It would be interesting to see the dry pack after say 6 months to a year. You guys are doing Gods work. Keep up the great content

Worked in the sign industry for 35 years. I dry-packed signposts the whole time. I have installed 5' by 10' electric signs that have to withstand strong wind loads with many hundreds of tons of pressure. There are signs that I installed 30 years ago that were strictly dry packed. They still hold up just fine. The thing about dry packing and the trick to it is to tamp it a few inches at a time with a rod. This compacts the soil in all directions. In my expert opinion, the dry packed post is sturdier because the soil has been tamped under and around the post. It takes more work to do this though.

A great comparison. Thanks for takin the time to really test the differences. The removal and examination of each method shows a lot more detail that just reading the packaging info.

Thank you ... I like it when a KZfaq video delivers only the facts and only the facts based on the title of the video in a clear English voice with no background music to distract for the information being delivered ... I rate this video 5 stars and I have subscribed to your channel ...

I can't believe how much I actually enjoyed this video and laughed my butt off even though this is a very legitimate set of tests. Really appreciate it, thanks!

I do a lot of dry set and never have any issues but I also add water while doing the dry set. They were just allowing for the moisture in the soil to create the setting but in dry soil it will take forever to set it at all. Just add water to the hole and continue to add water until it stops absorbing. It’s simple, easy, and works great.

That was actually pretty damn good science guys. I actually found this looking at placing 24 6x6 piers for a 46x16 deck in 48" frost line NE. For that, I think I learned that since I'm going 60" deep, my below frostline cookies/base foot are gonna have to be wet crete.

Thank you for your time and for sharing!

Advice I received from an Uncle over 60 years ago on how to properly put up a fence. 1) Dig post-holes until you are sick and tired of digging post-holes. 2) Plant fence posts until you are sick and tired of planting fence posts. 3) Stretch wire until you are sick and tired of stretching wire. 4) Go back to step One.

i appreciate how much time and energy you guys put into doing this video! you did tests that apply to real world. 👍

A great demonstration of the different post securing methods , thanks guys.

I've never relied on water in the ground when using dry pack. I always add some water after each bag. Never had a problem.

Great video!! Thanks. I was considering dryset, but will go for wetset after watching this.

One of the best videos I've seen on the performance of these types of post settings! Way to go. Thanks

Awesome video.! ! ! Thank you for all your time and money put into this experiment. GREAT TEST.

Amazing amazing vid!!! So much detail that I’ve always wanted to know. Thank you 🙏

Really nice video, helpful to see some real world examples/tests on these approaches. One comment I'd add is regarding the foam. The disadvantage I see with all of these new foam products (sealing basements, mounting poles, attic insulation, etc) is that we really need to start to consider what happens to this material at the end of its life. Yes, it will last for a long time, but nothing lasts forever. I fear having all of these foam applications will leave us with a disposal nightmare in a few decades. Not that humans are good at thinking a head all that often.

This is a well thought out well planned quality video. I’ve been in construction for years and I already know all this stuff but this was a very fun video to watch. The combination of your good attitudes fun talk and great sense of humors and most important ability to explain the process and what you’re doing for someone who’s never done it,was excellent. Anyways keep up the great work you got a good core group of guys there I predict big things for you guys. 👍

I guess we are lucky here in the northeast(New Jersey)area your ground looks a lot rockier,we just mark all the post locations,measure down from the top for the post height,place two magnetic levels,then push them in the solid ground with the bobcat bucket,but we would have to wet pour our corners and gate posts.l really your bracing techniques I’m going to try the bent rods to brace the wet posts.Great video!

Really appreciate the thoroughness and the scientific approach!!

Damn that bell sound was defenetly a shock wave. It felt like it was ringing like here live. Thank you!!!👍

I love you guys. Best idea and video I've seen all month! THANK YOU! I could never do this myself, obvs.

Excellent video gentlemen, thank you!!

Excellent work! Helps all us single post home owners make solid decisions!

Outstanding! Thank you very much.

Many thanks for your video. Wet set is all I've known about and the other two options are interesting. Your presentation style: super! I'm now a subscriber.

A very interesting test, really appreciated the information provided. Something to remember though is sometimes having a weaker foundation is advantage as nothing lasts forever and if something needs replacing or repair, having a system where it is not difficult to remove objects can be helpful. I often have a concrete base, fill the middle with dirt and the top 1/4-1/3 solid concrete. Generally solid enough but you can break the post out with a crow bar later on with out needing a negative g machine.

Guys, thanks for the comparison. Next time you do this, try putting a load cell on a chain to measure the amount of force required to pull over each pole. My guess is that the wet set will resist the most, and depending upon where you attach the chain, you might even bend the pipe on that one.

Great channel Sir! I'm a Civil Engineer and commercial General Contractor. There is a lot that goes into a concrete mix design. There is a specific water content to portland cement ratio (w/c) to yield a maximum compressive strength. Other things and ratios come into play when evaluating concrete durability, air content, whats the end use, etc... In the video you mention the yield strength, it is actually compressive strength. Keep up the great videos! Steve C, P.E. (Professional Engineer)

Well done enjoyed. Good test , Mr black Angus bull. Saw 2 fighting wipe out rail road tie post like it never was there.the next horizon in fencing.just a tourist

What a great video. You really put in the hard work to show the differences!

Great video. Thanks for the effort of this video to teach us.

I am in Massachusetts. Not quite as cold as your area. But I did 56 sections of 5 ft x 8ft. cedar fence with metal posts. There are 3 gates 4 ft. wide, and a 14 foot opening with 7 foot gates. They are ALL done with foam. 8 inch holes 2 ft. deep. the post is hammered in an additional foot. The fence is now 8 or 9 years old and still as straight as the day it was put up. I even had a tree take out a section with very little post movement. I don't know if I am allowed to say what foam I used, but I'm going to. It is called Secure Set. it is 6 lb. closed cell foam. I really like this stuff.

Thankyou, and don't forget to do an update every couple of years! 😉

Love this video it Shows contractors Are goofballs When trying to outdo one another. Glad I ran across this video

In Michigan we almost always use treated 4x4 for fence posts. I always use pea gravel or some kind of washed stone. To back fill the hole

Great demonstration. Thanks.

Great comparison and good personalities!

I use foam. Sika costs about the same as three bags of concrete and I just throw the post in the hole, dump in the Sika and then level the post and hold it for 60 seconds. That's much easier when working solo, in my mind.

That was exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you for doing that video.

I’d like to see this same test with 4x4 PT (used more in the PAC NW). Thanks for the great vid!

The effort was much appreciated, fellas!

You guys had me laughing out loud🤣 thank you for the test! Coming from a first time home owner & fence builder looking for the best methods

Set thousand of feet of posts. Dig hole , fill with water , pour cement in and walk away. 3 days later string fence . That was using steel , 4x4 and even landscaped timbers as posts . Never had a issue 20 plus years later. Oiled wood posts once every 3 years .

Your results were just as I expected. I have always used wet concrete to set fence posts.

appreciate the hard work to make an educational video

I wrapped my 6 X 6 posts with "Resisto" which is used as an underlay for roofing. It has a sticky side where you peel off the membrane before applying it. Posts I set over 10 years ago are still holding up. The membrane goes up about 10 inches above ground level. I backfill with earth and compact it down with a 2 X 4 as I fill the side up. I live just west of Montreal where we get rain, snow, hot summers and freezing cold winters. This technique has worked well for me. .

thank you for the comparison

Good class, I couldn’t believe The foam stuff was that good, Wet mix is the way to go. First time on your channel.

Great demo,thanks

Cheers from a ChemE on talking about exothermic reactions; you guys really know your stuff. Great video, thanks!

Great experiment. Thank you for this information!

For the homeowner going to Home Depot you might want to pick the foam option, it's lighter, it's not corrosive on your lungs and sets faster. 35 bags of concrete will sink the shocks on your van and paying for delivery is expensive. Wet set can be a problem if you need to replace a post but unfortunately there's the old concrete plug right where the new post needs to be. With dry pack you might have a chance of replacing a post.

Fantastic content...and humor! I guess that my only question is, how strong does a fence post 'foundation' need to be? In other words, what load does a fence post take and therefore, is just packed clay and rocks good enough...or foam, dry pack, wet set? ...guess climate and soil types have a lot to do with what is best along with metal vs. wood posts (does material around the post affect rust or rot time).

When I set a post I pour water in the hole and dry pack the concrete tamping and adding water as I come to the top of the hole. It creates a very sturdy footer even before the concrete sets. It makes it much more difficult for posts to be knocked out of line while they are setting up.

Love the videos, keep em coming. I would like to see the comparison of dry set with water poured on top. I say this because that is what Quikrete engineers recommend. They have no mention of even packing the dry concrete. Simply dry pour it and add water to the top....... Just a thought...... Thanks again, awesome videos.

Very educational. Thank you!

for timber posts just backfill with soil and ram well a dry hole is harder to ram but will pack tighter. steel post must be concreted to 3 inches above ground level to stop the rusting off so quick.

Excellent! Thank You!

When I say I’m dry packing a post, i dig the hole, set the post, dump as many bags needed to fill the hole about 85% after packing it then pour the recommended amount of water per bag. It will start to Percolate through the concrete. By the time u set 2 to8-10-12 post that first one is already setting up good. For me when I’m replacing a post for a customer it takes 1.5 to 2 60 bags of concrete mix per hole. When dry packing I don’t have any set time and can attach the panels and move to the next post that might 6 panels up the fence line. Any fence I built I use 3 2x4 attached to the post with screws and L brackets. Each 5.5”x6’ picket gets 6 screws. Loved the video , I have heard about using foam but this is the first time seeing. Of course we don’t get much freezing in so cal.

So my three sense from experience. It is not so much the filler as much as the ground firmness. I'm on Maryland and I've done lot of 4x4 posts, 6ft fence and 9ft fencing. I go three feet down with a auger bit just a bit bigger than the 4x4 then put the dirt on all four sides 6inches and pound pound pound, I use the metal pole with the head broken off and use that end after pre-pound with a piece of one of the slats from the stockade fence. Add 6in of loose dirt and pound pound pound then heavy pound with metal bar. Repeat all the way up and generally I have to have extra dirt on hand to make a mound and pound to slope water away. The space should only take up enough dirt to fill the area where there is no wood but when pounding it tightens the ground around it and that is why it all fits into that small space and then some.. That is the trick!!!! I have replace all sorts of concrete crap that just pushed over in the loose or wet soil. With my method I have never had a problem 20 years later and even the 9ft fence was the only one standing when a nasty storm (diminished hurricane) came through and it saved the house from flying debris. I got a lot of jobs after that "test". What is with the pulling up and out business?? What matters is that it does not wobble back and forth!! Period. Oh I like the "oil" every three years as suggested below... and yes the metal even the thick galvanized will rust and break at ground level which I use oil and then a short bit of PVC All the best .. good stuff though on the video... (though it was proof of what we knew already and foam will hold moisture and deteriorates in just a few months so big waist of time and money there. The extra time it takes to pound the dirt properly is more than offset by the time and expense of getting and loading and unloading and mixing and shoveling and poring and all that nonsense with concrete!!! And as stated al too often the whole lump of concrete just tips over.. though usually the depth is very shallow ... but you guys went over two feet so it would be less but they still will wobble due to wind turning it into a roller coaster ride along the fence.

Notice that ringing sound? Yeah... It was the side of your pickup ringing as concrete bounced off of it 😂

Thanks for the comparison

Wow, talk about going above and beyond to test a product. Bravo, FJB!!

Good job editing the sledgehammer impact shots

I just did nine post with Sitka and it is very spongy strong winds hit after the storm in Portland Oregon and I had to come back two weeks later dig out all the foam and put cement in each hole there’s also a weight factor thousand pounds of cement compared to 20 pounds of foam holding down your fence. Foam for dry climates hard soil. I used another foam from Home Depot that came in 2 gallon jugs that set up Denser and I used it on a vinyl fence and capped the foam with cement and it worked beautifully. Happy customer beautiful fence no worries of posts working themselves loose from the wind.

This was a great video! Passing it on.

Ok solved my problem. Will be wet set for my project. The ring of that pile of wet set said it all.

Enlightening. Thanks!

Concrete tends to continue to hydrate (cure) as long as water is available. The foundations for the grandstands at Wiggly Field measured at 7500 psi when tested with a 2500 psi mix. I'd expect both concrete foundations to continue to get stronger with time.

FOURTH METHOD: DRY-WET HYBRID: If you have two people there's no need to brace the pole - one person holds the pole and applies a level, while the other person pours and mixes: 1. Pour in dry, filling only 1/3 of hole, add small amounts of water while stab mixing. 2. Repeat for filling the second third of the hole. 3. Repeat for filling the remainder of the hole. Great video 👍

My dad taught me the dry pack method, only we added water and packed it with the back of a shovel.

Good video. I think the larger engineering concern would be frost under the post raising the post up.

It's good that you showing us😮

Interesting! Great vid!

Good video. Thanks guys.

Awesome video! I haven't seen all the videos yet but will this actually work from less mess with a vinyl post? For a homeowner vinyl fence from a big-box store

The drypack's only advantage is fast install time. But it should topped off with H20. Maybe very hot water in your climate zone. It is definately weaker, tho.

My father worked for a latex company, and one day we went to see him at work and the lab guy who developed the foams let us check out the lab and he mixed stuff up. They had stuff that was harder than concrete. We were hitting it with sledge hammers and it wouldn't even dent it.

had to subscribe just because you guys work so hard... thx

Well after 3hrs you can build on foam. I watched a utility company set wood poles using foam in fla after hurricane Michael. They do so since there’s a lack of water and they mix in hole plus in sand side loading is bad for all. Homes in the area that used concrete in fencing, turned those in flying sledgehammers to the neighborhoods two story roofs. I’m not sure of the code but most were one bag in sand soil. Those houses looked like a fire hose was inside for hours!

That was a great review, thank you

If you're using galvanized pipe, fencing a property likely to be yours for decades then use the sure thing, wet concrete. Our family has a few that are over 50 years old and still going strong.

Great practical experiment. 👍

Great tutorial and information

This is the most informative construction channel....amazing

I like the content your putting out here. I personally work with guys who like to put the water in the hole and then pour dry concrete in the hole and they claim it works better. I never do this and always mix concrete while they cut corners. It never sets up as strong because I have pulled post right out of the ground. I guess I'm just old school.

Fences are often positioned to side the road and during winter the snow plows move the snow against the fence and by winters end, there can be 10 feet of snow pushing against the fence. Under such pressure I would not have any confidence in the dry-pack or foam methods. From your great experimenting, one can summarize that if the fence is delimiting no stress areas like between two properties or the back yard, any of the methods could be used but for the fence on the front yard where the road is, I would only use wet-pack. Don't forget that the stress on the post is exerted by the total length of fencing between the posts and so the snow-pack would apply proportionally more stress on the posts than a direct impact would on the post itself.

great knowledge

Awesome Thanks guys

FYI Florida is putting in cement utility poles in the Florida sand. I don't know what they're using to set them? But it is a question of concern and now that I have seen your demonstration with products used to set the post I'm curious about the cement utility lines they are much heavier than timber for sure. As soon as they were installed and the surrounding communities I have seen several fall. Not to mention that I know for sure to had been hit by vehicles and Came Crashing Down. It was probably the reason why two of the accidents were fatality. I say that because the cement utility pole fell on top of the vehicle that crashed into it. Now I really wonder what it is they use to to set those cement poles. Great demonstration thanks for all the time and effort it took

Thanks, great video!

Up here in wet rainy Oregon, some of us use Pea Gravel for the post. It helps a few ways, like if the post moves even a fraction in the wind the gravel sinks and tightens the post continually never letting the post get loose. (Just keep the pea gravel capped off). Also, the water has a drain away from the post ground level so the water rot in that spot is no longer a problem. Another way it helps is that there is no concrete mixing! Many up here think it's faster and better.

I use the steel bar method. 1. Dig a hole with a post hole digger. 2. Place the post in the hole. 3. Use a 1 inch dia steel bar (not a pipe) to compact the soil as someone slowly adds it to the hole. I have not set a fence post in concrete in 30 years.

Add some sort of horizontal element to the portion of the post buried underground to see if that will benefit the process.

Well? Somebody had to go threw all that intensive work, might as well been you guy's, Thank you for all your time and effort on this.

Great video. You saved us a ton of time making our own comparison - thanks!

I did a test with Sika foam and I am convinced it is not the same as the industrial foam set application. I noticed the post twisted more when drying as well as the packs that you get are more expensive as well as you need more for larger holes. I have seen the hydro company use foam but it can’t be the same stuff

Marvelous - yeah as usual 'simpler' rarely provides the best results. Its good to see it tested in this case.

Very good video. 👍I'm more informed about it. Thank you 😊