soil, few rocks, and a frost line below 2 feet, we recommend our 10-foot 3-inch posts (item 15-03F) to ensure that you have enough post length to drive the post well beneath the frost line. For rocky soils use 9-foot round posts (item 15-03). And for soils with few rocks and no frost problems use 8-foot round posts that insert 1 foot into 30-inch metal sleeves (item 15-03E). The reasons for these various choices are explained in the Installation pages (see installation: metal deer fence posts). Round posts work well with brace bands (item 15-12), which should be fastened at the top of the post, with the fastening tip pointed out so that the top of the fencing or monofilament line (see items 16-01, 16-011, and 16-012) can be secured to the brace band with a couple of zip-lock ties—a step that will keep the fence from sliding down the post and sagging. For driving round posts into soil with few rocks and no deep frost, we offer sleeves (see item 15-03E) that allow you to work at ground level with a drive cap (item 15-03C) that fits over the sleeve, and then to insert the post once the sleeve has been driven to the proper depth. If you are driving nine-foot posts into soil that is at all rocky (the sleeve system works poorly here), we recommend that you prepare the way with a pry-bar (a straight crowbar-like tool) and then drive in your round post, round post sleeve, or angle-iron post once you are sure you have a clear path (no rocks in the way) all the way down to the desired depth. Round posts are well-suited to supporting the angled 45-degree extender arms that provide the best defense against jumping deer. We also offer these extender arms (item 15-04). For more information about them see Deer Fence Installation: Anti-Jumping Insurance.
A two-handled manual post driver is very helpful for driving round posts without sleeves into the ground. However, beware of having a co-worker steady the top part of the post to be driven with his or her hands, because the descending driver can seriously injure hands. It is very common for the post driver to cause a round post's top inch or so to "mushroom" out to a point where it will no longer accept the post's cap. To counter this, do not pound the post down to its desired height. Instead pound it down to within a few inches of that height and (if the top has mushroomed) cut off the top few inches with a plumber's two-inch pipe cutter (item 15-03G). Do not use a tube cutter for this task. Probably the best way of dealing with fence ends and corners (where trees are not available) is to use earth anchors (item 16-11). For more about all these systems see Deer Fence Installation: Deer Fence Corners. However, if your fence is on a property line, earth anchors are often inappropriate, and in that case the corner and end braces listed below are needed. A spray can of appropriately durable flat black Rustoleum® paint (item 15-08) is handy for touching up posts and other fence parts. The paint we offer is a special high-quality type designed for industrial use. The can contains more paint than ordinary Rustoleum® spray cans sold by retail outlets, and the paint dries fast, in 20 to 30 minutes.
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McGregor Fence Co. 508-888-8305