Fencing the mountain.

[nuthatched]

Hi there.
I'm trying to strengthen and make my run less thugly.
I live in the Arizona mountains, where the dirt is:
75% rock
30% clay
20% caliche (a terra cotta like substance)
40% broken fingernails and tears of gardeners who moved here from loamier parts of the planet.
I have no level ground, my run is on a hill.
I'd have to rent a jackhammer to sink posts.
I can and I'm able to use trees for about 70% of support.
I'm using 8ft deer fencing, which is great for my terrain, but it's floppy and tacky looking and I have to bunch it up at the corners to keep tension.
Right now I'm using tposts with 1x2s for height.
I'm toying with screwing eye hooks into the trees and running cable to support the top of the fencing.
I'd love to build levels of raised beds and sink posts with cement, and build H style fencing.
But...that's a couple thousand dollars more than I can spend.

Any body have ideas on fence support for the non treed areas? The tposts are as deep as I can get them, but it's not very sturdy.
Thanks!

 

[BGcoop]

Hmmm, can we get pictures of what you have going on currently?

 

[nuthatched]

Hmmm, can we get pictures of what you have going on currently?

I can tomorrow, brace yourself for my tacky run.

 

[BGcoop]

No judgment here! I too would love to have a cute little coop/run unfortunately time and cost loses out to speed and functionality Every Time!

 

[jgarner1327]

Hi there.
I'm trying to strengthen and make my run less thugly.
I live in the Arizona mountains, where the dirt is:
75% rock
30% clay
20% caliche (a terra cotta like substance)
40% broken fingernails and tears of gardeners who moved here from loamier parts of the planet.
I have no level ground, my run is on a hill.
I'd have to rent a jackhammer to sink posts.
I can and I'm able to use trees for about 70% of support.
I'm using 8ft deer fencing, which is great for my terrain, but it's floppy and tacky looking and I have to bunch it up at the corners to keep tension.
Right now I'm using tposts with 1x2s for height.
I'm toying with screwing eye hooks into the trees and running cable to support the top of the fencing.
I'd love to build levels of raised beds and sink posts with cement, and build H style fencing.
But...that's a couple thousand dollars more than I can spend.

Any body have ideas on fence support for the non treed areas? The tposts are as deep as I can get them, but it's not very sturdy.
Thanks!

I think you will have to dig into the dirt and put the posts and some concrete for fencing in each hole. Maybe use a pick and/or wet the ground first? How big is the run? When you say 1x2’s is that wood and is that along the top horizontally, because that won’t be strong enough for the vertical posts. Those should probably be 4x4’s in concrete, or metal tposts which you could set those in concrete also. If you loosen the soil to get them in but don’t put concrete in the holes, they will be wobbly.

 

[nuthatched]

I think you will have to dig into the dirt and put the posts and some concrete for fencing in each hole. Maybe use a pick and/or wet the ground first? How big is the run? When you say 1x2’s is that wood and is that along the top horizontally, because that won’t be strong enough for the vertical posts. Those should probably be 4x4’s in concrete, or metal tposts which you could set those in concrete also. If you loosen the soil to get them in but don’t put concrete in the holes, they will be wobbly.

Great idea except for that rocks don't soften when wet.

 

[kcan2]

I'm trying to strengthen and make my run less thugly.

40% broken fingernails and tears of gardeners who moved here from loamier parts of the planet.

Hilarious. I'm sure your chickens don't care about keeping up with the Joneses, and probably even less about the broken fingernails/tears of yourself or others. Regardless, I hope you are able to figure something out short of blasting!

 

[BGcoop]

Great idea except for that rocks don't soften when wet.

Well maybe not soften, but if you run ENOUGH water over them they will break down, it only takes a couple thousand years.

 

[nuthatched]

Hilarious. I'm sure your chickens don't care about keeping up with the Joneses, and probably even less about the broken fingernails/tears of yourself or others. Regardless, I hope you are able to figure something out short of blasting!

I know they don't care, but I'd like it to look better for the neighbors, (plus I'm slightly jealous of all the purty coops in the articles section) next year I'm going to attempt to redo the siding.

Well maybe not soften, but if you run ENOUGH water over them they will break down, it only takes a couple thousand years.

That would throw off my 3 year plan and do obscene things to the water bill.

 

[B-Goock]

Sounds like the same issues I run into on my limestone rock I live on. Shovel depth and clack. Rock. A solid sheet or boulder.

I used a serious hammer drill and a 1/2" concrete bit. Drill holes as deep as you can with your bit. Hammer rebar sections in the rock. Drill corresponding holes in your post with a wood bellhangers bit and hammer it down. Its still gonna wiggle around. If you want no wiggle you'll have to dig all the dirt away from the post. Drill holes around the post for rebar. Hammer some in. Cut them off below where your concrete height will be and pour concrete.