Help on Fitting Posts

[Ian Jenkin]

Hi Matthew,

We fit on a daily basis many signs for a housing developer.

For their entrance signs that comprise of a 8×4, and 2x 8×2’s underneath, we use 5m ali posts, with roughly 30" in the ground.

We have a ready made spacer of 6ft centers for the posts, we use Blue Circle postcrete on each hole (a nice tight hole helps), and cement in one post at a time using a double wrap around level.

When the postcrete goes off, usually 10mins or so, we fit our signs, bottom upwards.

I hope this helps.

[Ian Muir]

Hello Mathew

As Ian says, dig tight hole, no more than 30", plop in post, wet hole with bucket water, chuck in postcrete, pour another bucket water in, you got time to level post with ordinary level if don’t have wrap around.. bring some sticks with you and drive a couple nails in post then prop post up level with sticks.. measure distance do second post… when sturdy fit sign then level off tops of posts with a saw as necessary.

Ian :lol1:

[Graeme Harrold]

There is an extremely handy reference on the back of the Ashby Tradecatalogue

[Matthew Greer]

Cheers for the help guys, what do you use to dig your holes?

[Graeme Harrold]

A labourer!!!!!

[John Childs]

quote Matthew Greer:

what do you use to dig your holes?

A trainee. 😀

added on edit: Beat me to it Graeme. 😀

[Matthew Greer]

spade then LOL, none of you use them fancy hole digging machines?

[Graeme Harrold]

quote Matthew Greer:

spade then LOL, none of you use them fancy hole digging machines?

If you are digging narrow holes, there are proper post spades or go to your local hire shop and rent a post drill. Its all down to the ground type that will dictate what you need to do. The Ashby link I posted earlier is a very useful reference. If the ground is easy to dig, a narrow hole and postcrete may not be enough when the wind blows. Best to spend a little extra getting it right first time rather than being branded as the guy who has to come back and rectify………

[Chris Wool]

quote Matthew Greer:

spade then LOL, none of you use them fancy hole digging machines?

last time i saw one of those my mate was going round and round and round with it 😀

[Robert Lambie]

dont dig narrow holes unless you are digging into seriously hard ground.
you need a good base of concrete to take the wind load. there is not point digging narrow holes if the signs are any kind of real size because the wind will have it leaning back in a matter of hours/days, if not weeks. then you have to start again, but the works harder digging them out!

its a good idea to drill the posts at the base and slide 2no. half inch steel rods through. in one end and out the other.
make the rods about 18-20inches and have them cross paths.
so it looks a bit like old clothes poles for hanging your washing line on. 😀
this will tie the concrete together but also give the posts more stability whilst the mix is still soft. dont hang the signs if they are big, it will just lean back.

post mix is a fast method and good for things like finger posts signs and and the like. in fact its good for lots of average type siagnage as long as you can give it at least 24hrs to set. i know it goes off quick but there is no real body to the mix.
sand cement and chips hand mixed is best in my opinion. the mix is good and heavy and consistent if mixed right. post mix is more like gravel and most of it washes away when you back fill with water.

dont make your mix too wet or the post will lean.
if you have cross bars at the bottom and base plate, back fill with mix and use a spirit level to rock into 100% verticle. go back and check after 5 minutes then 20 or so… it should set nicely from there on.

the best tools are a good heavy flat nosed pinch bar and a bullit nose spade. if the hole is deep its good to have digging spoons also…
you should be able to hire all this from a local tool store if you dont plan buying them or have them.
you should definately hire a cat-scan device for scanning the ground your about to dig into. this will tell you if there are any pipes, wires etc where you are about to dig.

hope this helps…

[Ian Jenkin]

As Robert says, on a tight hole – firm ground is needed.

On soft ground, to truly be safe, a concrete pad is ideal.

Tool wise we have these digging "spoons".

We are at the stage where we dictate to the customer (usually a housing developer, for this type) about a pad.

I always think with sign fitting, peace of mind is essential.

[Peter Dee]

I often use a monkey borer (don’t know how it got that name) and a narrow post spade.
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsess … ton=submit

Also, a heavy spear type spike is great for punching through debris.
Most decent fencing suppliers will have these tools.

Rather than a corkscrew I use a Trewella borer as it’s easier to pull out of the hole than a corkscrew. These borers work best in soil where there are no large stones.
The good thing is that there is very little ground disturbance so the area surrounding the post remains impacted.

http://www.trewhella.co.uk/fencing-tools.php
http://www.stantonhope.co.uk/Tools_26_E … orers_.asp

Google "fencing tools" and you will be spoiled for choice.