Been setting my post holes too shallow for a decade... a bad storm in Dayton showed me why

I always went down about 24 inches for a 6-foot privacy fence, thought it was plenty. Then that big wind storm last spring came through Dayton and took out three sections of a job I'd just finished... the posts just tipped right over. The inspector who came out said, 'Son, you're fighting Ohio frost heave with a toothpick,' and told me the code is 30 inches minimum here. How deep do you guys go for a standard wood privacy fence in your area?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.kai1mo ago

Yeah, that code is there for a reason. Saw the same thing after a nasty line of storms came through here. Posts I put in at two feet were leaning like drunk sailors. Had to go back and fix a whole row. Now I just go down the extra foot, no questions asked. Cheap fix now beats an angry call later.

milarodriguez1mo ago

Dayton's code is 30 inches? That seems a bit much for a basic fence. I've put in plenty at 24 inches here in central Ohio and they've held for years, even through some rough weather. Maybe that inspector was having a bad day.

seth_singh201mo ago

Actually, @milarodriguez, calling 30 inches "a bit much" misses the point of code. It's not about what sometimes works, it's about making sure it always works. That extra six inches of post depth is cheap insurance against a really bad storm that could yank a whole section out. Your 24 inch posts holding up is lucky, not a rule. The inspector wasn't having a bad day, they were making sure the fence meets the standard that keeps everyone safe when the wind really kicks up.