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Caught myself digging post holes wrong for 2 years until a contractor called me out on it
I always dug my post holes with the auger straight down, but a site inspector flagged my fence line in Austin last month because the bottoms weren't flared out enough. Turns out you're supposed to widen the base a bit so the concrete has a wider footprint to grip the ground. Anyone else skip that step early on in their career?
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kelly9684mo ago
Wait, you're supposed to flare the bottom? I've been going straight down for years too. That's wild, I never even thought about that.
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wadebailey4mo ago
My buddy Tom tried planting a 6 foot post for a pergola last summer. Dug the hole, dropped it in straight, packed it tight. Two months later a storm rolled through and that whole thing tipped over like a cheap lawn chair. He had to dig it out, redo it, and this time he flared the bottom. Hasn't budged since. I learned from watching him that spending those extra 10 minutes shaping the hole saves you a whole weekend of fixing it later.
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