The fence fell over during a party in May

Had about 15 people over for a BBQ. Old wooden fence just leaned over into the neighbor's yard mid afternoon. No wind or anything. The posts were rotted through at the base. Spent the next weekend digging out 6 post holes by hand because I didn't want to rent an auger. Got it all replaced with concrete footings now. Anyone else find rot hiding right under the surface?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan_thomas8423d ago

Six posts rotted through at the base sounds like more than just bad luck or a gutter problem. I'd bet money the previous owner knew those posts were shot and just painted over them to sell the place. People do that all the time, hide the big problems with a fresh coat of stain. You probably saved yourself a real headache by catching it now even if it was a pain to dig those holes by hand. Age is the real killer with wood fences, nothing you can do about it once it hits 10-12 years unless you put in concrete from day one. Moisture from a downspout might speed it up a little but rot is just what happens to wood in the ground eventually.

wade87123d ago

Rotted through at the base" - yeah that's exactly the kind of sneaky stuff that gets you. I pulled a deck board off my place last summer and found the whole support beam was basically mush inside but looked fine from the outside. Made me wonder how many other things around the house are just waiting to fall apart when you least expect it. Did you check the ground where the concrete footings went in for any weird drainage or moisture issues that might've caused the rot? Sometimes it's just age but other times there's a low spot or gutter problem making it worse.

rowan96923d ago

Yeah I'd check the downspout runoff first, that's usually the culprit when it's just one spot.