Step 2: Set the first post

setting the first post
Photo: Kolin Smith
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Set a post in the hole. (If the post has mortises, adjust its height so the bottom of the pickets will be 2-5 inches above the ground.)

Add 8 inches of soil to the hole. Check post for plumb with a level held against two adjacent sides.

When the post is plumb, compact soil tightly around it with a tamping bar.

Add 8 more inches of soil to the hole. check post again for plumb and tamp around it. Repeat until hole is filled.

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    More in Yard & Garden

    Tools List

    Close
    • four-foot level
      Level
    • post hole digger
      Gibbs posthole digger,
      for digging 10-inch-wide holes 32 inches deep
    • mason's line
      Mason's line
    • seven-foot tamping bar
      7-foot tamping bar (or a 6-foot 2x4
    • pointed shovel
      Shovel
    • 7 foot digging bar
      7-foot digging bar,
      use flat end to cut roots; pointed end to pry out rocks
    • drill
      Drill/driver,
      for screwing through posts into rails
    • circular saw
      Circular saw,
      for trimming posts and panels, if necessary
    • tarp
      Tarp,
      to hold soil dug from postholes
    • 16-foot tape measure
      Tape measure

    Shopping List

    Close
    1. FENCING

    2. FENCE POSTS

    3. 2 1/2-INCH GALVANIZED SCREWS

    for attaching fence rails to posts



    4. WOOD WEDGES FOR PROPPING PANELS IN A LEVEL POSITION