On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:49:40 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:

I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.

This isn't 'treated wood', it's cedar. Dampness won't hurt it.

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 18:57:46 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:59:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/16/2018 5:49 PM, True North wrote:
I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.


It works just fine.

I have never seen a fence company mix concrete but they usually drive
the posts into the dirt at the bottom of the hole and add the dry
concrete to a post that is already pretty secure.
I have done a lot of this sort of thing setting PVC dock posts, post
wraps and pilings that are in several feet of water. If you make
"cookie dough" concrete and dump it in, the water comes right out
without souping up the concrete much at all. You better make sure you
have your Rebar in because it is still too stiff to push it in once
the concrete is in the pipe.
I did this to squeeze a little more life out of a bad dock for the HOA
while they were fighting about building a new one.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/piling%20patch.jpg

4 years later they are still thinking about it and I have worked on
the pier a few more times.



I've seen fences put up here. Most have 4x4 posts which are not 'driven' into the ground. The corner
posts are concreted in, as Luddite's video showed.

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:44:56 -0400, Alex wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:31:02 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEaazdWUiLk
Looks good, except for the nails in the post. Don't want to deface this beautiful cedar. I'll think
up a workaround.


The cedar *will* rot. Paint the bottom (and the sides of the bottom) of
the post with cheap roof coating and you won't have to worry about
that. The pros do it here all the time.

Will get a bit of that in the morning.

On 10/16/2018 6:57 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:59:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/16/2018 5:49 PM, True North wrote:
I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.


It works just fine.

I have never seen a fence company mix concrete but they usually drive
the posts into the dirt at the bottom of the hole and add the dry
concrete to a post that is already pretty secure.
I have done a lot of this sort of thing setting PVC dock posts, post
wraps and pilings that are in several feet of water. If you make
"cookie dough" concrete and dump it in, the water comes right out
without souping up the concrete much at all. You better make sure you
have your Rebar in because it is still too stiff to push it in once
the concrete is in the pipe.
I did this to squeeze a little more life out of a bad dock for the HOA
while they were fighting about building a new one.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/piling%20patch.jpg

4 years later they are still thinking about it and I have worked on
the pier a few more times.




As I recall the bags of quick setting Sacrete had instructions on it
for setting posts exactly the way I did it in Florida and how the video
that I linked for John did it. Just dig a hole, stick your post in,
pour the dry Sacrete in and flood well with water. Since the holes
in Florida were already half filled with water, it didn't take that
much more to flood it.

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 7:25:16 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:49:40 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:

I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.

This isn't 'treated wood', it's cedar. Dampness won't hurt it.

It be good if you could get some hedge.

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:44:56 -0400, Alex wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:31:02 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEaazdWUiLk
Looks good, except for the nails in the post. Don't want to deface this beautiful cedar. I'll think
up a workaround.


The cedar *will* rot. Paint the bottom (and the sides of the bottom) of
the post with cheap roof coating and you won't have to worry about
that. The pros do it here all the time.

Posts usually rot off right at the top of the concrete. That is why a
lot of people say not to use concrete at all.
If you are just setting them in dirt or compacted gravel (the option
we haven't discussed) I agree the coating is a good idea.

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 20:25:17 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:49:40 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:

I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.

This isn't 'treated wood', it's cedar. Dampness won't hurt it.

Tell that to the cedar on my boat ;-)

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 20:27:03 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 18:57:46 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:59:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/16/2018 5:49 PM, True North wrote:
I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.


It works just fine.

I have never seen a fence company mix concrete but they usually drive
the posts into the dirt at the bottom of the hole and add the dry
concrete to a post that is already pretty secure.
I have done a lot of this sort of thing setting PVC dock posts, post
wraps and pilings that are in several feet of water. If you make
"cookie dough" concrete and dump it in, the water comes right out
without souping up the concrete much at all. You better make sure you
have your Rebar in because it is still too stiff to push it in once
the concrete is in the pipe.
I did this to squeeze a little more life out of a bad dock for the HOA
while they were fighting about building a new one.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/piling%20patch.jpg

4 years later they are still thinking about it and I have worked on
the pier a few more times.



I've seen fences put up here. Most have 4x4 posts which are not 'driven' into the ground. The corner
posts are concreted in, as Luddite's video showed.

I was thinking chain link

On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:37:52 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 7:25:16 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:49:40 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:

I put a shovel or so of gravel in the bottom of the hole. I like to keep our damp soil away from the treated wood.
I do my mixing in the wheelbarrow. Don't recall seeing the dry mix dumped into the hole and then water sprayed on top.

This isn't 'treated wood', it's cedar. Dampness won't hurt it.

It be good if you could get some hedge.

If you really want them to last forever use Azek. I had some Trex like
posts here and they will snap off but when I was dragging all of that
Irma debris around I snagged my Azek mail box post and damn near
pulled out of the ground but it didn't break.

On 10/16/2018 9:08 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:44:56 -0400, Alex wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:31:02 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEaazdWUiLk
Looks good, except for the nails in the post. Don't want to deface this beautiful cedar. I'll think
up a workaround.


The cedar *will* rot. Paint the bottom (and the sides of the bottom) of
the post with cheap roof coating and you won't have to worry about
that. The pros do it here all the time.

Posts usually rot off right at the top of the concrete. That is why a
lot of people say not to use concrete at all.
If you are just setting them in dirt or compacted gravel (the option
we haven't discussed) I agree the coating is a good idea.



Many towns here in MA frown on or ban setting mailbox posts in concrete.
Too many snowplows are damaged.