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OT - fence post question

M

mattofvinings

Member
Sorry if my post is in the wrong forum.

I'm building fence "corners" (3 posts, cross-braced and diagonal-wired) and would like some sort of a metal cap on the posts. Not decorative. Just functional to keep water out of the end grain of the wood.

All I find online are caps made for architectural use on 4x4s.

I need something simple, honest and functional. Even if I have to shear out squares myself and then wrap them around the post-top (carefully) with a hammer...

Any good ideas? Thanks in advance!
 
How big around are your posts? You wouldn't want to buy a whole roll of the stuff, but if you know a builder, you might beg or buy some scraps or a length of roof flashing to beat down over the tops.
 
I don't think it's worth the time,but some people put coffee cans on them or use the flashing and bend it over.
 
I've seen people use ice shield that you use on smart blocks when building a house, you can get it at a building supply
 
Instead of leaving the post with a flat top, cut it so that it has some slope to it and you will find it rotting at the ground before the top rots. Bud
 
If you cut the tops of the posts at an angle you will leave more area exposed to the weather than if you left them flat. Go to your local nursery and ask for some grafting wax to seal off the tops. I have seen just plastic buckets over some or ice cream containers. You can put a nail in the side to hold it on.
 
I cut my top slanting, as suggested, and then painted them with roofing patch tar compound.
 
I buy a roll of tin; cut out squares and wrap around post like you were saying. I also install a few nails around the side to hold them on.
Just about every fence around here is done the same way.

Anyone that thinks a post will rot at the bottom first or cutting the top on a slant will stop the top from rotting does not live where it rains a lot.
 
go to your local recycling bins, look in the metal can section for the coffee cans or in the plastic section for plastic coffee cans. Either one will do the job as the plastic is very tough. Also plastic bleach & soap jugs are big & tough enough to do the job.
 
I have used aluminum flashing held on with roofing nails around the edges. I used to use lids off of metal five gallon buckets, but they are extinct nowadays.

If you wonder if it helps to flash the tops, just do one and leave the next one unflashed. You'll find that it pays to flash them, at least in my part of the country.

Paul
 
I'd worry more about the bottoms, but if I was doing tops, it'd be roof paint (bottoms also to about 6 inches above ground).

Dave
 
i use locust post im 53 yrs old and they will most likely still be around longer than i will.but i am going to spray on used motor oil i just wont tell everyone what it actually is dont want to get a spankin by the epa dude.RICK
 
I use auto undercoating in spray can form, couple of shots and its good for years and years,quick and easy when walking the fence line
 
"The post will rot off at the ground line long before the top will go."


Agreed.

Ever seen a power pole break off at the top?
 
You don't say what kind of wood it is. If it's locust, you won't need to do anything; those post will still be there and in good shape 50 years from now.
 
I've used Locust posts before - never had luck with them - they die before they get into the ground. Same with the Cedar we have around here. NOTHING beats a good Hedge (Osage Orange) post. Unfortunately, Hedge isn't everywhere.

I can show you Hedge posts that my Great-Grandfather put in the ground in the 1800's - and they are STILL doing great. No paint, no oil - just good posts.
 
The key with locust is to remove the bark, cot them to length and let them dry real good. They will last many years, even in wet ground.
 
Yup. My neighbor and I even aged some in his shed for a couple years. They lasted about 6 months in the ground. Must be difference in soils or Locust. Around here, the borer beetles get it quick. Good for fire wood.
 
Rains plenty in western Washington, and the cedar posts we used to use here would last 25 years or so, then rot off at ground level. No more good cedar left, so now using treated round posts of pine or some such- they behave about the same. Never saw a post rotted enough at the top to become unservicable before it rotted off at the ground and had to be replaced.
 
I wouldn't bother. Posts never seem to rot from the top, they rot off where they enter the ground. Wood-eating microorganisms need moisture and oxygen so they never seem to rot under the ground or where the post stays relatively dry. If you were going to use some type of flashing, I would try to do it at the ground level. Although, you'll probably just end up building a moisture collector there instead.

We don't have much (any?) Black Locust here so I've never made posts from it. Here we use White Oak which makes a great post. The hard part is finding straight pieces long enough for posts. Maybe 1 or 2 posts per top if you're lucky.
 
Yep, cut'm in the fall or early winter, stack'm in the sun for a summer, peel the bark, let'm dry another year, your grand kids will be old men and try'n to figure out how to drive a nail in'm.

Dave
 
That sounds like a lot of work.

You can cut a hedge post from a fenceline tree and use it to repair the fence and it will last a life time. Just make sure your saw is sharp when you start.
 
Hedge do make as good or better post. The only problem with them is there ain't enough of'm around. I have 7 or 8 hedge trees on 160 acres here and I'd be doing good to get 5 good post out of the whole lot. My grand mother owns 80 acres of woods up the road a ways that has about 5 acres of nothing but locust right on the road. I just spend a day in the fall cutting post bring them home and pile them up. When I get several piles I don't cut any for a while. It is realy no big deal. Alot cheaper than buy'n them when you don't have nuff hedge to go around. And the bark peeling is no trick at all. After a summer in the sun the bark just pulls right off.

Dave

Dave
 

Re: Locust post that were mentioned. In this area of the SE there are Black locusts which have yellowish-green lumber and white blossems in the spring. Black locust has some fairly short thorns. Black locust makes very good fence posts.

Honey locust has LOTS of long thorns, no blooms, and long seed pods which cattle and, raccons, and possums love. The lumber is a dramatic combination of reds and light yellow fading to white. The wood is soft and does not make good fence posts. Rots quickly.

No Osage orange here but sounds interesting.

I agree with cutting the top at a 45 degree angle.

KEH
 
I did 120 T posts in 2 hours yesterday :roll:

When I was a kid, I cut water maple when the sap was up to make a fence across a creek bottom. Put them about 2 ft deep and ran the fence. Next year they were growing. Made some pretty neat looking trees...

Dave
 
Take an old inner tube and cut it in to circles or squares. Fold over the top of the post and use a staple gun around the side...

Our stupid cattle break the posts off at the ground before they even get a chance to begin to rot... not a lot of wet, rainy time in ND either, though.

Did I mention I hate cows and everything that goes with raising them? I love eating beef, but everything else about a cow I hate. Can't wait to get home, wait for the snow to melt, and go fix 20 miles of fence that's been buried by the snow five different times this winter. :x
 
I do my corners with wet/dry roofing tar. I have used coffee cans and spray paint them. (That's optional)Looks pretty nice and professional along the road.
 
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