As an experiment try gravel stone only and compact. How robust is the fence: cows, sheep, goats, pigs, boars, deer try to crash thru? Same for falling debris. How will it fare against the elements (rain, wind)? Some of those posts look narrow for the run length. Used to seeing 4 - 6 in in dia or sq. Time will tell. Agree that at a later time, using the brush cutter, clear a wider path along the fence line. Great that you were cutting down the pine trees to give the oaks better chance to grow. Some fences have tensioners or turnbuckles at critical points to take up the slack. Others have a fence to vehicle (ATV, tractor) puller attachment. The vehicle stretches the fence taut. Then the fence gets secured to the posts. Your spacing makes that difficult to do. Alternate mechanical method. Rachet around a secure anchor point to pull the fence taut. Maybe concrete every 5th thicker post (6 in dia.) and spaced 15 to 25 ft apart. Attach fence clamp device, ratchet and stretch to required tension.
Thanks Roland, will give that a go in the future. We don't get any animals here to be honest only the local sheep, well in this little part near our house as there is so much land with fencing and it;s surrounded by road :) We are trying to walk a new path every day and hope that creates a path Tensioners could have worked well. Becuase of the space we were working with i couldn't get the pick up trust to a position to tighten the fence due to the trees
120m is a fair effort. No harm in leaving those post longer, you never know if you ll need it one day. Thought about bracing the ends with 45° post and the parts where it changes direction??
Yeah not bad for a couple of days work! Better to leave a bit longer just incase! Yeah we did think about bracing but as the changes weren't too harsh we didn't do it. I hope i don't regret it ;)
Digging a hole in the ground and setting a fence post in concrete is like drilling a big hole in a piece of wood and securing a nail by filling the hole around it with glue. You can do it, but just hammering the post into undisturbed soil will give a better result. If your post breaks when you're hammering it in, you need a better quality post. Those posts do look very thin for a timber post in a country that doesn't have yellow ironbark all over the landscape. Incidentally, that post hole digger looks like the twin of the one my dad wrecked his back with. He was digging a hole in stony ground when the digger hit a stone, and since the blade couldn't turn around any further, the handles started turning instead. He couldn't drive for about 12 months after that and it never properly recovered - backs are like that.
Good point although I did mention in the video that we need to drill through the slate rock layer to get to dirt we could drive the posts in to, it was the only way We have about 20cm of soil on that very top part so not enough to hold wooden posts. The rock layer just blunts the ends Yeah I don’t think they’re the best to use but we are making do with it :) hope to get a tractor attachment in the future for that 😊
I think you have done well. I can't tell from the video, but the tops of the posts ought to be slanted so that rain runs off and doesn't work down into the posts easily to begin the rotting process. The only other thing I would suggest is to remove all trees really close to the fence (you judge the distance) because as they grow, the trunks will push your fence out. Don't want your good work going to waste. I only spotted a couple anyway. As I said, good work. Best wishes.
Thank you :) Good tip, didn't think of that. Everything dries up quite quickly here and don't really see anyone else doing it so many it's ok haha. Yeah we should take out the trees in danger of growing in to the fence :)
I know it's done now but if you tap the post with a hammer it helps settle the concrete down and around the post. Also blackening the ends of the posts over a fire helps with a natural protection against bugs wanting to eat them. Fencing across rough land is a really tough job and you've done an excellent job. Again no need for a gym membership, shoulders and arms workout done.
The pine needles are acidic too so they will be affecting the roots of the oak. You could rake them up and make a separate acidic compost for your acid loving plants, like blueberries
Some advice I've seen when the ground is hard was to pour some water into the hole and let it soak in before digging deeper. I don't have that problem, my soil is very sandy and it's a rare to find any stone.
i never use concrete on fence lines, only at gates if necessary, the treated posts will hold the field fence just fine without concrete. saves labor and money
Agreed. It may sound illogical but when working alone having somebody to help means you can get three times the amount done compared to doing it by yourself. Wish I'd have had a brother!
Our fencing is 1.2m high and all the wild dear just hop over as if it wasn't there. I was baffled trying to find where they were getting in until I surprised one and it took off over the fence in one stride.
Great job!! I like that you left the post long so you can add barbed wire on top. If you have problems with deer jumping the fence you can all ways go back and lash ,with wire ,full length post along side your existing post and add additional fencing even higher. I'd use a wire attachment system that uses screws so you aren't banging against the post. and loosening the base. Good Job guys!!
Thanks so much! I guess it's always easier to cut less first than too much :D We don't get any deer here to be honest, well in this little part near our house as there is so much land with fencing and it;s surrounded by road :) Yeah that's a good point, should try and find those wire attachments :)
We set up a tension with 2 planks with bolt and nut through at 2 points. Attach that to your wire and strap to mini digger / tow bar and create your tension. Fencing is always hard work!
The second trip with the buckets, that's when you must've really felt it. You guys really got loads done though, all hard work. Looking great and very necessary to protect all the other efforts you've put in to your planting.👍
That looks like a job well done, good on you two! Won't stop the elephants though 😉 and little doggo's! That little chainsaw is a right crafty piece of kit, nice!!! Cheers Bert
One helluva good job guys! Fencing is bloody hard work to get right, and to get the result you two achieved over that terrain is testament to hard work and effort - and no doubt your vocabulary improved also! Are you also going to protect the new plantings with some form of bio-degradable tubing for the initial years or so? Might be prudent, just a thought.
Thanks so much Dave :) Yeah it was hard work, glad it was only 120meters, not sure more would have been so fun haha. it's a good point and question, i think we are not going to do that but we thought about it!
yeah not bad for your first attempt and hopefully you'll get a couple of years out of it before needing to revisit . next time put proper strainer posts in its well worth the effort
Hi Mark and Alex. Mike here from the States. Question: have you been able to monetize your channel yet? I've been sharing your videos because you two need a new tractor by spring. Wishing you the best. The berms, swales and planting have been really tremendous
Thanks so much for your support Mike, your comments and support are appreciated massively! We have monetized the channel, as it's still small scale it's not much in advert revenue (i try to not put too many adverts in the videos) so perhaps i'll need to try and get some more collaboration with brands. I hope to save up for a tractor :) Thanks - i'm excited to see how they work out in the future :)
You are such an inspiration hard working as usual,dealing with this labour intensive task is not only back breaking is a real chalenge ,well done pleasing results.
Love seeing your Progress. Fortunately with your brother help,you look so much alike I distinguish between you both, by your Tee Shirts. Is he on holiday with you? Very good job done seeing the Terrain you work on the expression on dogs face priceless !LOL. Thank you Mark going to be a busy year.
Always use steel posts ( German style 🤔) , you only have to drill them in the ground ( no concrete & rotting from wooden poles & way faster & later easy to remove ) .
When I build a fence, each end assembly consists of two posts of 100mmnb galvanised steel pipe - I started out using 50mmnb but they were bending under the strain of the wire. 100mmnb do the job. The two posts are each 2.16 metres long (cut three posts from a 6.5m length of pipe), hammered into undisturbed soil and placed 3.25 metres apart, with a top rail of 40mmnb pipe butted against the tops of each post and secured with a bracket, and then a diagonal stay wire wrapped twice from the top of the stay post to the bottom of the end post and back. In soft soil they need a bottom rail as well, so that the bottom of the post can't be dragged through the soil while the top of the post is braced in place. It's a good idea to hammer a length of rebar into the ground before you start driving your posts because we have quartz and ironstone intrusions in our otherwise nice soft mudstone and either of them can spoil your day. The rebar doesn't disturb the soil enough to affect how well the post will hold. The plan is, you drive the two end posts of your new fence into the ground, then you put one length of wire between them along the ground and strain it tight, making sure it's sitting straight and isn't snagged sideways by vegetation or whatever. Then you install the other post and the rails and diagonal stay wires of your two end assemblies, then you install all the posts along the fence - we use galvanised star posts. They don't break like cheap timber. Then you hang the rest of the wire on it and pull it up tight, and then you clip the wires to the stars with little clips that hold the wire at the right height but let it slide so if a cow runs into it she'll bounce off like a trampoline instead of breaking the wire. If it's going to be an electric fence you use plastic insulated clips, and otherwise you use little pre-folded bits of wire. Make sure you tie the wires back to the stay post at each end assembly, otherwise under strain the stay post can bend over sideways and then it's not bracing the end post properly. At the end of the day you've got a good fence, and the only thing that can really mess with it is fire. High tensile fence wire goes soft and slumps at about 600 degrees C, and the galvanising burns off it so it's going to rust out in the next storm anyway. You need to keep vegetation away from your fence, but with an electric fence you'd be doing that anyway or it will start its own fire.
When I put posts in (& washing lines etc) I always make concreted holes square/rectangular to make them more secure from movement & staple fencing on with a staple gun. You're doing a great job but please don't use barbed wire, if an animal tries jumping & gets it wrong they'll do terrible damage getting stuck on the wire, animal rescues hate the stuff for the injuries it causes.
Thanks - that's a great tip! Probably would have taken us so much longer though - the auger drill made it easier work than digging square holes :) Ok thanks - we don't actually get any animals here apart from the local sheep!
@@rootsdownhomestead I think I'd still have used the auger drill to make the initial hole just maybe chopped one or two of the edges of each hole a bit with a spade, axe, anything really to take away the roundness. Dogs leap over fences, so do sheep, goats, foxes etc - barbed wire is still horrible stuff. It's more useful for keeping people out as they can see & understand what they're looking at whereas animals only find out when they get stuck on it. They don't look at it & say to themselves that's nasty looking fencing I don't think I'll try to get over it. Looking forward to the next video.
Thanks for the tip! To be honest, they didn't have enough thick posts, so we just had to make the others up with those thin ones (we hope it lasts!) although they were only 2euro a post
GREATJOB ….for novices…i usually use thick wire top and bottom, if the fence is higher, also middle which i tension with a ratchety thing to tension it, then just wire the fence onto it instead of tensioning 120m, put i suppose its the same thing, well done.
Thanks so much :) I ended up working too hard, making myself ill and having a week in bed. Should have rested before i got burntout and had a party instead!
Great job, it looks far better than my first attempt. The end and corners were the most difficult to get right, there are many different ways that do work. For what you need it looks great, very neat and straight for the sloping ground.👍
Que excelente trabalho que o Mike e seu irmao fizeram para o Mike é fantástico a fazer as coisas obviamente que seu irmao ajudou muito. Desculpe perguntar o Mike e seu irmao sao gémeos e que sao tao parecidos ainda bem que teve esta ajuda senao seria muito mais dificil. Muito obrigado por nos mostrar tudo gosto muito. Um bom ano de 2024 e cá fico à espera para a semana por mais vidios. God bless you 🙏🏼 THANK YOU VERY MUCH 👍👍👍👍
Where is the Kubota tractor? Good work here. Are these posts from trees on your own land or did you buy them in? And I always wonder how wooden posts don't rot at the bottom i.e. the part in the soil? And is this fencing for potential livestock or just as a border marking?
It's broken :( unfortunately :( Posts are from the shop, they are heavily treated but at a very dry point of the land so i hope they don't rot too easily! It's purely for keeping out the neigbours animals from eating our new trees!
There's something universal about a man bragging to a woman about the length & rigidity of his fence... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VJ8gpk0mRA0.htmlsi=EpGCPHeag_rPpET-&t=1838 😉🤣 Seriously, that's quite an accomplishment, and it does not look like it's anybody's very first fence. Major kudos due you there. In re Gigi The Poo Artist, I know cats can generally get through any aperture larger than the shorter dimension of their face. Maybe this works for dogs as well?