What is the best way to plug fence pipes? How to drive a pipe into the ground: main stages of work

Sooner or later, any owner of a suburban area faces the question of fencing his land. The fence not only performs a protective function, but also gives the area with buildings a finished look.

Naturally, the structure of the fence must be strong so that it does not have to be adjusted or completely rebuilt every year. The reliability of the building primarily depends on the correct installation of the fence frame, the basis for which is the pillars that hold the entire structure.

Installation methods

Metal pipes used as supporting elements of fencing

Supports for fences are made of metal, brick, concrete. The most common option is metal poles, which are made from profiled pipes of different diameters and lengths. Metal elements do not require complex installation, and fence sections made from a wide variety of materials can be easily attached to them.

The price of such poles is very affordable, and their durability makes their use quite attractive.

To figure out how to drive fence posts, you need to familiarize yourself with the existing methods and figure out which one is the most suitable. Supports are installed in three ways: driving, concreting, backfilling. The simplest and most accessible method is the usual method of driving pipes into the ground.

Hammering techniques

Before starting work, you should outline where the posts of the future fence will be located. Please note that the distance between the supports should be 2-3 m.

Drilling is carried out using three methods:

Using a sledgehammer.
Installation using a headstock.
Installation using a pile driver.

Regardless of the driving method, the following conditions must be observed:

the lower part should be buried 1.2-1.4 m into the ground;
you need to start the installation with the corner support elements, then stretch the cord between them to set the height level of subsequent supports;
When driving, try not to hit the top of the pipe too hard so that it does not go into the ground more than required and become deformed. Raising an excessively hammered pole to the required height will be much more difficult than hitting it again;
Before installing the supports, it is recommended to cover the part that will be underground with bitumen or an anti-corrosion compound. You can also just paint it.

The hammering method is used to create lightweight structures. This can be a fence made of chain-link mesh, profiled sheet or picket fence. When installing a fence made of corrugated sheets, it is also necessary to take into account the windage, and bury the pipes at least 1.5 m.

Hammering with a sledgehammer

Low fences are installed on small poles (up to 1.5 m long). More often, a sledgehammer is used to construct such structures. For driving, a wooden spacer is used between the pipe and the sledgehammer. The person driving the prop in this manner must be positioned above the top edge of the prop to have the ability to swing and hit hard.

The technique is, of course, cheap, but at the same time labor-intensive, requiring great physical effort. When using a sledgehammer, there is a risk of skewing the pillars, so it is recommended to perform this work in pairs. One holds the pipe vertically, the other hammers it in. Moreover, the verticality of the driven support elements should be checked with a level.

Installation using a headstock

"Grandma" for driving pipes

The “grandmother” is a simple homemade mechanism for driving pipes into the ground and is suitable for installing support elements up to 3 m long. The tool can be made independently:

Take a piece of pipe 1 m long. The diameter of the pipe should be greater than the diameter of the pillar. This is necessary so that the pipe fits freely onto it.
Weld a metal circle to one end of the pipe, add additional weight (metal scraps, lead). The heavier the “grandmother” is, the easier it will drive the post into the ground. The mass of the “grandmother” should be from 10 to 30 kg.
The mechanism is weighted using a metal circle welded not to the very end of the pipe, but with an indentation of several centimeters inward. The resulting container is filled with molten lead.
To make the process easier, you need to weld two metal handles about 1.5 m long to the pipe on the edge opposite to the weighting.

The post is installed in a pre-designated place, and the headstock is put on it. The mechanism is lifted by the handles half a meter and lowered with force. The pipe slides along the pole and, due to its weight, quickly drives the support into the ground.

For greater convenience and ease of work, you can install a tripod, which is attached to it using a strong rope or chain and a headstock block (a hook is welded to the headstock for this purpose). To drive in, pull the free edge of the chain or rope, raising the headstock, and then release it.

Due to the fact that the post is located inside the headstock pipe, the accuracy of striking increases and the possibility of the support deviating from the vertical line is significantly reduced.

Installation using a pile driver

A more expensive, but reliable way to install supporting elements is to use technology. But it may not be suitable for every site owner, since there is not always the possibility of free access for equipment.

A pile driver is a special construction equipment that can install poles into the soil and pull them out. It is used when installing and dismantling fences. It can be manual, self-propelled or non-self-propelled. With the help of a piledriver you can install and dismantle any fence in a short time.

Pros and cons of the driving method

The fence can be installed in this way independently in a relatively short time and for little money due to the fact that:

no need to dig holes to install supports;
the cost of the structure is reduced, since there is no need to buy materials for concreting the pillars;
installation does not require the use of complex machinery and equipment.

Therefore, if the groundwater runs deep enough and there is no risk of the support being loosened due to ground movement, a fence with posts driven into the ground will be quite stable and durable.

When installing a fence using the drive-in method, it should be taken into account that:

If the soil is not dense enough, the pillars may warp. The situation is aggravated by increased windage. Therefore, before deciding on the method of installing supports, everything should be carefully calculated.
Only lightweight fences are installed using the driving method. If the weight of the fence is high enough, then the entire structure may shrink.
The poles are driven only into finely stony soil to prevent the pipe from hitting an obstacle in the form of a large stone.
Impacts may cause the upper part of the support to become deformed.

If the owner of the site decides to install fence posts using the driving method, he must clearly determine the type of soil on the site and calculate the windage, as it affects the recommended depth and method of installing the supports.

The lack of private wells and the poor quality of water in central water supply systems has led to the fact that the driven well has again become in demand. In private homes, this design is often the only option for providing water. In addition, a well can be made both at home and outside, near a bathhouse or in the garden. Having your own autonomous supply is always attractive, but you need to know what a driven well or, in other words, an Abyssinian well is.

The well is convenient in all respects:

Equipment efficiency. An Abyssinian well can be dug in one day if pipes and other components are available;
Affordable price . The cost of pipes (the main cost factor) is low, and if the aquifer is close, the process is accelerated and greatly facilitated;
Preparatory work You can start already in winter.

The main thing is to find out from your neighbors how deep the aquifer layer lies or take a closer look at the wells located in the area.

Tools and equipment for the well:

First you need to purchase water pipes of at least 15 m in length. An important part of the tube well is the intake - filter, made of the same material from which the entire structure consists.

Important! The length of the intake filter is calculated based on the saturation of the aquifer. If there is excessive saturation, the length does not exceed 0.5 m; if it is insufficient, it can reach up to 1.5 m.

A turner can be entrusted with making the intake cone. It is immediately welded to the intake part or equipped with a thread and screwed on.
Pipe perforation is required. To do this, holes are drilled along the entire length of the pipe, with a diameter of up to 0.8 cm. The holes are staggered, then the pipes are wrapped in mesh, soldered with tin solder along the edges.
The intake mesh is a mandatory element, which can also be made with your own hands. A good mesh should hold a small puddle of water and at the same time allow the liquid to flow freely; the design of the mesh element can be seen in the video.

Important! A mesh made of non-ferrous metal is not suitable for the intake, due to its ability to quickly corrode and deform.

The mesh is attached to stainless steel self-tapping screws equipped with large heads. For fastening strength, it is better to drill small (2 mm) holes along the entire length of the intake pipes. It's simple and easy to do with your own hands. But after wrapping and attaching the mesh, protruding and excess parts of the mesh must be cut off! Wrapping it with wire is wrong, as soon as the intake catches on something strong in the ground, the wire will not help, the mesh will immediately break through, and not only small, but also large particles of dirt and soil will begin to fall into the water.
Extension pipes are cut into pieces of 0.5-1.5 m, depending on the soil filling. For soft formations, a slightly longer pipe length is allowed.
Use only steel couplings! But for the strength and reliability of fastening, it is better to supplement the threaded step by turning it halfway through the coupling. The operation is also simple and easy to do with your own hands, if you have some thread cutting skills. To minimize leakage at the joints, the couplings are placed on linen threads with paint.

Drilling a water well

If all the tools and equipment are prepared correctly, you can proceed to the next stage - driving the well. It’s better to first watch the whole process in the video and use our tips:

Drilling is done with a conventional fishing drill with a modified handle and brace. The handle is changed so that extension legs can be connected to the drill, the brace is changed to a T-shaped handle.

Advice! To make driving take as little time as possible, it is better to do the work together. This will make it easier to remove the drill from the ground and clean it.

As soon as quicksand is discovered, the process must be stopped, a pipe with an intake pipe should be lowered into the well and a mallet should be taken. The beater is an ordinary block of wood, equipped on both sides with metal brackets fixed vertically. The pipe must be hammered with it, it is only important to maintain the uniformity of the blows.

Advice! The presence of water in the layer is checked by pouring liquid into the well; if it does not linger, but leaves immediately, the drilling site has been chosen correctly and the Abyssinian driving well will soon be ready.

After clogging the pipes is completed, you can connect the pump using a hose with clamps and pump out the water.

Clean and tasty water flows out, without film formations, foam and sediment - the result is achieved. But for your own peace of mind, it’s a good idea to do a water analysis in the laboratory, since it’s impossible to do it yourself, to make sure it’s safe. In case of an unpleasant odor or the appearance of a film, it is better to continue driving the pipes to a greater depth, checking from time to time the presence of an aquifer. There’s no point in going deeper than 15 meters; it won’t be an Abyssinian well, but a different structure.

It is difficult to pump out water if the water surface is below 9 meters. If an operation is necessary, a pit is dug into which a pump is lowered or a well is made to install a water pumping station.

It is rare, but it happens that the aquifer is not located. In this case, remove the pipes; if you don’t know how, watch the video, bury a well and drill an Abyssinian well with your own hands in another place on the site.

Preparing a well for use

So, the water is good, the groundwater is saturated, which means you can start constructing a well. To do this, a set of pipes is leveled above the soil level for ease of connection. In this case, you can replace the last elbow that was added with a piece of the required length or simply cut off the excess by cutting a thread on the top. A thread is required to equip the valve and connect the hose part.

Advice! The valve often breaks, so it is better to install it in front of the pump (at the top); in case of failure, the valve will be easier to replace. If the well is intended for use during the warm period, in the winter cold the valve is removed until spring. And if the well begins to operate year-round, then in severe frosts it is also better to dismantle the valve, putting it on only for use of the well, and make sure that no water remains in the pump.

After installing the valve, the well is pumped with a hand pump, and only then, when the system is filled with water, an electric pump or water pumping station is connected. This will ensure a constant column of liquid in the pipe and the Abyssinian well will work more efficiently.

Cleaning the Abyssinian well system

As you can see, it’s not difficult to plug a well with your own hands; all you need is a set of pipes, tools and some patience. During operation, the intake will become clogged with particles, which means you will have to clean or completely replace the intake mesh or the entire collection. But there are also cases when the water disappears completely. The reasons can be different, from natural phenomena to man-made. Solution: drill deeper into the ground and build not an Abyssinian well, but a well with a casing pipe.

In conclusion and to help

New technologies for plugging “disposable” wells with your own hands are interesting. Such wells are made for a short time, for example, to provide water in the summer until the Abyssinian well is ready. For the arrangement, a metal-plastic pipe is used, hammered with a composite rod. The intake is no different from a regular one, only it is equipped with a cone-shaped recess inside so that the driving rod rests in this place. The metal-plastic elbow is connected to the intake via a coupling and the entire structure is lowered into the drilled well. As soon as the rod is inserted into the pipe, it is rested against the recess of the intake, an anvil is screwed onto the top of the rod and the intake is hammered to the required depth. Having reached aquiferous soil, remove the rod, connect the pipe to the pump and you can pump the well to obtain clean water.

An Abyssinian pipe well is the optimal source of water intake for a cottage/garden. This option is unsuitable for an autonomous water supply system for a cottage, since it does not meet the daily needs of family members. Before driving a tube for a well on a site, it is necessary to study the design and find a water layer. Important restrictions for the Abyssinian well are:

water extraction by hand (column) or surface pump - the maximum diameter of the casing is limited to 32 mm, depth 12 m (in practice, surface pumps can extract liquid from only 8 m);
the use of upper aquifers - “upper water” or a sand layer; it is impossible to clog a pipe to the level of the artesian horizon;
short service life - due to the low maintainability of the design; once the filter holes are clogged/silted, it is impossible to clean it.

Figure 1. An Abyssinian pipe well is a budget option for drilling a well in a country house.

For the needs of gardeners/summer residents, plugging a well is a reasonable solution that ensures a minimum plumbing budget. You will not have to pay for water, since the subsoil is not used; the regulatory authorities will in any case allow the use of the source for domestic needs (Fig. 1).

Advantages of the Abyssinian driving needle hole

Before sinking an Abyssinian type well, it is necessary to find water on the site, place the well in accordance with SNiP, SanPiN standards, ensuring the maximum resource of the source. The main requirements are the distances from the well to significant objects:

50-25 m to the septic tank. In the event of sewage leaks, this distance will ensure natural post-treatment with soil, while the depth of the well should be greater than the distance from the surface to the bottom wall of the treatment facility chamber.
4 m from the house, outbuildings, small architectural forms. The proximity of an aquifer from which liquid is periodically pumped reduces the strength of the soil on which the foundations rest.

To reduce the construction budget, traditional methods for determining groundwater are more often used. The vegetation within the site is being examined; some plants show the water carrier with 70% accuracy. The branches of the vine begin to twist and shift in the hands of the researcher in the place where the underground sand lens is present.

The best option is to order a vertical electrical sounding service. This technology operates with ground-based instruments, special software, and does not require the production of control wells. Based on the results, an electrogeological section is compiled, not only the presence of a source is determined, but also the salt content in it.

The advantages of the Abyssinian well are:

Figure 2. The Abyssinian well does not take up much space, so to save space, you can lay other sources nearby.

Cheapness. The source of water intake is cheaper than any other method of water extraction.
Simplicity. The design does not have complex angles or units.
Hygiene. The water surface is protected from clogging and surface water, and the mouth is easily sealed.
High speed of work. Wells of 8 m are driven in a day.
Energy independence of technology. The pipe is immersed in the ground using the simplest device.
Variability in the placement of pumping equipment. The pump can be mounted on a pipe and removed from the well at a reasonable distance, for example, into the basement of a house.

For the convenience of workers, the pipes are expanded after some deepening into the well, which allows them to be added as needed. The lack of access roads, electricity, and difficult terrain are not obstacles to this technology. After the pipes have exhausted their service life, they can be cut below the fertile layer, plugged without removing them to the surface, and another source can be mounted next to the first one (Fig. 2).

There is a way to deepen a pipe into a well being manufactured without using a sledgehammer, a piledriver, or damaging the threads in its upper part. The technology looks like this:

Figure 3. Manufacturing technology of the Abyssinian well.

a drill is used to make a guide well with a depth of 0.7 - 0.5 m;
before driving the pipe, it is placed vertically;
two massive metal clamps are attached in the lower third;
a headstock is put on the pipe (a massive blank with a central hole and eyes on opposite sides);
in the upper part, a simple pulley block (two blocks for cables) is fixed with clamps on bolts.

To make a well, two workers are enough, who need to periodically lift the headstock by the cable and release it at the top point. The headstock hits the lower clamp, the force is transferred to the pipes, which gradually sink into the soil. As they go deeper, the clamps rise higher and new pipes are screwed in (Fig. 3)

Figure 4. Spearhead design.

The technology is only suitable for loose, plastic soils; it is impossible to drive a spear-shaped tip into a large boulder or rock using this method. Unlike the drilling method, the casing is also a working tool, so the structure consists of several related units:

A spear is a pointed tip.
The filter is a piece of perforated pipe in a metal mesh, welded to the tip.
A check valve is, in practice, an ordinary metal ball mounted on a diaphragm inside a pipe.
Casing string. It is extended with separate pipes and threaded connections.

To ensure normal well flow, the filter is buried 1-0.7 m below the static level of the water intake source.

The spear-shaped tip has a minimal area and slides off small stones or destroys them. This option is preferable to simply flattening or cutting the pipe at an acute angle. In addition, the casing does not become clogged with soil and remains clean throughout its entire length (Fig. 4)

Operation of the Abyssinian well

The lifespan of the water intake source is 15-30 years when reaching the sand lens, 5-10 years when taking liquid from the “upper water”. Therefore, for long-term operation you will have to plug the pipes several times.

In addition, the upper aquifer is too capricious, the level drops in abnormally hot years, several users from the same aquifer drain the source faster than when used by a single family. It may contain wastewater from industrial enterprises and liquid used by oil workers to maintain reservoir pressure.

Therefore, laboratory analysis is necessary before using water for food. He will help you select the necessary equipment for the water treatment system. Having made a sand well with your own hands, it is recommended to use pumping equipment regularly. During periodic, seasonal operation, the flow rate decreases annually, and the filter at the bottom of the well becomes silted.

The Abyssinian well has a small diameter, so submersible pumps do not fit into it. The pressure of surface modifications of pumping stations is limited to 8-12 m. Therefore, driving the needle to a greater depth does not make sense.

The design is easily integrated into the landscape design of the site; in 90% of cases, a wellhead water supply system is used for the Abyssinian well. Inserting a pipeline at a level below the freezing level with the production of an underground pipeline for entry into the house in this case is not economically profitable. The caisson for the Abyssinian well is not used for the same reason.

The construction of any fence begins with the installation of the supporting part - the pillars. The more securely they are installed, the longer the fence will last under the influence of winds and bad weather. Therefore, this stage of work is the most critical and must be carried out according to technology. After familiarizing yourself with it, you can confidently place poles and build a fence with your own hands without the involvement of hired workers and equipment.

Methods of mounting supports - which one to choose?

When erecting fences, 3 methods of installing supporting structures are practiced:

direct driving into the ground;
partial concreting;
complete pouring of concrete into the underground part of the rack, including the installation of a strip foundation.

Note. In turn, partial concreting is carried out in two ways - pouring the so-called concrete collar or filling the well below the soil freezing line.

Pole installation options

Each of the listed methods is used under certain conditions, depending on the quality of the soil, its saturation with moisture and the degree of freezing. In addition, the choice of technique is influenced by vertical and lateral loads created by the weight of the structure and its windage. An important rule applies to solid fences: they must be able to withstand wind loads, which sometimes exceed the weight of the fence.

Load on a solid fence made of corrugated sheets

Simply driving posts into the ground allows you to speed up construction and significantly reduce its cost. In contrast to these advantages, the method has numerous disadvantages:

A post driven into soft or loose soil (chernozem, clay, sand) will quickly become loose in the wind and tilt when solid fence sections with large windage are attached to it. The latter includes corrugated sheets, polycarbonate and various wooden boards.
If the height of the fence exceeds 2 m, then the wind will turn out the clogged post in any case, even together with a chain-link mesh that is transparent to the air flow.
In areas with clayey, moist soil that swells at subzero temperatures, such supports will come out of the ground by 5-10 cm in the first winter. After which they will finally be tilted by the wind.
After driving, the post is not able to bear a large load in terms of mass. Metal structures or artistic forging elements cannot be attached to it.

Heavy fence made of forged elements

From the above it follows that driving in racks can be used under the following conditions:

when your site has hard or rocky soils;
driving into soft soil is possible if the height of the fence does not exceed 1.5 m, and the spans are made of mesh - chain-link or other wind-transparent material;
if it is necessary to quickly erect temporary fencing;
when constructing wickerwork or low decorative fences near flower beds and front gardens.

To fence the front garden, posts can be driven into the soil

Concreting will require a lot of labor, time and money. Just hardening the concrete will take you 3 weeks, not to mention buying the ingredients to prepare the mixture and finding a concrete mixer. In return you receive the following bonuses:

durability (the fence will easily stand for 30-50 years, depending on the material);
proper concreting is used on all types of soil;
reinforcement with concrete mixture is suitable for all types of fences, including heavy ones (stone, brick, metal structures, forging).

Fence with brick pillars

Note. Racks cannot be concreted in swampy, oversaturated soil. But in such situations, driving will not help; you need to build a pile-screw foundation.

It turns out that the choice of installation method for racks depends on the conditions in each specific case. Hammering saves time and money, but is not always applicable. Concrete is used everywhere and provides reliability and durability for any structure, although it is more expensive. On stable, dry soils, construction costs are reduced by partially concreting the supports.

Materials for pillars

To install a fence erected around a plot of land, the following types of poles are used:

from wooden beams and logs;
from various rolled metal products - profile and round pipes, channels and angles;
made of brick and concrete.

Wooden fence

Reference. Channels and angles are used either singly or double, welded into a “box”.

As a rule, wooden posts are installed when constructing a fence made of slabs, boards or thin logs (picket fence). They are also convenient to use together with plasticized mesh or chain-link mesh. The advantages of wooden poles are:

low price;
ease of processing and fastening of fence sections;
fracture strength of the material, lack of flexibility, like metal;
The supports can be given a wonderful appearance using wood carving, varnishing or painting.

Palisade with wooden supports

The use of wood as fence posts has one significant disadvantage - the material quickly deteriorates from exposure to weather conditions. To prevent a wooden stand from rotting in 10-15 years, it will have to be treated with an antiseptic and periodically painted. There is also a danger of the fence catching fire from an accidentally thrown cigarette butt.

Rolled metal is a universal solution for the construction of various fences, but it is also more expensive. Although steel pipes also need to be protected from corrosion, they will last much longer than wooden racks. Sections made of various materials, from wood to forging elements, can be attached to metal. Steel posts are also used in the construction of permanent fences - they serve as the core of a brick pillar, to which wickets and gates are subsequently welded.

Steel pipe serves as a frame for brick supports

Reference. For quick assembly of fences made of corrugated sheets and polycarbonate, ready-made kits of metal profile pipes and fastening elements for them are available for sale.

Eurofence with concrete pillars

Concrete pillars are installed complete with a so-called Eurofence, consisting of individual slabs decorated with a relief pattern. In other cases, it is impractical to use concrete supports due to the high price and complexity of installation (the racks are quite heavy). But they also “live” for a long time - up to 50 years, and are not afraid of winds, precipitation and temperature changes.

Selection of columns by section

timber with a section of 10 x 10 cm, minimum - 8 x 10 cm;
log with a diameter from 100 to 150 mm;
for a palisade it is better to take round timber of the maximum size - 15 cm.

For pillars, it is advisable to select logs of the same diameter

When selecting wooden supports, you should pay attention not only to the cross-section, but also to find out the type of wood. Birch and poplar are of little use for outdoor structures because they rot quickly. The best choice in terms of price/quality ratio is softwood materials. They contain a significant amount of natural resins that help resist environmental influences.

Profile pipes for fence

When selecting metal poles, consider the following recommendations:

with a fence height of 2-2.5 m, take a profile pipe cross-section of 60 x 40 mm; for a one and a half meter fence, products measuring 40 x 40 mm will be used;
the optimal diameter of a round pipe is 57 mm;
take the maximum size of corners and channels installed individually to be 90 and 160 mm, respectively.

Diagram showing pipe cross-sections

Advice. To ensure that steel supports last at least 20 years, choose rolled metal with a wall thickness of at least 3 mm.

The pillars to which the gate leaves and wicket are attached carry an increased load, so their cross-section must be larger. As a rule, a profile pipe size of 100 x 120 mm or a round pipe diameter of 109 mm is sufficient. The cross-section of the channels and angles remains unchanged, but for gates they are combined in pairs by welding into a “box”.

Calculation of basic parameters for do-it-yourself installation

Measure the overall length of the fence using a tape measure. Determine the height of the fence for safety reasons and based on personal wishes. As practice shows, it is not economically feasible to build a continuous fence more than 2.5 m high. The optimal height to save materials is 2 m (a six-meter pipe is divided into 3 parts).
Determine the height of the pillars. The principle is this: to create a reliable support lever in the ground, the stand must be immersed in the ground at least 1/3. If you plan to build a 2-meter fence, then at least 1 m of the support must be in the ground, then its total length will be 3 m.
Count the number of columns depending on the interval of their installation.

Fences with a height of more than 2.5 m are best made of mesh

Advice. At the preparatory stage, it is worth coordinating the construction with the neighbors, so that later there will be no disputes regarding the delimitation of plots.

It is important to choose the correct step for installing the supports, depending on the area and windage of the fence. The distance between the posts should be between 2 and 3 m. A smaller interval is not advisable from the point of view of economy, and a larger one sharply reduces the reliability of the structure. The exact selection is made on an individual basis.

Solid fence with an optimal distance between posts of 2.5 m

Calculation example for a fenced area length of 13.4 m with a fence height of 1.5 m:

If you divide this distance into 4 sections, then the pitch of the pillars will be 3.23 m. With such a span length, the fence can be built from brick or chain-link mesh on metal posts. It is extremely undesirable to install corrugated sheets or other solid material; the racks will be shaken by the wind.
Dividing into 5 sections will give an optimal interval of 2.56 m. This is a suitable option for most fences, both wooden and metal.
If you divide the distance into 6 spans, then the length of each span will be 2.12 m. The reliability of such a fence will be excellent, although the cost of construction will increase. But here you can save on the cross-section of the pillars and take a smaller standard size according to the assortment.

An example of a breakdown into 4 spans

Advice. The optimal distance between the posts of a solid fence 2 m high is 2.5 m. This is the best option in terms of price/reliability ratio when it comes to the most popular fences made of corrugated sheets on metal supports.

An example of a breakdown into 5 spans

If you choose the optimal pitch of 2.5 m, then the construction of the fence will require 6 supports protruding 1.5 m above ground level. According to calculations, the total length of the post together with the underground part is 1.5 / 2 x 3 = 2.25 m, with a margin of 2.5 m. In total, 2.5 x 6 = 15 m of pipe or channel will be required.

Breakdown into 6 spans

Reference. Concrete Euro fences have a fixed span length of 2 m, so calculating the number of posts is not difficult.

How to install fence posts by driving

To carry out construction work you will need various tools and equipment:

measuring instruments - tape measure, liquid level;
long twine and pegs for marking;
manual or mechanized drill;
sledgehammer or portable hydraulic hammer;
bayonet shovel;
tamper

If you plan to install wooden posts, they must be treated so that they do not rot in the ground. First, cover the entire support with an antiseptic composition such as Novotex or Biosept, and then tar the underground part with molten bitumen.

Advice. The bitumen coating must adhere firmly to the surface, otherwise it will peel off when driving the post. For this reason, it is not recommended to use cold bitumen compounds and primers to protect racks.

Painted metal supports

Before installation, the underground part of the metal poles must be cleaned of rust, coated with a primer and also applied with hot resin. The operation will not take much of your time, since the bitumen hardens quite quickly.

Work order

The first stage of installation of the supporting part of the fence is marking. Stretch a string on stakes between the extreme points, and then measure along it the calculated intervals between the posts, marking their installation points. The installation technology is as follows:

At the designated points, drill wells of the calculated depth. The diameter of the drill should be 2-4 cm less than the cross-section of the post. When drilling, try to hold the tool vertically and not swing, so as not to break the walls of the hole, which will cause the post to fall in there without any driving.
It is advisable to trim the ends of the wooden posts, this makes it easier to insert them into the hole.
Compact the bottom of the well with a tamper and add some sand or small crushed stone.
Hammer the first post to the required height with a sledgehammer. Here you will need the services of an assistant who will support the end of the support and prevent it from vibrating from impacts.
Repeat the previous operation with the last post and pull a rope between them to break off the top level.
Drive in the remaining posts, focusing on the level of the string. Cover them with earth on all sides and compact it.

Marking the fence on the site

Important! In order to maintain a clear vertical when installing pillars, it must be controlled during the drilling process. It is impossible to align the support when driving if the hole is drilled crookedly. But if this happens, then you can correct the matter in the manner described below.

Photo instructions for driving in racks

When driving the column, an assistant must support it. Drilling a hole with a motor drill This is what a finished well looks like for driving Using hammering, the frame is installed in 1 day

Installation of backfilled pillars

To implement this method, you will need medium-sized stones, broken bricks and tiles or large crushed stone. The installation procedure is as follows:

Drill or dig a hole to the required depth. It should be 10-15 cm wider than the cross-section of the support.
Compact the bottom of the hole and fill it with crushed stone. Have an assistant place the post and hold it upright using a building level.
Fill the space between the soil and the stand with stones or crushed stone, compacting it periodically.
Sprinkle the installed column with soil on top and compact it.

Scheme of backfilling supports

Reference. There is an old-fashioned way to secure the support tightly using backfill. You need to make a liquid solution of clay and water and pour it between the stones into each hole. The clay will fill all the pores and, after hardening, will hold up no worse than concrete.

Video on driving posts

Instructions for concreting supports

This technology involves full or partial filling of columns with a concrete mixture of grade M100 in dry soil and M150 when the ground is wet. To calculate the amount of materials required for concreting, use the data from the table, which shows their volumes for preparing different grades of mortar.

Calculation table for concrete, cement and other ingredients of concrete mixture

Knowing the number of holes for supports and their depth, it is easy to calculate the total consumption of building materials. When fully concreting, no more than 4 standard buckets of concrete are placed in a hole 1 m deep. Additionally, prepare the following materials:

roofing felt or plastic film to separate the concrete mixture from the ground;
sand for adding to the bottom of the well;
pieces of reinforcement or corners for anchoring.

Building materials for concreting pillars

The set of tools used is the same as for driving, only instead of a sledgehammer you will need a concrete mixer. As a last resort, you can do without it and prepare the mixture on a sheet of metal using a shovel. To fix and anchor metal posts, you need to prepare a welding machine.

How to concrete: pouring technology step by step

The first stage of work, consisting of marking and digging holes, is carried out using the technology described above. Complete concreting of pillars is carried out in the following sequence:

Compact the bottom of the hole, add sand and compact it again.
Install the support and level it vertically in two planes, using a building level.
Fix the pipe in the design position by welding the cutting corners to it so that their ends rest against the soil. If the posts are wooden, then nail strips to them or simply wedge them with large stones.
Cover the bottom of the well and earthen walls with roofing material or film. The goal is to prevent the milk from leaking out of the concrete, which reduces the strength of the latter.
Prepare a concrete mixture and place it in a hole with a stand. During the pouring process, make sure that it does not deviate from the vertical and is level.

Full concreting of the rack

Advice. In the first 20 min. after pouring, when the concrete releases excess water, the position of the column can be adjusted in order to align the vertical.

Vertical adjustment after concreting

Complete hardening of the concrete mixture occurs after 3 weeks. Until then, it is not allowed to carry out work that could load the columns. The most you can do is clean them and paint them.

How to install and concrete columns: photo

Filling the hole with concrete The pit is filled to the top with concrete It is better to cover the edges of the well with roofing felt
Fixing the stand with supports Using a rope is more convenient to determine the installation point of the pole Preparation of concrete mixture

About partial concreting: what depth to bury and what is the distance between the columns

If the soil on your site is dry and not free-flowing, then it is pointless to spend materials on a full fill. It is enough to make a concrete collar for each column using the following technology:

Dig a hole half the calculated depth, but make it 20-25 cm wider than the section of the rack.
Take the finished support and hammer it in the middle of the bottom of the hole to the required depth. Compact the soil around the pipe and add sand.
Perform anchoring and roofing felt formwork as described in the previous section.
Fill the hole with concrete mixture.

This is how frost heaving forces act on fence posts

The method is convenient in that it is easier to align a post halfway into the ground vertically and fix it in this position. But this technology, like complete concreting, is not applicable in heaving soils. In severe frosts, the soil will push the entire structure out. To prevent this from happening, use the following instructions:

Find out exactly what the freezing depth of the ground is in your area. Calculate the total height of the supports using the following formula: above-ground part + freezing depth + 0.5 m.
Prepare a mixture of crushed stone and sand to replace the heaving soil around the post.
Drill a hole so that the drill goes 0.6-0.7 m below the border of the frozen soil. Make a 10 cm layer of sand and compact it.
Install the support and secure it in a vertical position.
Fill the hole with concrete to a height of 0.5 m.
After the monolith has set, fill the well to the top with a mixture of sand and crushed stone.

Concrete is poured no higher than the frost line, and then crushed stone is poured

Note. Considering that in some regions of the Russian Federation the soil freezes to 2-2.5 m, the fence posts will be very long and the well will be deep. Therefore, the choice of material for pillars is small; only steel pipe is suitable.

When the moisture-saturated soil is replaced with crushed stone, and the concrete monolith is located below the freezing line, the forces of frost heaving will not be able to push your support out of the ground.

How to properly concrete pillars - video

As you can see, the technology for installing fence posts does not contain any particular difficulties. Also, no special equipment is required to complete the work, but if you have a concrete mixer or hydraulic hammer, things will go much faster. It is better to build a fence with an assistant, since most operations are inconvenient to perform alone.

The reliability and durability of any fence largely depends on how correctly the structure’s supports were positioned and secured. Installing fence posts requires thorough preparation of the well or hole and careful alignment of the position of the supports during the assembly of the supporting frame. It is even more difficult to install fence posts on clay or drive supports into rocky soil filled with rock fragments, although such soil would be ideal for a foundation.

Conditions for installing fence posts

In a fence structure, the posts are the main strength element that holds the entire mass of the structure in a vertical position. Depending on the material used to make the frame and fence, the load on one post can range from 40 to 120 kg. If we add the high windage of the fence, it becomes clear that the requirements for the post must be quite stringent:

Ensuring maximum bending strength of the columnar support. To select the correct section, you need to know the maximum wind speed in a given area. For example, with a not very strong wind of 15 m/s, a load of 130-140 kg falls on a solid vertical fence sheet, so the support must be quite massive, and it must be driven to a considerable depth;
For heaving soils, the pillars are driven or buried below the freezing point of the soil. If the water level is significant, you can limit yourself to a hole or well to a depth of 1/3 of the height of the post for picket fences and slatted fences, and ½ for fences with a solid web;
For soft, waterlogged soils around the point where the support is buried in the soil, experts recommend making a transition section in the form of a blind area, laying a mini-foundation of brick or casting it from concrete.

For your information! The use of a concrete collar makes it possible to increase the rigidity of fastening the post in the ground by an order of magnitude, even if it is driven to a depth less than the recommended value.

In addition to installation speed and strength, the second, but no less important criterion for high-quality installation of poles is to ensure the most accurate positioning of the supports in height, along the contour line and deviation from the vertical position.

The easiest way is to use a building level, a plumb line and a marking cord. This set allows you to simultaneously hammer the post and periodically control the height and deviation from the vertical. Experts recommend plugging the pipe and checking the level every 100-150 mm of support settlement.

If the pole or support is not intended to be driven in, but dug in, you can use more complex devices, for example, such as in the photo.

One of the homemade devices that helps to score and control the deviation is shown in the video:

For straight sections of long fences, it is recommended to use a geoleveler, which provides high positioning accuracy. When driving in supports over a length of more than 15 m, cords give an error of 50-70 mm, which, for example, is unacceptable for laying sheets of corrugated sheets, since the error is visible to the naked eye.

Pole installation methods

Today there is no universal technology that allows you to drive any type of support into weak or strong soil. The second factor is cost; you can, of course, install supports or drive piles using construction methods, but in this case their installation will be more expensive than the entire fence. Therefore, when choosing a method for installing supports, you have to look for a reasonable balance between price and strength, based on the material, the size of the supporting elements and the amount of work.

Fence supports are installed in the ground in three ways:

Steel profiles or pipes are hammered or screwed into the ground under great mechanical force;
They dig into a pre-drilled hole or pit with the base reinforced with gravel, rubble stone or concreting;
In a combined way, using motorized drilling and support insertion methods.

For your information! The latter method is most widespread for installing a large number of steel tubular poles of increased diameter. The combined method eliminates the need for concreting, which significantly increases the speed of fence installation.

How to drive fence posts using a combined method

For small cross-section tubular posts, the easiest way is to drive the steel profile into the ground using a pad or sledgehammer. This is the most productive and crude way to install supports. The support is hammered in by a team of at least two or three people. One worker fixes the support at a point, the second and third in turn upset the profile post by hitting the top edge with a sledgehammer. A free or resting team member periodically checks the deviation of the pillar using a building level.

The combined process of installing pillars is carried out in several stages. After marking and clearing the installation site of turf, before hammering in the support, a hole of smaller diameter is drilled at the point, to a depth of 2/3 of the calculated depth of the column, but not less than 30-40 cm.

This method of preparation helps to hammer the pipe even in the most difficult soil. In addition, the reduced soil resistance to a minimum facilitates the initial alignment of the pipe along the vertical deviation.

The higher the pillars have to be placed, the more difficult it is to hammer in the support posts with a sledgehammer. A standard two-meter fence will require a pipe up to three meters long. Even taking into account the preliminary hole, the height is quite large, and it becomes inconvenient to hammer into the end part of the support with blows.

It is much easier to work with headstock hammers, with which you can hammer a post of any height, from one to five meters. The system consists of two parts. The first, in the form of a massive steel clamp, is rigidly attached to a tubular support, the second, made in the form of a heavy steel headstock, is simply put on the pipe. As the pipe sinks under the blows of the headstock against the clamp, the latter has to be rearranged and hammered until it settles completely.

The most difficult and time-consuming task is to hammer in a tubular profile with a square cross-section. First of all, due to the uneven deflection of the pillar and deviation from the vertical as it sinks into the ground. If you need to hammer in a large number of squares, in some cases it makes sense to use jigs or guides.

Small and thin pipes can be hammered using an electric jackhammer. At the same time, the speed and quality of immersion in the soil increases by an order of magnitude.

How to dig fence posts

The process of installing a pole using digging requires much more effort and time. But, unlike “hammered” supports, dug-in posts can be aligned almost perfectly, which, in turn, provides a very smooth surface of the fence.

The standard digging method involves drilling a well with a diameter of at least 20-25 cm. The depth of the well is chosen below the level of soil heaving. A gravel cushion is poured onto the bottom of the well, and the walls are lined with a layer of roofing felt. A pole made of metal or wooden beams is installed in the hole and fixed with supports, aligned to the building level.

The pillar can be secured by pouring concrete, rubble stone or compacted gravel. Fixation by backfilling crushed stone can be combined with pouring concrete. In this case, the crushed stone is moistened with concrete mortar and carefully compacted in layers. At the well head, concrete is poured with a layer 20-25 cm thick.

To increase the stability of the support against heaving forces, a steel plate or cross made from angle sections is welded to the end of the steel pipe.

Conclusion

The fastest way to drive posts under a future fence is to use ready-made screw piles or geoscrews. The disadvantages of this method include the high cost of the piles themselves; each support will cost at least 1000 rubles. Since the load on the pipe from the weight of the fence is an order of magnitude less than the calculated value, in many cases such supports are made independently by welding two cutting knives to the end of the pipe. Installing such a fence post will take a maximum of two hours.