My neighbor and I used this in real hard clay soil during the summer. Came out great! Solid as a rock. Don't rush, once they get a few inches down impossible to adjust, and you'll be happy. Keeps the post out of the ground - no more saggy fence.
I drove about 40 of these the other day for a greenhouse. We used a jackhammer exclusively -- no sledge. (It's good to have a helper to lift the hammer into place.) Most of them ended up twisted to varying degrees, despite our best efforts to keep them aligned. I'm not convinced the clamp tool would really straighten them out after they're all the way in.
Twisted, means not square. Not in alignment. I had same problem. Using a clamp tool to 'straighten' them out after spike is in the ground may simply loosens the post in the ground. Exclusive use of the jackhammer, in above case, was I surmise part of the problem as well as part of the solution. Perhaps a sledge might have produced a better outcome? Also, ground conditions are different everywhere and this fact needs to taken into consideration before task is started.
Rotated so that the cube at the top was no longer at strict right angles to the wall we were building. It was an issue since these cubes hold a 4x4 post, and 2x6 horizontal pieces had to be nailed or screwed to that post, extending towards the interior of the structure. Not a game changer -- just a nuiscance.
We just put in one post with a sledgehammer, and it was also a little twisted out of alignment. We used the bar clamp trick, and it worked great. We didn't have to twist it too far, but it didn't loosen the ground in our case. (We have really dry, hard-packed clay dirt in Phoenix).
You should always mention calling 811 Dig Alert prior to driving the base in. That metal in contact with Electrical or Gas (or Telecom Fiber) could be tragic. Otherwise; nice product.
yeah, I thought of that, too. but reading digalert's website, they make it too hard. I'm going to hand dig and inspect the area first, then fill back in and tamp. far easier than their rigmarole for 6 measly posts.... ps. I don't need a permit for the little project I'm doing, but I fear it going into the system. their website makes it sound scary bureaucratic and data saving. Don't want the city showing up to inspect and "make sure". during the water shortage, I was spraying off a piece of out door furniture in the driveway (the only room I had). Kept it short and sweet. had a trigger nozzle on the hose. next thing, a city van stops and the guy gets out and inserts himself in my life inspecting under the guise of neighborly friendliness "Haha, advice is to have a trigger nozzle-" Me: "I have a trigger nozzle" (wondering why this nosy bureaucrat is blind). So he sees, awkwardly haha's again, and smiles and says just looking out, good job, etc. gets back in his patrol van and leaves. I don't need the overreaching privacy invasion again.
Can anyone recommend proper screw from homedepot for this? I ordered oz post T4-850 for my leaning fence. Instead of removing rotted post+concrete, Im thinking about using oz post between existing post. What do you think? Thanks!
Number 10 2 or 2 1/2 inches stainless steel was recommend to me. Someone also recommend galvanized 1 1/2 hex but I couldn’t find that. Also use lock it after hole is predrilled.
2:10 he took the level off before camera guy ever zoomed in enough so that we could see if it was actually level. but maybe it would help if one person holds the thing plumb and level while another person drives the jackhammer (i realize it's a little dangerous)? but my bigger concern from the video is that at the end, there is a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap between the wood post and the metal where water can creep in but has no way out. so it just going to sit there and rot the wood. it would be best to do a bead of glue or even caulk around the top edge of the metal to make sure to seal a gap as large as the one left at the end in the video. even a small gap will allow water to seep in and collect and stay, so maybe caulking/gluing that edge is a must.
There are holes in the bottom of my spikes and a massive gap at one side where the bolts are that water would be able to get through. I'm also using incised posts that are guaranteed for 15 years against rot or insects.
The wedge shape and short length almost guarantee these cheesy things will heave out of the ground in a few years in northern climates. Couple that with the $30 price (each!) at Amazon conspire to make this little "labor saver" a perfect choice for a sucker.
You are absolutely wrong. The wedge shape is exactly what makes prevents heaving. Exactly what is it you think the earth is going to get a grip on? This is also why the shorter length works - you don't have to get below the frost line to anchor it because the upward motion of the earth has nothing to push against. And as for your comment about them being cheesy, you make it obvious you have never even picked one up. I don't know about the 600's, but the 850's are extremely substantial and anything but cheesy. You're the sucker if you dig dozens of 3 foot wide and deep holes, load God-knows-how-many bags of concrete into the truck, then carry them around the site, find that your big hole made your post a little off center, wait for concrete to set to attach fence panels, etc. It's also WAY faster and if you are doing a larger project you are going to have to rent a serious post-hole digger for several days the old way, or a simple jack hammer for one day with Ozposts. If you are a professional, it's a no brainer because you can do at least twice as many jobs and you are billing materials anyway, and your customer will be happy to not have a bunch of ugly brown dirt piles around every post. You've gotta think this stuff through my friend.
Good question. I made the mistake of using a 4x4 block to sledgehammer the spike into the ground but Now I can’t get the wood block out. Did you find a solution? I don’t want to remove the spike front the ground. I just want the wood block removed
My question is that every time I've seen a video for this product it is being driven into easy, soft soil! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF ROCKS AND HARD PACKED CLAY?? You are NOT going to get these in any easier than having to dig, drill or auger a hole and then insert the post! In fact, I doubt this would be as sturdy or as well aligned s doing it the old way! I LIKE the idea and it is probably a great product for soft soils with no obstructions! I doubt it would work well where I live! If they REALLY want to sell this product they should show it being done in rocky hard packed soil and actually building a fence, instead of inserting ONE post! No one out here, in Wyoming, in the country would even consider these posts unless they can be SHOWN that they will work in rocky, hard packed soil! Besides, have you ever seen a horse or cow rubbing and scratching themselves on a fence! These would look like they were installed by a one-eyed drunk after the animals got done! LOL!!
It works, I did it on my extremely rocky soil. I did have to just "go with the flow" for spacing and twisting. I wanted a perfectly straight handrail. The rocks made the ozpost sleeve turn a little and made me move it over a few inches here and there.
Did not work for me. I live in the Pacific NW and our soil is extremely rocky. Of the 30 posts I needed to drive only one was successful. Total waste of money for me as I had to manually dig holes and pour cement. Great idea, but your conditions have to be right in order for these to work effectively.
We just used this for a post in Phoenix. We dug out the first 12" just to make sure that there wasn't an irrigation pipe, and then used a sledgehammer to get it in the rest of the way. The ground is very hard packed clay, but we didn't hit any rocks, surprisingly. It seems like every single project runs into problems, and I was shocked when this one went smoothly.
Tell your local building department that because these meet code and with the compression plates, they even meet code for upper level decks. I'll never understand why people comment as if they know what they are talking about when they haven't done a single bit of research.
This looks like a nice alternative for a world of sorrows after the posts rotten. But the instructions are stupid. Why drive the hole-think in the ground to end up with a rotten post base?