How Would You Get This Old Fence Post Out + Concrete Mix Thoughts

[HugeWesty]

Been trying to get this old fence post out, have gone 600mm down, still not coming out but a whack with the sledgehammer does have it easily bent to one side. I only have 600mm drill bits and they have gone to depth.

My thoughts are to auger drill the wood (to take chunks out) then reciprocate saw it down into levels until I get as close as I can to the base e.g. 575 down and then simply concrete the remains in. Any other ideas?

As far the concrete, happy to have suggestions here too. These are going to be gate posts so will be often walking/near them - so I was thinking of stronger mix than just postcrete. E.g. 5 or 6-1 ballast-cement? I can batten the post comfortably to keep it level for a good 1-2 day if need be. Any suggestions on how dry/wet mix should be and indicators here I can use would be appreciated too. Cheers

 

[motorbiking]

bash it until the mix cracks and then lift it out. the other option is to have a slightly narrower fence in one space and one the posts.

 

[Notch7]

drill a hole in it, put in a bolt then use a crowbar or a lump of timber to lever it up

 

[Old Salt]

Borrow an engine hoist and a strop. Wrap the strop round the post and use the hoist to lift it out. Worked fine for me removing 4 posts concreted in.

 

[Odds]

1) Buy beer, sausages and skewers and perhaps a potato or two.
2)Fetch tinder, thin branches, a box o' matches and yesterdays newspaper.
3)fill hole with tinder and branches, take out the adverts page from the newspaper, then stuff a twist or two into the wood pile.
4) wrap spuds in foil and put 'em in the pile, skewer the sausages and light the twists til the wood catches.
5)crack open a beer and toast a banger while waiting for the spuds to pop, reading the unburnt newspaper as you like.
6) keep drinking and watch it burn down to the bottom where your spuds will be waiting, piping hot and ready for any garnish you like.

Enjoy.

 

[bernardgreen]

I have successfully burnt out a post which had defied all other means of removal. The base of the post was damp and over the years had swollen to a size that prevented it being pulled up out of the concrete.

It took a couple of days and quite a lot of charcoal. Using a length of steel conduit to blow air into the red hot charcoal just above the top of the post speeded the process.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Borrow a high lift jack and chain.

 

[Odds]

I have successfully burnt out a post which had defied all other means of removal. The base of the post was damp and over the years had swollen to a size that prevented it being pulled up out of the concrete.

It took a couple of days and quite a lot of charcoal. Using a length of steel conduit to blow air into the red hot charcoal just above the top of the post speeded the process.

Charcoal! Of course. That'll do a job on the post and help to crack the concrete. Hammer an iron spike into the top and break up the concrete. Dig out the lumps and you're good-to-go, old bean.

 

[bulltaco]

freddymercurystwin. Yep my old Jackall has done that job for many years.

 

[John D v2.0]

in that situation I got a couple of 200mm screws and a bit of 4 by 2, screwed through the 4 by 2 into the top of the post, nd ten levered it out with the help of some bricks etc, kicking it to loosen between each time I levered it.
The bottom was in surprisingly good condition having been underground for decades.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

I've had success with a length of steel ladderbeam I happened to have kicking around (think its 4m or so) and webbing slings. Prussic knot onto the post, shackle the sling end to the ladderbeam for max mechanical advantage (10:1 works nicely) and heave, propping up the short end as the post comes out. Elder treestumps respond well to this also

 

[Eccles]

I agree with Notch and John D having done exactly the same a few years ago. However, recently had new fence put in here by a fence man my neighbours hired. He never even tried to get old posts out, just levelled them and put new posts in nearby.

 

[John D v2.0]

Ha ha @Eccles saves on labour and waste disposal. he must have worked in our garden before, we had 100 years worth of concrete lumps with rotten posts embedded all down one side of the garden, every time we tried to plant something in a nice gap, we hit a rock of concrete!

 

[Eccles]

Then again I don't use concrete when replacing fence posts these days. I simply bang in some galvanized "spikes" then insert incised pressure treated posts into the spikes. Even the old red oxide spikes were usually good for 25 yrs and the galvanized jobs which are now available may well last for ever.