• Overview

  • In this video, This Old House landscaping contractor Roger Cook shows a homeowner how to save time digging fence-post holes with this custom tool.

    Steps:
    1 Mark the center of each hole on the ground.
    2 Stand directly over the hole location with your feet spread shoulder width apart.
    3 Squeeze together the two handles of the post-hole digger to open its twin blades.
    4 Raise the post-hole digger as high as possible, then drive the blades down into the soil.
    5 Pull outward on the handles to close the blades, then left the excavated soil from the hole; deposit soil to one side of hole.
    6 Continue driving the post-hole digger down into the soil, until you reach the desired depth.
    See products and services from this episode
    • 10 to 20 minutes per hole, depending on hole depth and hardness of soil
    • Tools
    • Shopping List
    • Difficulty: Moderate
      depending on the number of holes

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    Video Directory

    Selected Topic/Section

      Tools List

      Close
      • post hole digger
        Manual post-hole digger
      • 30-foot tape measure
        Tape measure,
        used to measure depth of hole

      Shopping List

      Close
      1. Leather work gloves,

      protects hands from blisters