A job in Boise made me question the standard 6-foot post depth rule.

We were setting posts for a cedar fence on a slope with heavy clay soil, and the foreman insisted on going 8 feet down instead of the usual 6. I thought it was a waste of time and concrete. After a major freeze-thaw cycle that winter, our fence was the only one on the street that didn't heave or lean. How do you adjust your post depth for different soil types?

2 comments

2 Comments

linda_murphy17d ago

Honestly, that extra depth sounds smart now. Clay holds water and moves a ton when it freezes. Your foreman saved you a huge headache.

finley_wells6617d ago

That foreman knew his Boise clay. I get the extra depth for frost heave, but eight feet seems like overkill. Was the slope that bad, or did they just have extra concrete to use up?