Fence Repair Coventry | Handyman Near Me

Rotting fence posts? There is a solution!

What happens when your fence posts start rotting? Should you completely rip-up your fencing and posts to replace them with all new? Or is there a cheaper (better?) solution?

Admittedly, some wooden fence posts are SO rotten that they're beyond repair, and the only real solution is a complete replacement, but for the rest, the best repair is a concrete Godfather post.

These work by giving the original wooden post some extra support, but they do need quite a lot of work to fit them; digging them in to the ground by at least 18" (around 45cm) and then setting the concrete posts themselves in concrete (or Postcrete).

In most cases, you'll need to excavate the original post concrete!

Fitting Godfather Support Posts

If your original fence posts are fitted with metal spikes that go straight into the ground, there's a good chance that they won't need replacing for a looong time - basically, once the whole post it rotten, but if your posts go straight into the soil, encased with concrete, they can rot pretty quickly.

The bad news in this situation is that there's a good chance that you've got a huge lump of concrete surrounding the post, and this needs to be broken out and excavated first. If you're good (or should that be 'lucky'?), you can just remove the concrete at the front of the post, enough to give clearance for the Godfather post. (See pics).

This concrete went down, and down, and down ... I felt like a miner!

Once the hole/concrete/pit of oblivion has been prepared & removed, the fitting process is straightforward.

Simply slide in the new post and butt it up against the existing post, ensure that it's straight and level, and mark the fixing holes through the concrete post. Unless you have a long-series drill bit, you'll need to slide the Godfather post to one side while you drill the fixing holes.

With the holes drilled, the bolts slid through and tightened, you are now ready to fill the hole back up with whatever medium you choose. I personally prefer Postcrete - it sets QUICKLY, is easy (no mixing!) and won't fail; simply pour some water in the hole and tip the Postcrete powder in.

This is what it should look like

Of course, this is pretty physical work, and ideally, you need a proper pneumatic breaker to smash the old concrete up (unless you're Miss or Mr Universe). If you don't fancy doing it, why not let me give you a price. It's a cheaper alternative to replacing the whole fence, and will outlast anything you already have.

Contact me to discuss it.