Concrete fence posts slightly too close together

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lemonstar

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Staffordshire
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I'm trying to slot in some new fence panels but having taken one panel out - it was very tight and was bowed because it was so tight I now find I can not get the new panel in - the panel seems close to being a whole cm too wide to go in the gap between the fence posts and as it is a newer and of a more robust construction I can't see it bending even slightly to enable me to get it in. The problem is that some conifers are right next to the fence and I guess in the 12 years we have been at this address their roots have pushed the fence posts (or the concrete that secures them) - what is the best way forward - any chance one of the fence posts can be shifted by force just by putting my shoulder into it or is there a way to somehow jack the posts apart? Once again a simple DIY job turns into a bigger problem no wonder I hate attempting anything.

Suggestions appreciated.
 
You could try to loosen the soil around the base while simultaneusly use a car jack and length of timber to press apart the posts. Though being concrete posts, they won't bend they just snap if the force is too great.. then you'll really have a job on!

Nozzle
 
I get the impression the space between the posts is tapered inswards not parallel. By the time the panels are trimmed enough to fit in at the top, they'll be "loose" at the bottom...

Nozzle
 
I'll be out in a min trying to dig round the base of the post and try the car jack to see if I can move it - I'll probably have to do the samething with the next 3 posts in line. I just don't have the tools to cut it down accurately - a basic saw and I'm not sure I could shape it to fit. Thanks for the ideas - I also have a small grinder that may or may not be able to grind out a bit of the slot in the post but I really don't want go down that route those posts are rock hard.
 
You can usually take the end battens off fence panels and replace when the panel itself is cut down - hand tools only needed.;) Can you post a picture of the panel.
 
Success! I had a 6' piece of 4"x2" and cut that down to give me a gap of about 8" to insert the car jack and positioned it less than a foot down from the top of the two posts (I had to get my daughter to help hold the 4"x2" while I stuck the jack in the gap). I had already used a mattock to dig around the concrete at the base of the concrete post but as it was right next to the base of a tree there wasn't much to hack out. I started cranking the jack to open it up and you could hear the 4"x2" start making little cracking noises - the post at the end where I had already inserted a row of 5 new panels did tighten up against the new panel but the post on the otherside (with a row of another 6 rotten panels) started moving more - it was impossible to actually see if it had really moved but I know it was moving from the effect on the next rotten panel as it started to bow out and started creaking and cracking. I decided there was no need to keep opening the jack up to the point where I could convince myself that one or both posts had moved or opened up - I couldn't see that it had moved and I didn't want the post to crack so I loosened the jack off and tried the new panel and it went in surprisingly easily - as I said it was about a whole cm too wide so it clearly had moved that much - I really didn't have to turn the jack handle more than 1 or 2 complete turns. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to use the same method as I move along the next 2, maybe 3 posts. Like the stock market past performance is no predictor of future performance so it's anyone's guess if it will work out for the rest of the posts - I think it will but you never know. Obviously I'm thankful for the suggestions I got here. Cheers
 
Seriously trim the panels, all you are doing is ruining good firm posts by loosening the soil around them which will make them much more likely to start moving.
 
Plane the panels?

1-12-004-plane-500.jpg
 
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