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Just read a stat about fence post depth that seems off to me
I was looking at some old code specs from the county building department. They say for a 6-foot wood privacy fence, posts only need to be 24 inches deep in our soil. I've always gone 36 inches, minimum. My old boss drilled that into me. Says it prevents frost heave and keeps the line true. But the official code says less. Which way is right? Are you guys following code to the letter or going deeper on your own jobs?
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the_drew5mo ago
The county code is the legal minimum for a reason. They have soil engineers who set those specs. If 24 inches was causing failures, they'd have changed it by now.
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uma6855mo ago
Totally get where you're coming from, but man, I've seen some real messes even when people met code. Just because it's the legal minimum doesn't mean it's always enough for every single lot. Sometimes the ground is just terrible and you need to go deeper, specs or no specs. Watching a neighbor's patio crack and sink after a wet year was all the proof I needed. The code is a good baseline, but it can't cover every weird soil situation out there.
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drew6905mo ago
Yeah, codes can't fix bad dirt.
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