Installing Metal T-Style Fence Posts
Types of Fencing T Posts Are Used For
T posts are commonly used for fencing to hold in small livestock, to keep deer from entering your property, to fence off the highway, or to landscape. You may have noticed this type of fencing for miles down a main highway. It's there to keep the deer from running into the road and keep foliage from blowing onto the roadway. If you live around a farm, you may have noticed the posts holding up the hog wire or barbed wire fencing. Gardens are sometimes protected from rabbits and other small animals using fencing held in place with T posts. And everyone has seen road work being done with that bright orange fencing keeping the dirt from blowing onto the cars. That fencing may also be held up with T posts.
Types of T Posts
You can purchase T posts in galvanized black or silver or nongalvanized silver. Nongalvanized posts should be painted before they are installed and will need to be maintained by painting over rust spots at least once a year. This type is used more for a temporary fence post or a small garden where the maintenance wouldn't take very long. The galvanized posts will last a long time and are used for the more permanent fences to keep out deer and small animals.
Installing the Posts
Most of the time T posts are installed with a T post driver. This is a tubelike piece of equipment with handles that is placed over the top of the post, lifted and then dropped. It's very heavy and will drive the post into the ground inches at a time. Sometimes the driver will damage the top of the posts, but they can be cut away if needed. The post should be able to stand in the ground just a bit before the driver is used as it is not safe for someone to hold the post while it is being driven. The posts are installed 2 to 2 1/2 feet into the ground. Most of the time they are about 10-foot posts that will hold 7 feet of fencing. The posts have holes about every 2 inches that the fencing is tied to with zip lock ties. Without the use of a T post driver, a sledge hammer can be used but causes more damage to the post and takes more muscle on the installer's part. The posts can be installed from 10- to 50-foot intervals depending on the fencing used. If the posts are going to hold long lengths of fencing, then the corners should be set in cement for strength.
Related posts
Puppy guards can be add to iron fencing to contain your pets.Iron is one of the most durable fencing materials on the market. Iron fencing is solid and fashionable, and can greatly increase the va...
Use at least four wires in your hot wire goat fence.Notorious for their ability to escape just about any fencing system, goats seem to be the Houdini of the animal world. You can set up a hot wire...
Hog panels are a very versatile type of fence. Made out of thick galvanized steel, they install easily and last for years. You can bend a hog panel to fit any shape of fence you like. Hog panels a...
Use a hammer to secure your welded wire fence to your wooden posts.Homeowners with pets or small children often opt to install welded wire fences to provide protection in the form of a securely fe...
The chain link fence is one of the most popular varieties of fencing for many applications. It is durable, affordable, weather resistant and moderately easy to install for someone with basic skill...
