Concrete Posts Endure In Alaska

Concrete Posts Endure In Alaska FENCING Fence Systems Bernie Willis’s concrete electric fence posts save him money and have held up well through Alaska’s tough winters So far the only thing that has ever damaged them was a hungry moose that was caught in the high tensile wire and fought so hard to get free that it broke one off     Willis got the concrete post idea from his father-in-law a Washington contractor who made posts instead of wasting leftover cement Willis also once saw concrete posts on a trip to New Zealand     About 10 years ago when he needed to fence paddocks for his horses treated corner posts cost about $15 each in Alaska He purchased Portland cement and made his own posts for about $5 each     Willis makes forms out of boards and plywood for 7-ft long posts so about 42 in of the post is out of the ground He embeds scraps of 3/4-in square by 4-in log plastic UHMW for insulators A hole is drilled through both ends of the plastic – to secure it to rebar inside the cement post Wire runs through the hole outside the post     Instead of braces above ground Willis secures the post with treated boards next to the posts and flat just under the ground for side resistance     “The cross piece acts as a fulcrum to keep the post from tipping over ” he explains     He forms each post with a taper from 6 in to 4 in for corner posts and 12 in to 6 in for gate posts To set a cement post he digs a hole with his backhoe then chains it to the bucket and drops it in backfilling the hole by hand     Willis has made about a dozen posts for his paddocks with plastic electrical conduit as spacers between the high tensile wires     “With these strong cement posts I only need a post in the ground about every 100 ft when the ground is flat ” he notes     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bernie Willis 7362 W Parks Hwy 246 Wasilla Alaska 99623 ph 907 357-4233

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