Privacy fence and Post Holes

[HangOutdoors]

Well the Admiral drew the line today. I need to start working on the fence, even a bit every few days if I want to go fishing a lot. So.... I figure I can do a couple few holes every evening and get the poles concreted in and the fence up so in a month or so I would be close to done.

420 linear feet of Privacy White Vinyl fencing. 6' x 8'. Going to use the fencing from lowes. Figure with fence and deck on a couple of other things I have 60-70 holes to dig.

Anyhow I don't have a post hole digger and don't know anyone with one. I was looking into renting it when I need it but after 4-5 rentals it looks like I could just buy one for around $300 and then when I am done and the deck around the pool is done I could sell it or keep it.

Unfortunately, I don't know squat about Post Hole Diggers. I believe I will need, for various fencing types and other projects, a 6", 8" 10" and 12" Auger Bits. The Main fence posts are the PVC 5" x 5". Some say to do 10" holes and others do 12" holes.

None the less. I see some with 43cc up to 55cc's. I will most likely be digging the holes myself so it will have to be operated by a single person. Maybe I can rope a kid to help...... I will be going through dirt, sand, some clay and gravel/dirt mix. Will be hitting a few tree roots I am sure.

Depth will be Max 36".

These are the ones that I am looking at. I also don't mind ordering one and having it delivered from another source or brand. I say I would probably sell it, but you never know It wouldn't be a bad thing to keep it around for the future.

Somewhere around $300 is my budget.

Search Results for Post hole digger at The Home Depot

Post hole diggers at Lowes.com: Search Results

Any thoughts from those in the know would greatly be appreciated.

 

[adrianp89]

I used a guys cheap one from harbor freight.... worked great.

Anyways my best advice is just pay someone to do the entire fence. I hate paying people for stuff I can do but after doing one section of my yard I said screw it... simply not worth my effort. Also go with 6x6.... the 6x8 (especially the retail stuff) will sag over time.

 

[HangOutdoors]

If I do it myself It will be around 6-7k of materials, vinyl fence, PVC posts, post caps. solar post lights, two gates and 2 bags of concrete per hole. That is about all i have left from the remodeling budget for this home which started 3 years ago. Then I am done upgrading/updating the home if I can help it. I have had multiple quotes it the cheapest one is $21,000. Only reason I am doing it myself. $14,000 can be used on boating stuff. Or not spent and put into a boat upgrade down the road.

@adrianp89 I was just looking at the Harbor Freight one. Looks good for $219, but I would need to buy some additional augers and an extension. Just need to figure out of the augers are universal and buy somewhere else since Harbor Freight doesn't carry bigger augers.

 

[adrianp89]

If I do it myself It will be around 6-7k of materials, vinyl fence, PVC posts, post caps. solar post lights, two gates and 2 bags of concrete per hole. I have had multiple quotes it the cheapest one is $21,000. Only reason I am doing it myself. $14,000 can be used on boating stuff. Or not spent and put into a boat upgrade down the road.

Yeah the price tag is hard to swallow. Mine came out to 12k. I just got my bonus and was like F it. Hopefully it gets done in the next week or so. A significant portion was a 16' sliding gate for the boat lol.

 

[zipper]

A tractor with a 3-pt hitch and an auger will dig them quickly. I use that or a clamshell type hand digger.

 

[HangOutdoors]

A tractor with a 3-pt hitch and an auger will dig them quickly. I use that or a clamshell type hand digger.

I could rent one of those but the problem that I am seeing is that with the way the privacy fence is supposed to be put together, you do one panel, then the next, then the next measuring off the previous and digging the next hole then assemble the next panel and so on. If it was a wood fence, I would just do the holes and put it and the posts the stringers then the pickets. Of course the admiral doesn't want the wood.

 

[Coult45]

Yeah the price tag is hard to swallow. Mine came out to 12k. I just got my bonus and was like F it. Hopefully it gets done in the next week or so. A significant portion was a 16' sliding gate for the boat lol.

How great is that? Similar story…I got my bonus and was like F it. Honey I’m getting a new lift for our new boat.

 

[Coult45]

Well the Admiral drew the line today. I need to start working on the fence, even a bit every few days if I want to go fishing a lot. So.... I figure I can do a couple few holes every evening and get the poles concreted in and the fence up so in a month or so I would be close to done.

420 linear feet of Privacy White Vinyl fencing. 6' x 8'. Going to use the fencing from lowes. Figure with fence and deck on a couple of other things I have 60-70 holes to dig.

Anyhow I don't have a post hole digger and don't know anyone with one. I was looking into renting it when I need it but after 4-5 rentals it looks like I could just buy one for around $300 and then when I am done and the deck around the pool is done I could sell it or keep it.

Unfortunately, I don't know squat about Post Hole Diggers. I believe I will need, for various fencing types and other projects, a 6", 8" 10" and 12" Auger Bits. The Main fence posts are the PVC 5" x 5". Some say to do 10" holes and others do 12" holes.

None the less. I see some with 43cc up to 55cc's. I will most likely be digging the holes myself so it will have to be operated by a single person. Maybe I can rope a kid to help...... I will be going through dirt, sand, some clay and gravel/dirt mix. Will be hitting a few tree roots I am sure.

Depth will be Max 36".

These are the ones that I am looking at. I also don't mind ordering one and having it delivered from another source or brand. I say I would probably sell it, but you never know It wouldn't be a bad thing to keep it around for the future.

Somewhere around $300 is my budget.

Search Results for Post hole digger at The Home Depot

Post hole diggers at Lowes.com: Search Results

Any thoughts from those in the know would greatly be appreciated.

Honest question…have you tried a good old fashioned $20 two-handled manual post hold digger in your yard? If you don’t have many rocks, it’s quick work and a good workout if you’re doing one or two holes a night.

 

[AZMark]

12” auger seems overkill for a plastic fence. Lot of extra concrete that way too.

 

[Txbred]

I would use a good Ole spade shovel and some good knee pads and just chip away. I've used augers in the past but its really hard on your back and you have to worry about big rocks, electrical lines, cable lines, tree roots. You can dig 1 hole 18inches in about 30 min or less.

 

[thefortunes]

Lol @ doing 60-70 holes with a spade 36"-42" deep (deck posts need to be 42") in Michigan. I did about 50 with a manual post hole digger (in Wisconsin) and swore never again.

Get the auger. Check FB marketplace for someone who had a single project like you.

You will still be hating life as you manually remove roots & rocks that are 30" down with a manual post hole digger, but the money will be well spent.

 

[seanmclean]

I would use a good Ole spade shovel and some good knee pads and just chip away. I've used augers in the past but its really hard on your back and you have to worry about big rocks, electrical lines, cable lines, tree roots. You can dig 1 hole 18inches in about 30 min or less.

I would rather have someone run an auger through my skull than do that 60-70 times, lol.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Hope you post pics as you progress with the job.

At my last house I stick built the last fence, 4x4's for most posts, but 6x6's (7' high above ground for the boat privacy area). Fence turned out great, but took forever to build. Part of it was due to all the damn rock where many of the post holes went.

Do you need two bags of concrete per hole? When I built the wood fence I only used concrete for the corners and the gate posts. For all other I filled with gravel with a concrete cap to drain the water away from the posts.
.
This time around with the new house, I'm only fencing a small portion of the back yard, about 300 linear feet of vinyl fencing, 50 feet of which will be privacy fencing. I'm seriously thinking about Wam Bam fencing this time, uses anchors that are pounded into the ground, no digging holes or pouring concrete required for posts.

Jim

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Only reason I am doing it myself. $14,000 can be used on boating stuff. Or not spent and put into a boat upgrade down the road.

LOL, I can relate to this.

I have 4,000 square feet of Luxury Vinyl Planking (LVP) to pick up next week. Figure I can easily save $12,000 by doing the install myself.

Jim

 

[thefortunes]

I would use a good Ole spade shovel and some good knee pads and just chip away. I've used augers in the past but its really hard on your back and you have to worry about big rocks, electrical lines, cable lines, tree roots. You can dig 1 hole 18inches in about 30 min or less.

I would rather have someone run an auger through my skull than do that 60-70 times, lol.

Agreed Sean!

And it's 36"-42"in Michigan - NOT 30 minutes per hole.

 

[thefortunes]

I assume this goes without saying, but based Txbred's post I'm not so sure...

Get your utilities marked.

Saved me THOUSANDS of $ when I accidentally nicked a power line but was able to prove that I was 18" from where they had mistakenly marked it. Only reason I knew I had nicked the power was because our phone line went out due to the electricity leaking near it (back when we all had landlines, lol).

 

[HangOutdoors]

Yes. Miss dig ticket has been put in and everything should be marked in a week

 

[HangOutdoors]

Hope you post pics as you progress with the job.

At my last house I stick built the last fence, 4x4's for most posts, but 6x6's (7' high above ground for the boat privacy area). Fence turned out great, but took forever to build. Part of it was due to all the damn rock where many of the post holes went.

Do you need two bags of concrete per hole? When I built the wood fence I only used concrete for the corners and the gate posts. For all other I filled with gravel with a concrete cap to drain the water away from the posts.
.
This time around with the new house, I'm only fencing a small portion of the back yard, about 300 linear feet of vinyl fencing, 50 feet of which will be privacy fencing. I'm seriously thinking about Wam Bam fencing this time, uses anchors that are pounded into the ground, no digging holes or pouring concrete required for posts.

Jim

Yes two bags per hole. Fence must be like material and i pulled the permit.

I did 3600 sq ft of LVP about a year ago in the house. Went down great. i went a got a mechanics short stool with rubber wheels and that helped a lot.

 

[RobbieO]

I could rent one of those but the problem that I am seeing is that with the way the privacy fence is supposed to be put together, you do one panel, then the next, then the next measuring off the previous and digging the next hole then assemble the next panel and so on. If it was a wood fence, I would just do the holes and put it and the posts the stringers then the pickets. Of course the admiral doesn't want the wood.

Why don't you hire some of my cousins to dig the holes for you? They are usually hanging around Home Depot. They could dig those holes in a day. Then you could put in the posts, and while the cement is curing, go fishing. I'm sure the Admiral knows those posts have to cure for 4-5 days...lol

 

[Txbred]

HangOutdoors,

Agreed Sean!

And it's 36"-42"in Michigan - NOT 30 minutes per hole.

Ok so is the ground the same every where and are we all as old and slow as you.