| Prepare for your
HooverFence.com fence delivery. Chain link fence orders can arrive on small and large trucks, covered
trailers and flatbed fence trucks. Forklifts are usually not required, however be prepared
to hand unload fence tubing, rolls of chain link, bags and boxes of chain link fittings. |
Chain link fence
posts holes can be dug by hand with post hole diggers and spud bars, small gas powered augers, or
skid steers with hydraulic augers. Size your auger bit accordingly to the height and grade
of fence materials to be installed. |
Once fence posts
holes have been dug and cleaned out, check that each and every hole is in the correct
spot. If you cannot tell visibly, place post in hole and plumb post. Post needs to sit
plumb and be placed 1/8"-1/4" off the string line. Fence Tip: Be sure to dig fence post
holes to the proper depth and diameter for your region. Northern regions have frost depths
deeper than the southern part of the country. 30-36" deep concrete footers suffice
for most fence installations. |
When you need to
place a fence post near an existing structure, drilling near the structure is still better
than hand digging with post hole diggers and spud bars
from scratch. Here, a hole was drilled as safe to the existing fence as was safe. Hole
will be hand dug, or 'shaved' so it can sit closer to the existing fence. |
Smaller fence
projects are often set using a premixed bagged concrete. Often sold at do-it-yourself
stores, 40, 60, and 80 pound bags are usually readily available for your fence
project.Figure your fence post concrete requirements by using HooverFence.com's concrete
calculator here. |
Premixed bags of
concrete may be mixed by hand in a wheelbarrow with a shovel,
or with a gas powered, or electric powered cement mixer. Mix concrete to a 'thick
milkshake' like consistency. Do not mix too wet, or the soup-like texture will cause posts
to sink, or the concrete may not set at all. |
For small chain
link fence jobs where the job can be set and stretched in the same day, using a small
amount of Quik Rok,
or other brand of fast setting hydraulic cement with regular premix cement can save time
and an extra trip to the jobsite. |
Quik Rok, fast
setting hydraulic cement is available in 5 gallon pails and is a powder like material that
can be used alone for small holes (core drilling in cement). You can also mix about a
shovel full of this baking flour like material in with a wheelbarrow
full of regular cement. Fence
Tip: Some fence spec jobs require concrete footers to be poured to the top,
capped and trowelled. Use a pointing trowel for
better appearance. |
Once fence post
holes have been dug and cleaned out (be sure to clean out post holes of loose dirt and
debris), shovel cement into holes until they are near full. Leave cement down from the
ground surface (grade) approx. 3". Holes should also be larger in diameter at the
bottom than at top, 'bell-shaped'. Holes shaped like a carrot can heave prematurely. |
After chain
link fence posts have been 'stuck', check cement level is correct. You should put more
cement in if concrete levels are too low.
Fence Tip: Avoid pushing away your guide
string to fill holes with cement if another is using it to 'stick' posts!
|
Fence post holes
can be filled practically as fast as the cement batches can be mixed and poured. Often
another person can follow the person filling the holes and 'stick' the fence posts.
'Sticking' fence posts simply means putting the posts in a hole that has already been
filled with cement, plumb and tight to the string line. |
For chain link
fences, line posts (intermediate posts) should be marked with a grade mark at 3" less
than the height of fence being installed. Here a 6' high fence is being installed. Line
posts are marked at 5'-9". Fence
Tip: Vinyl coated chain link fabric is more elastic than galvanized mesh and can
'shrink' slightly when stretched. Subtract an additional 1/2" if you're setting posts
for a fence with vinyl coated fabric. |
For chain link
fences, terminal posts, i.e. end posts, corner posts, and gate posts, are marked at
1" more than the height of fence being installed. For a 6' high chain link fence,
mark posts at 6'-1". Fence
Tip: Place a spare piece of tubing, or post that has not yet been set on the top
of gate posts after setting and level these posts to one another. Gates (unless custom
built by HooverFence.com) are usually perfectly square. |
Chain link fence
posts should be 'stuck' down to their respective grade marks and plumbed with guide
string. Backfill with loose dirt and step gently on dirt surrounding posts to help hold
them too height. If posts sink on you, concrete is too wet, or holes have filled with
water. |
You can and should
put your posts in their holes and check them to the string line with a level if you're not
sure post holes have been dug in the right spot. It can be very frustrating if holes have
not been checked for accuracy, then filled with cement. You'll find yourself trying to
stick posts into the dirt surround the dug hole, but buried in cement. If this happens,
pull post, redig hole, and try to catch up with your crew! |
On sloped terrain,
it is sometimes necessary to set posts intentionally high, with grade marks exposed. The
chain link height is actually taller when measuring diagonally. If in doubt, measure
square with grade to help gauge your finished height of the fabric. Chain link is
remarkably versatile and can be installed on any terrain. Fence Tip: When in doubt, leave post
high and cut off later. This is much easier than trying to extend the height of a chain
link fence post! |
Once posts have
been set to grade, sight across the tops of the set posts and raise or lower them slightly
to smooth out the top of the fence. Keep in mind, if you bury your grade mark slightly on
one or more posts, plan to trench this same amount for the chain link fabric. The grade
marks represent the bottom of the chain link fence. If your grade mark is 4" off the
ground, so will be your fence and you may be filling underneath. |
Although most
fences are simply installed to grade, or flow with the contour of the land, some
applications would be better set perfectly level, i.e. tennis court enclosures, basketball
court enclosures, baseball and softball backstops, sideline fences, and homerun fences. If
excavating, grading, or asphalt/ concrete is to be poured later, or is already in place,
the fence may need to be installed perfectly level. If this is the case, sighting with
grade marks, using a string line with a level, or a transom will help immensely. |
