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Old timer told me to set posts in crush rock not concrete - saved my back on a rocky hillside near Durango last summer
A veteran installer with 30 years in the trade told me to stop using concrete for rocky terrain and just tamp in crushed stone instead. I was skeptical because every fence guide says concrete is the only way, but on a job near Durango where the soil was pure shale, I gave it a shot. The posts went in half the time and stayed dead solid through a rainy season while my neighbor's concrete-sets heaved and shifted. Has anyone else made the switch from concrete to crushed stone for post setting in tough ground?
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violatorres5mo ago
Nah I gotta disagree here. Concrete is still the standard for a reason especially in places with real freeze thaw cycles. I've seen too many crushed stone sets fail after a few hard winters when the ground gets saturated and starts shifting around. Posts end up wobbling like baby teeth after two or three years. You might have gotten lucky with that shale but most people don't have that kind of drainage. Concrete gives a solid anchor that doesn't budge even when the ground turns to soup.
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lindamartin5mo ago
Wait have you actually tried a good crushed stone base with proper drainage or are you just going off what you've heard? Because I've installed probably thirty posts with packed gravel and they're all still rock solid after five winters. The trick is you gotta use the right size stone and actually tamp it down in layers instead of just dumping it in. Concrete can actually cause more problems in freeze thaw since it traps water against the post and speeds up rot. I've pulled out way more concrete set posts that rotted off below grade than I've seen gravel ones wobble. I think the concrete industry just did a good job convincing everyone it's the only way.
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zara5723mo ago
People always trust the heavy option until something better comes along.
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