gate posts

[Lewis]

instead of jumping in on the fence post thread that is currently running, but a similar question, what are people finding to be the best gate post renewal strategy ?
converted a load of gates over the last 10 years or so from single 12-15 foot gates to mainly double gates of 20ft plus(2x 10fts) and basically all need renewing again that were done with wynstays round gate posts, have done alot with 8ft railway sleepers but have exhausted the supply currently on farm.

seen a few precast concrete ones available how would you reattach the fence to the post if going concrete or steel instead of wood? (I know its not perhaps the correct way attaching the fence to the gate post, but...... )

or carry on and get more railway sleepers, though I don't suppose they are made like they used to be as the ones ive used are what I call proper sleepers that are probably 20+ yrs old and ooze the bitumen/creosote in summer and are brown to the core .

 

[Alchad]

OK, I'm very much a hobby farmer, but have renewed a few gate posts on my place and I use the 4" round galvanised steel posts concreted in. You're supposed to go down 3ft, which I sometimes managed (say if I'd pulled out an old wooden post), otherwise if I was hand digging I only managed about 30 inches max because I was using one of those double blade post hole diggers, in which case I cut 6 inches off the bottom, made the hole wider and used more concrete.

As for attaching the sheep fencing to the post, I thumped in a wooden 5 - 6" pointed post a few feet from the metal post and strained and stapled the sheep fencing to that. I left the fencing a couple of metres longer, then bent the fencing around the metal one and VERY lightly strained it back to the wooden post and stapled again. Obviously a more expensive way of doing things, but it looks neat.

For the larger size gates, quite a few of the neighbouring farms in this neck of the woods seem to use "H" section RSJ's concreted in. Don't know how they compare for price against the galvanised round ones, but I suspect they can handle the bigger gates more easily.

Alchad

 

[Ormond]

22'
Post £60 each with hangers. Wire should never be attached to a hanging post anyway in my opinion

 

[deleted user 837354]

22'
Post £60 each with hangers. Wire should never be attached to a hanging post anyway in my opinion

Cripes, the boy on the grain cart will know about it when it clouts one of those at 9pm on a dark summer night. At least they will still be standing though!

 

[Ormond]

Hopefully as they are concreted in the ground. 8' long. They won't be hired the next day if they can't get through a 22' gateway

 

[Dry Rot]

Starting again, I'd use concrete railway sleepers but how to attach the gate is another matter. I see a neighbour has made steel brackets that bolt around the post and have a crook for the gate hinge, but surely there must be some way of drilling through the concrete to fit a standard hook?

 

[Quaddog]

22'
Post £60 each with hangers. Wire should never be attached to a hanging post anyway in my opinion

Nice set of gates. I use concrete posts, not too difficult to make if you have a mould Last for ever or until clumsy driver catches them. Only broke one once when the cows pushed the hydraulic lever on the scraper tractor and it ran down the yard.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Telegraph poles or box section crash barriers here.

 

[Dry Rot]

I got given these by some kind person who noticed them in a GPO van going for scrap. They are what used to be used for putting in telegraph poles by hand. I can sink a vertical hole about 10 inches diameter 5 feet deep with them. I think that handle is 10 foot -- I had a job finding a replacement. Then the rammer is used to pack stones around the post. I also have a tractor mounted PTO auger but these go deeper and make a better job. And, no, you're not getting them!

There used to be a telephone pole factory locally. I got some lovely posts from them, still as good as new. Sadly, I didn't get enough.

 

[exmoor dave]

I got given these by some kind person who noticed them in a GPO van going for scrap. They are what used to be used for putting in telegraph poles by hand. I can sink a vertical hole about 10 inches diameter 5 feet deep with them. I think that handle is 10 foot -- I had a job finding a replacement. Then the rammer is used to pack stones around the post. I also have a tractor mounted PTO auger but these go deeper and make a better job. And, no, you're not getting them!

There used to be a telephone pole factory locally. I got some lovely posts from them, still as good as new. Sadly, I didn't get enough.

So does the middle spade effectively spoon the loose soil/stones out the hole after digging with the right hand spade?

 

[Hilly]

Galved posts or concerte now , to hell with wood it’s shyt .

 

[Wombat]

where do u get the concrete posts from please?

 

[michael N123]

Telegraph poles are the best dig a hole depth of the spade (double spade helps a lot) cut a notch into the bottom of the strainer and add a foot to it with a few 6inch nails and short length of post fill in while compacting stones and soil with a thumper post it’ll never twist and last many many years

or chainsaw a point and hammer it in in 30seconds if it’s accessible to the tractor

 

[Post Driver]

So does the middle spade effectively spoon the loose soil/stones out the hole after digging with the right hand spade?

.

That kind of idea

 

[Dry Rot]

So does the middle spade effectively spoon the loose soil/stones out the hole after digging with the right hand spade?

That's it. The pointy one breaks up the spoil in the bottom of the hole, then the spoon shaped one is rotated and it screws up the spoil so it can be lifted out.

 

[ARW]

We like the redwood 8x8 tanalised posts we get, they will be good for 30 years.
Reclaimed sleepers are as good as any, but they can split when you knock them in and the gate crook wants setting the long way in the sleeper to hold it together, if you go through the flat side it ends up splitting the post in time.
We can get concrete gate posts but they can be awkward, specially when they get run into they can crack at ground level but rebar holds them giving a wobbly gate post that won’t fall over.
Stay away from mass produced softwood gate posts painted green

 

[Hilly]

where do u get the concrete posts from please?

I made mine .

 

[Ormond]

where do u get the concrete posts from please?

Robust concrete products, that was about 3 years ago

 

[Dukes Fit]

Noticed a few strainers/gateposts in Aberdeenshire made from drill pipe. It’s not gonna go anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Longlowdog]

Regarding the netting question.
If you must attach wire to a new gate hanger cut the wire a little way from the post, wind round the gate post and put an extension on the gap you've created and tension as though you were tensioning fresh wire from the middle. Gripple T-clips are great for rylock round a post and regular Gripples make the extension quick if you don't fancy a bunch of knots though I'd bind the extension on by hand while everything was slack and pop Gripples on the tensioning joint.