How to Install Barbed Wire Fence Posts
How to Install Barbed Wire Fence Posts
Barbed-wire fences typically include three to five strands of wire spaced 8 to 16 inches apart to create a barbed fence barrier 48 to 54 inches tall, according to Virginia Cooperative Extension. Due to the sheer weight and pulling force of the stretched strands of barbed wire, corner fence posts should be wood, while line posts can be wood or steel, or a combination of the two. For maximum post and fence strength, always install bracing structures for barbed-wire corner posts.
Instructions
Corner Posts
1 Excavate a 2- to 3-foot-deep post hole at the first corner post location with a manual post-hole digger. Insert the base of the 8-inch-diameter wooden corner post into the post hole, shifting the post until it's in an upright position.
2 Straighten the post, then backfill the hole with dirt. Pack the dirt tightly into the hole with a tamping rod, allowing it to mound up slightly around the base of the post to help rainwater flow away from it. Repeat this installation process with each corner post.
3 Tie twine around the base of the first corner post. Stretch the twine along the fence line to the second corner post; pull the string tight and wrap it around the second corner post to hold it in place. Repeat this process with each pair of corner posts to provide a marking line for brace and line post placement.
Bracing and Line Posts
4 Install a 5-inch-diameter wooden brace post 8 feet from the first corner post, locating it on the outside edge of the marking line; sink this post into the ground in the same way you installed the corner posts. Repeat this brace post installation process for each straight stretch of fence wire that comes to each corner post; barbed-wire fence corner posts typically require two brace posts.
5 Measure 9 inches down from the top of the first corner post on the side closest to the first brace post; drill a 2-inch-deep, 3/8-inch hole at this location. Hammer a 4-inch-long 3/8-inch brace pin into the hole; 2 inches of the brace pin should protrude from the hole.
6 Drill a 3/8-inch hole straight through the first installed brace post at a height equal to the corner post brace pin, which should be approximately 9 inches from the top of the post; this hole should be on the corner post-side of the brace. Drill a 2-inch-deep, 3/8-inch hole into one end of the 4-inch-diameter horizontal brace post. Drill a 3-inch-deep, 3/8-inch hole into the other end of the horizontal brace post.
7 Hold the horizontal brace post parallel to the ground and insert the protruding corner post brace pin into the 2-inch-deep hole on the bottom of the horizontal brace. Hammer the opposite end of the horizontal brace post to force it completely onto the corner post brace pin. Have a helper hold the opposite end of the horizontal brace post up so the 3-inch-deep hole on the post bottom is flush with the hole drilled straight through the installed brace post. Hammer an 8-inch-long brace pin straight through the two holes, pounding it until the end is flush with the outside edge of the brace post; this should secure the brace post in place. Repeat this entire installation process for each horizontal brace post.
8 Sink line posts along the outside edge of the marking line. Locate them 12 to 20 feet apart. Install wooden posts 18 to 24 inches into the ground; sink steel T-posts 12 to 18 inches deep with a manual post driver.
