The Fence Post

The Right Tools 

The wonderful folks from Bekaert step in to help renew an extensive field fence with high tensile woven wire and barbed wire. A classic demonstration using a gripple, a stretcher bar, and a new-fangled staple gun.

Expansion

Frost heaves are caused by water that is drawn up through deep unfrozen soil to varying depths of frozen soil beneath ground level. A horizontal ice lens grows particularly in clay-type soil, collects below the frozen soil, and then expands as it freezes, slowly pushing soil, as well as rocks and debris, upwards.

                                                                                                   Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

What Lurks Below 

Certain types of soils are not a concern. Gravel and sandy soil are not susceptible to the exchange of moisture that create frost heaves. Very thick clay soil is also immune. Also, where frost only penetrates the soil an inch or two there is no need to be concerned about frost heaves, such as on the west coast and the southernmost parts of the U.S. 

However, where freezing goes deeply into the soil, your fence posts (and the footings of your deck) are subject to this upward pressure. The concrete in the fence post's base is an excellent conductor of heat and attracts moisture which can form an ice lens around the concrete base, rendering it susceptible to movement. A pressure-treated wooden post is not a good conductor of heat, particularly when wrapped with plastic or coated with tar; this helps prevent the up and down movement of the post. 

General Guidelines

Most likely, setting a post a couple of feet, and up to 5 feet, is required to offset this issue. Your local town building inspector probably has guidelines for the best depths for fence posts in your particular area. If you dig a hole that's wider at the top in a V shape, you'll have a problem. The smaller bottom of the hole will provide little resistance for the upward pressure of the moisture and what follows it. A hole dug in the shape of a bell (wider at the bottom) is better, fill it with:

• concrete
• gravel or gravel with masonry sand for good compaction
• then tamp it down every six inches

Bring the concrete or fill within a few inches of ground level and fill the rest of the way up with tamped-down dirt. Concrete footers are the best bet for offsetting the pressure that works on the fence above the frost line. Some experts recommend an insulating pad of Styrofoam about 2 inches thick beneath the footer. However, when all is said and done, setting your posts at least 2 feet underground is a safe bet. 

Frost heaves can also push up plants and expose roots to damaging wind and cold, not to mention poorly prepared roads and sidewalks.

Here's a thorough going-over of the process with a variety of scenarios:  

Do you have expertise in your area on the subject of frost heaves? Please share your insights or recommendations below.

First, a little background...

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines wire gauge as any of various systems consisting of a series of standard sizes used in describing the diameter of wire. It all starts with heavy coils of large diameter wire called rod made in a rolling mill. The rod is then shipped to a wire manufacturing mill. To make the wire used in wire fence and mesh, single strands are "drawn" through a series of increasingly smaller dies or plates and reduced to a specific gauge/diameter. The gauge is determined by the wire's final use - single strand wire, welded wire mesh or woven wire fence. Heating of the wire is not required in the drawing process.

In this article, we'll answer the following questions:

• What is wire gauge?

• What does it mean?

• How is it used to describe wire?

Wire Gauges Over Time

There have been several different gauge designations since the process outlined in the introduction was innovated.

Numbers have been used to designate wire diameter since 1735. They originally referred to the number of draws used in the process. The first draw was called 1 gauge, the second 2 gauge, the third 3 gauge, on down to the final draw of the thinnest wire being made.

The amount of "draws" required in the process determines why thick wires have a lower gauge number compared to thin wires. 9 gauge wire is thicker than 14 gauge because it requires fewer "draws" than 14 gauge.

The Birmingham Wire Gauge, also known as the Stubs Iron Wire Gauge, was originally developed in early 19th-century England as a means of standardizing gauge sizes. It has been used in a medical setting (needles) since the early 20th century. In 1855, Brown and Sharpe established a formula-based progression of 39 steps - from 1 gauge through 40 gauge. This is now known as the American Wire Gauge and is used extensively in the United States.     

Common Wire Gauges 

The following values show in inches the most common gauges of wires used in welded and woven wire mesh and fence:

• 8.5 gauge - 0.155 inch

• 9 gauge - 0.1483 inch

• 10.5 gauge - 0.128 inch

• 11 gauge - 0.1205 inch

• 12.5 gauge - 0.099 inch

• 14 gauge - 0.080 inch

• 16 gauge - 0.0625 inch

• 18 gauge - 0.0475 inch

• 20 gauge - 0.0348 inch

• 21 gauge - 0.0317 inch

• 23 gauge - 0.0258 inch

• 27 gauge - 0.0173 inch

There are many different combinations of wire gauge and mesh size manufactured. You can select the right product for the requirements of your project.

>We offer expert advice on fencing free of charge for all of your fencing projects. Please feel free to call us at (866) 328-5018 or you can request a free quote by clicking the button. If you aren't quite ready to talk fencing yet, simply download our free catalog. 

Need some inspiration? Check out these recommended articles and more:

• Everything You Need to Know About Welded Wire Mesh Fence Panels
• Why You Should Use Steel Posts with Wire Fences