Setting a fence post up to 2.7 m long

The job is priced per post. One unit is one post set in place, plumb, at the right height, and concreted or otherwise firmly fixed. The 2.7 m figure is the total length of the post, not the height of the fence, because part of the post sits in the ground or in concrete. With a post 2.6 to 2.7 m long, roughly 60 to 70 cm usually goes into the footing and about two metres stay above ground.

The job normally covers:

• Setting out the fence line and the post positions with a string line
• Digging or augering the hole for the footing
• Standing the post in the hole and aligning it plumb and to height along the line
• Concreting the post and bracing it until the concrete sets
• Fitting struts to corner and end posts where they are used

Whether materials such as the post, concrete and struts are included is shown in the price block above this article. When you order, check whether the tradesperson takes away the excavated soil or spreads it on your plot. Tensioning mesh, fitting panels and hanging gates are separate jobs.

The price list also has items for setting posts up to 2.4 m and up to 3.8 m, each with its own page. The difference is more than a few tens of centimetres. The load on the post changes, and so does the method.

• Posts up to 2.4 m suit fences roughly 1.5 to 1.8 m high. Typical uses are garden mesh, a fence between neighbours or around an orchard. The wind has less effect, the footing can be smaller, and one person can usually align the post alone.
• Posts up to 2.7 m, the variant on this page, are for fences around two metres high. This is the usual height for a street-side fence in mesh or welded panels, and for fences with privacy screening fabric or slats. Because such infill catches the wind, the footing has to be deeper and the post stronger than for a lower fence.
• Posts up to 3.8 m are used for fences around three metres high, for example around playgrounds, tennis courts, animal enclosures, or for noise and safety fences. These need heavier sections, bigger footings, often two people to hold and align each post, and sometimes a ladder or scaffold to check the top. The risks and the time needed are much greater.

How do you choose? Measure the height of the infill you want to use. Add any gap above ground you want, for example for a gravel board along the bottom, and then the depth in the footing. If the result is a post of about 2.5 to 2.7 m, this is your variant. If the fence stands on a low wall and the post is fixed into that wall, you need a shorter post because there is no depth in the ground to allow for. In that case even a two-metre fence sometimes calls for the 2.4 m variant. Ask the supplier of the infill: mesh and panel manufacturers usually state the recommended post length for each fence height.

Boundary line and permission

A fence is built on your own land, not "somewhere near the boundary". If you are not sure where the boundary runs, have a land surveyor mark the corner points. Disputes with neighbours over twenty centimetres happen often, and moving concreted posts costs more than paying a surveyor beforehand.

Fences are covered by local building and planning rules. Whether you can simply build, need to notify the authority, or need a permit usually depends on the height of the fence, where it stands, and whether it borders a public road or footpath. Do not rely on what used to apply or on what your neighbour did. Check with your local building or planning authority before you start. Some municipalities also limit the height or appearance of fences facing the street. If the land belongs to a block of flats and is shared by the owners, the decision and consent rest with the building management or owners' association.

Underground services

Gas, water, electricity, telecom cables and drain connections often run along the street. Before digging, get the service plans from the utility companies or have the cables and pipes located. If you uncover a warning tape while digging, stop at once. If a gas pipe is damaged or you smell gas, leave the area, do not use any naked flame or electrical device, and call the local emergency number or 112. Never touch a damaged electrical cable: the network operator or a qualified electrician must deal with it.

Decisions to make in advance

• The type of infill (mesh, panels, fabric, slats), because it sets the post section, spacing and footing depth
• The exact position and width of the gate and side gate, because gate posts are a different class of post and must be placed to the millimetre
• Whether there will be a gravel board, and therefore the height of the bottom edge of the infill
• Whether a cable for a gate motor, doorbell or lighting will run to the gate, so the duct can go in before concreting
• Access to the plot for a wheelbarrow, and perhaps for a mini digger or earth auger

Which posts are used

Round steel posts are the classic choice for chain-link and similar mesh. For a two-metre fence a diameter of around 48 mm is usual. A thinner section feels soft at this height and can bend at the corners. They are galvanised, often with a PVC or powder coating.

Square or rectangular steel posts (for example 60 x 40 or 60 x 60 mm) are used mainly for welded panels and slats. They come with pre-drilled holes or clips. For a fence around two metres with infill that catches the wind, a sturdier section is advisable.

Timber posts look natural, but if they are concreted directly into the ground, the wood rots over time at ground level. It is better to fix them into a metal shoe or post support set in concrete, so the timber stays above the ground.

Concrete posts are used less often today, mostly for older fence types or concrete panels and gravel boards slotted between them. They are heavy, and at around 2.7 m one person cannot set them safely.

Fixing methods

A concrete footing in the ground is the most common and, at this height, the most reliable solution. The hole is usually roughly 20 to 30 cm across. Its depth should reach below the local frost depth, which varies a lot by region. In areas with cold winters it is often around 80 cm, so holes of roughly 80 to 90 cm are common. In mild climates shallower footings may be enough. Ask the fence supplier or a local tradesperson what is usual where you live. For fabric or slats the footing is generally made larger.

Fixing into a low wall built from hollow formwork blocks: either the post is set into a concrete-filled block, or it is bolted with a base plate onto the finished top of the wall. A post set into the block usually holds better. A base plate is quicker, but then the anchors and a thin layer of concrete take the whole wind load.

Ground screws are screwed into the soil without concrete. They are quick and clean and suit firm, cohesive soil without stones. For a two-metre fence with solid infill, check with the screw manufacturer what load it is designed for.

An experienced crew usually follows a similar order. First come the corner, end and gate posts, which take the tension of the mesh. Two string lines are stretched between them, one near the ground and one at the top of the posts. The intermediate posts are then set to these lines, so the whole fence runs in one line and the post tops are level or follow the ground smoothly.

With mesh, intermediate posts are usually spaced around 2.5 m apart. With a panel fence the spacing is set by the width of the panel and its clips. Here the posts are either measured very accurately with a batten, or set one by one with the panels: set a post, offer up a panel, set the next post. With two-metre panels, an error of a couple of centimetres per bay soon adds up.

The hole is dug by hand or bored with a powered or digger-mounted auger. A few centimetres of gravel often go in the bottom so water can drain away from the post. The post is stood in the hole, plumbed with a spirit level on two faces at right angles, and held with pegs or battens. Then the hole is filled with concrete, usually of a strength roughly C16/20 to C20/25 to EN 206, or with a ready-mixed postcrete. The concrete is rodded or tamped to drive out air pockets, and the post is checked so it has not moved.

The top of the footing is shaped with a slight fall away from the post, so water runs off rather than towards the steel. At corner posts of a mesh fence, struts are fitted towards the bay at the same time, usually each with its own small footing. Finally, caps go on open sections so rain cannot get in.

How long it takes

Setting a single post takes a few tens of minutes, and most of that time goes on digging and aligning. The waiting takes longer. Ordinary concrete sets within a day or two, but tensioning mesh usually waits about a week. Concrete reaches full strength after roughly four weeks. Rapid-set mixes let you carry on sooner, and the exact time is on the bag. In summer the concrete needs protecting from drying out too quickly. In frost, concreting should not go ahead without precautions.

The soil makes the biggest difference. In clay or loam without stones the work goes quickly. Stony ground, gravel fill, builder's rubble left from when the house was built, or old concrete footings from a previous fence slow the work down, and sometimes a breaker is needed. Roots of trees and shrubs along the boundary are common too.

It also depends on:

• How long the fence line is and how many posts go in at once; with a larger number, a powered auger pays off
• Whether the ground is flat or sloping; on a slope the infill has to step and measuring must be more careful
• How many corners, bends and ends there are; each of these posts needs struts and more care
• Whether there is room to work around the hole; next to existing paving, flower beds or a neighbour's garage wall, digging has to be more careful
• Whether concrete is mixed by hand on site or delivered, and how far it is from the vehicle to the fence line
• Whether posts go into an existing low wall, which needs drilling and accurate anchoring

With a two-metre fence, wind during installation also makes things harder. A long post is harder to keep plumb until it is concreted, so it is braced more thoroughly than a short one.

The posts are the centre of the whole fence job. Before them come marking out the boundary and services, removing the old fence, and sometimes digging and concreting a strip foundation for a low wall. If a low wall is built, the posts are set either while the blocks are filled with concrete or after, and these two jobs need to be timed together.

After the posts come line wires and mesh, panels, slats or fabric, and finally the gate and side gate. Gate posts are heavier because they carry the weight of the gate leaf. If there is an electric gate motor, the wiring should be prepared and connected by a qualified electrician. The cable duct, however, goes in before concreting, otherwise the concrete has to be broken out later. If paving or kerbs will go along the fence, agree the future ground level in advance, so the footings do not stick up above the paving and the posts do not end up too short.

A shallow or narrow footing. With a two-metre fence this is the most common fault. Nothing happens for the first few years, then after a strong wind or a hard winter the posts begin to lean and the fence tilts. If the footing does not reach below the frost depth, frost can lift it.

Concrete left as a mound or below ground level with no fall. Water sits against the post. Steel corrodes fastest at ground level, and timber rots in exactly that spot.

Missing caps. Rain gets into the open section, freezes in winter and can split the post. It also rusts from inside.

Posts off the line. The fence then wanders, and looking along it you can see waves. With panels, the clips do not line up and panels have to be forced into place.

Tensioning the mesh too early. The concrete is not yet strong enough and the corner posts get pulled into the bay. Once set, they cannot be straightened without breaking the footing.

No struts at corners. Two-metre mesh pulls hard, and a corner post without a strut will bend sooner or later.

Cut posts left unprotected. If a galvanised post is cut, the cut must be treated with zinc-rich paint, otherwise rust starts there.

A handy homeowner can set fence posts with time, a helper and patience with measuring. This does not apply to gate posts for heavy gates or to places where services run underground; leave those to professionals. With a post around 2.7 m long, it helps to have a second person to hold it.

1. Confirm the boundary line and have the underground services located.
2. Mark out the fence line with pegs and a string line, and mark the positions of corner, end and intermediate posts.
3. Dig or bore holes roughly 20 to 30 cm wide and deep enough to reach below the local frost depth, often roughly 80 to 90 cm.
4. Put a few centimetres of gravel in the bottom of each hole.
5. Set the corner and end posts first, plumb them on two faces with a spirit level and brace them with battens.
6. Stretch two string lines between them, one near the ground and one at the top of the posts.
7. Set the intermediate posts to the lines, plumbing and bracing each one.
8. Mix the concrete according to the manufacturer's instructions, fill the hole gradually and rod the concrete.
9. Check the plumb and position of the post after each layer.
10. Shape the top of the footing with a fall away from the post.
11. Fit struts to the corner and end posts.
12. Fit caps to the post tops and treat any cuts.
13. Let the concrete set and wait about a week before tensioning the mesh.

Check the posts before anyone starts fitting the infill. Once the mesh is tensioned or the panels are fitted, faults are hard to put right. Stand at the end of the line and look along the fence: any waves show straight away. Push the top of a post by hand. Once the concrete has set, it must not move.

• The posts stand in a straight line along the string
• Every post is plumb in both directions, checked with a spirit level
• The post tops are at the same height or follow the ground smoothly
• The height above ground suits the chosen infill and gravel board
• Spacing matches what was agreed, and with panels exactly matches the panel width
• Corner and end posts have struts
• Footings fall away from the posts and no water stands against them
• All sections have caps
• The post coating is undamaged and any cuts are treated
• The cable duct to the gate is in place, if one was planned
• The site is tidy and the soil has been dealt with as agreed