• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Help At My Home

Help At My Home

Helpful Tips and Guides for Your Home

  • Buying Guides
    • Best Air Compressors
    • Best Home Garbage Disposals
    • Quietest Fan For Sleeping
    • Best Deer Fence
  • About
  • Show Search
Hide Search
How To Mix Concrete In A Hole To Set Fence Posts
We select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support the site.

How To Mix Concrete In A Hole To Set Fence Posts

04/10/2022 by HelpAtMyHome Staff

If your fence is falling apart, a lot of the time you just need new posts. You can put posts directly in the ground, but if you have a big fence or you live in a windy area a lot of people prefer using concrete. Here is how you do just that without any cement mixers or buckets.

These are few key pieces of information that you’ll want to start off with.

First of all, when dealing with cement, you should wear some form of eye protection as well as gloves.

Table of Contents show
1 Post Length
2 Post Hole Width
3 The Concrete
4 Tools Recommended
5 How To Steps

Post Length

Before ordering your posts, keep in mind that you’ll want at least a third and up to a half of the post in the ground for stability. This means if you want a 6-foot tall post, you need an 8-foot post with at 2 feet in the post, and that’s at a bare minimum.

Post Hole Width

The diameter of the post is very important for the success of your project, so be careful here. The rule of thumb is that your post hole should be 3x the width of the post (or 3x the diameter of the post if you are using something round).

So for a 4 by 4 you’ll want to use a hole that is roughly a foot wide.

The important detail here is that if your hole is too wide you risk not adding enough concrete to the hole. If the whole isn’t wide enough you won’t get the stability you need from the post hole and concrete footing.

The Concrete

For this method we’ll be using a quick setting concrete. This will be the easiest material to mix straight in a hole in the ground with no cement mixer. Plus, since you’ll be working outside we’ll want the whole process to move along quickly.

Most people will go with a 50-pound bag of Quikrete “Fast-Setting” concrete as it’s easy to find.

Tools Recommended

  • Post hole digger
  • Magnetic or torpedo level
  • Hammer and nails, wrench and bolts, etc. to affix the fence to the pst
  • Post hole digger
  • Magnetic or torpedo level
  • Hammer and nails, wrench and bolts, etc. to affix the fence to the post
  • 5-gallon plastic bucket

How To Steps

  1. Dig the hole according to the rules laid out:
    • 1/2 to 1/3 the depth of the post
    • 3x the width of the post
  2. Add gravel to the bottom of the hole, about 6 inches thick. Use the post or a piece of scrap lumber to pound down and level the gravel.
  3. Place the post in the hole, stabilize it temporarily, and use the level to place it in 90-degrees to the ground (perpendicular) on two sides.
  4. Fix the hole with your concrete mix until it’s about 3 inches below the ground level. (this will allow for grass to grow right up to the posts if you want).
  5. Add water using a bucket or a hose. Aim for 1 gallon of water per 50-pound bag of concrete. Stir. The mix should be like cake batter when you are done.
  6. Wait. The concrete will set in about 30 minutes and will be able to bear weight in about 4-6 hours, depending on conditions.

And you should be all set. As with anything else, it’ll take a little time to get the hang of working with concrete.

Filed Under: Tools Last Modified: April 10, 2022

Primary Sidebar

Table of Contents
1 Post Length
2 Post Hole Width
3 The Concrete
4 Tools Recommended
5 How To Steps
About Our Site And Expertise

Recent Posts

  • How To Fix A Dyson Vacuum Blinking Red Light
  • Diaspora Co. Spices Review
  • How To Assemble The CedarCraft Elevated Planter Greenhouse And Bird Cover
  • Black & Decker WM425-A vs. WM425: What’s The Difference?
  • Weekend Question: Can You Freeze Chicken Salad?

Categories

  • Air Purifiers
  • Baking
  • Bathroom
  • Bedding
  • Cars
  • Children
  • Coffee
  • Computers
  • Cooking Equipment
  • DIY
  • Food and Drinks
  • Furniture
  • Garage
  • Garden
  • Glue
  • Health and Wellness
  • Home Appliances
  • Home Improvement
  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Kitchen Tools
  • Laundry
  • Lighting
  • Linens
  • Mattresses
  • Organization
  • Outdoors
  • Security
  • Senior Living
  • Storage
  • Technology
  • Tools
  • Water Filters
  • Work From Home

Links

  • Affiliate Disclosure

Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018

Copyright © 2023 HelpAtMyHome.Com

  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Le Creuset
  • FIOS Battery Beeping?
  • Coway AP-1512HH Mighty
  • Best Wire Strippers