Hi Stuart, I just want to say thank you for your videos, they've helped me so much after recently buying my first house! I never comment on videos but you should know that there are a lot of "silent" viewers out there who really appreciate your videos. Have a good day !

20 years ago my wife and I bought our first house. My dad gave me the readers digest DIY handbook. It was a tremendous help for a novice dealing with a 1930s house in desperate need of LTC, but this channel would have made it 10x easier for us, and I'm finding it a gold mine of useful information now. Thanks so much Stuart! A real service to DIYers.

Your fix up looks great. I had a carpenter once tell me “make sure any temporary patch up can last 20 years”. Wisdom.

Nice job Stuart. I also used 75x75mm concrete posts but was able to attach them with M10x225mm coach bolts. It turns out that the constriction in the holes is because of the concrete forming process and it is quite easy to drill those holes out to 10 or 12mm

I take it by your diplomatic remarks about people being passionate about mixing post Crete you have had the usual abusive messages that people seem to think is perfectly ok to send.Its such a shame when all you are trying to do is help people, somebody who has never met you feels free to vent. Im sure they wouldn't walk up to you in the street and start ranting, but they feel perfectly ok to do it from the safety of the keyboard. Keep up the informative and lighthearted work

Hi Stuart. One thing you might want to try when trying to plumb a post to a string is after you attach your string to your two fixed points, slip a shim ( say 1/2" thick) under the string near each end. While pulling the post towards the string, slide another shim ( the same thickness) between the string and the post. When the shim contacts the string, the post is plumb. The nice thing about this practice is that while working, you can tell if the post has moved out of plumb. The way you do it, the post could lean into the string slightly, and it's hard to tell. Anyway, just how I've done it for about 50 or so years. Like your videos.

Excellent little project as ever. Might be worth adding that neither the fence nor the post will mind if you mount the spur to the side ofthe post. 'Slightly' harder in the digging out phase, but will retain width of access if things are tight, and make mowing or strimming a bit easier. And you could have gone back and fitted coach bolts quite easily with access all the way through.

Post Buddy fence repair stakes from Amazon are another great and super quick repair. Used some recently after noticing my fence was very wobbly in strong winds. 3 posts supported and done within 20 minutes

Cheers, Stuart! My dear departed father imparted a few wise words to me over the years, the strongest maxim being ‘good fences make good neighbours’. With that in mind, when we moved house and needed to replace boundary fences, and feeling a bit flusher in the pocket than now, we installed concrete posts and gravel boards in the hope that their longevity would beat off the occasionally very rough south-westerly winds we get. 20 years on, and the investment is still going strong. Unfortunately, the only bit of fence within the back garden wasn’t similarly constructed, and and two of four posts are rotted through, so it looks like I’m in for a busy weekend before the autumn winds return. Happy, peaceful and dry bank holidays to you and all your viewers.

I mostly use mixed dry concrete if I have to use it for posts. There is often enough moisture in the soil for it to harden. On the other hand, you can pack dry concrete very tightly. It provides a very stable support for the post. That is just my way 🙂

Good helpful vid (as always). I've done this to all my fence posts (about 17 in total). It usually takes me around 2 hours to do per post due to the old concrete, broken bricks and lumps of flint (I live close to the Sussex downs), that you have to break up and dig out of the hole. Plus I'm not a 20 year old lad anymore! My method is to use a long fencing spade, pointed breaker bar and a very powerful SDS hammer drill with a chisel function and using a very long chisel in it. Even so the best method I've found once you get around 1.5 feet deep is to reach in and pull out the soil by a gloved hand. I usually stop when I get to armpit depth! Then in goes the concrete spur (after drilling out the tapered holes to suit the screws), using bits of stone or similar underneath the spur to make sure the base is at the right depth. I have had good success using 10mm diameter, long coach screws and large thick square washers to secure the spur to the post. Place the screws in the spur holes and give them a couple of good whacks with a club hammer to get the points in. Then screw them up using a socket and ratchet wrench. Making sure everything is square. You may need to support the post using a length of timer screwed to the post and at an angle in the ground to steady it and keep it square before concreting. I always use postfix. Sometimes using bits of removed material like flint, stone or half bricks to fill the surrounding area of the dug out hole if it's too large. In goes some water and then the post fix. I usually use 1.5 bags per post on my 2m high fence. Tamp the mix down with the end of a piece of wood to make sure the mix is right around the spur deep down. Just a tip. I had a very difficult to reach corner post that needed securing. Awful job with the fence (arris rail close boarded) still attached and at less than a 90 degree angle to another fence. Add to this a holly tree close by so not much room to work in. All I could do after digging out the hole was to position the spur on the corner of the post 45 degrees to the faces. But it worked very well with the coach screws driven into the corner of the post. You should have seen my rope work and how I pulled that post true using another post and a couple of trees (spider man took some web building tips of me that day).😂

Great tip about putting the ledger board through and screwing it in to hold the bottom rails together, as its usually that the post that's rotted is the one where the bottom rails join

Great content as always. I remember one of the guys from a big American channel (someone like Dusty Lumber or Jimmy DiResta) saying if you want to boost your comments to help the KZfaq algorithm, get something wrong; people will be falling over themselves to correct you. Perhaps just talking about something that people are precious about their own methods does much the same. I hope all the 'discussion ' helped lift you up the KZfaq algorithm.

Well, I'd have to say that your postcrete method in this video makes more sense than bunging it all in and hoping that it will all get mixed properly. Great video, cheers.

Besides being very knowledgeable, Stuart has the ability to make you laugh with just a look. Great stuff, Stuart!

Can you not use a masonry bit and slowly increase in size removing a smaller amount each time to get to the diameter of the coach bolt you want to use?

I put concrete spurs in and cased them in wood for my entire fence as I didn’t want complete concrete posts ( I much prefer the look of wood ), when my wooden posts rot I’ll just undo the bolts and replace. Excellent as always Stuart, thank you and best wishes to you and yours 👍

Hi. Thank you for showing this interesting video. Around, one year ago, I did similar work in my garden as an amateur DIYer both to install about twelve new wooden posts and to repair two broken wooden posts for six-foot tall fence panels. I like the appearance of wooden posts. Prior to doing the work, I watched a lot of KZfaq videos and looked at other material too. I found my own way of fixing the fence, which may or may not be conventional. My experience is that concrete spurs with wooden posts are very durable. Most of the older wooden posts around the garden were installed with a concrete spur by contractors around 30 years ago, and they are still sturdy. One problem, with concrete posts is that if they are knocked heavily, they will crack and only the internal iron reinforcing bars will hold the concrete post upright albeit shakily. I had two concrete posts break by a tree falling on the fence in a storm and two when a neighbour's car backed into the fence. For my recent DIY fencing, I used 4 x 4 inch (or metric equivalent) cross-section concrete spurs with 4 x 4 inch cross section wooden posts, because matching the sizes looks better, to me. The spurs were 1.2 m long, very heavy, and more expensive than the smaller ones, but I am glad I used them. I used 3 x 4 inch concrete posts, which were also 1.2 meters long, for my 3 x 3 inch wooden posts. I had no difficulty putting six -inch coach bolts through the ready-made holes in any of the concrete posts; however, I drilled a guide hole in the wooden post to make it easier to screw the coach bolt into the wooden post and avoid the risk of splitting the wood with a large diameter coach bolt. Even though the heads of the large coach bolts were quite large, I also used study washers. Using 1.2 meter (four-foot) long concrete posts with two-foot deep post holes, I opted to fill the post holes with concrete (not quick-setting concrete) to a few inches below ground level, so the remainder could be levelled with topsoil where lawn or plants would be able to grow. I did quite a lot of marking out and measuring distances to position the new posts correctly. I found a string line was very useful and I used a spirit level a lot to make sure the posts were vertical. Home-made post caps help to stop weathering at he top of he post and give a finished appearance, I would say. Even though new posts are treated with a wood preservative, I applied additional wood preservative that soaked into the wood to keep out wood worm and rot. In all, I applied wood preservative three times to the new posts before they were in the ground taking extra care to dip the ends into the wood preservative to allow it to run up the grain. This is probably not necessary; however, they have retained a nice colour rather than turning grey, so far. I am interested to see how long they last. I tried using post-fix (quick-setting) cement once, but it solidified so quickly, that it did not give me chance to make final adjustments to the alignment of the post, so I would always mix my own concrete now. As an amateur DIYer, I work slowly and I need adequate time to adjust the post after the concrete in put in the post hole.

I now have a nice vertical fence. N ur facial expression saying something else😂 love u stuart. I had fun watching n learning from u everytime🎉

Great solution Stuart, works a treat! Fixed my mothers fence in a similar way; she couldn’t be happier.

Yup - that's been my dilemma with postcrete - certainly makes sense to me how you've approached it - good job! 😊

Hi Stuart, you will always have ‘expert’ comments on a diy channel but you have to ask why would these experts be watching in the first place 😂 Love the channel and find your engineering approach really helpful and it shows just how much effort goes into making these videos. I’m pretty good at DIY but always learn something by watching you as there are always many different approaches to getting things done

Impossible to know how much money I’ve saved by watching these videos. Fantastic channel. Thank you Stuart 👏🏻👏🏻

My father fixed the fence in our old family house using spurs like this. The fence & spurs outlasted him! After replacing wooden posts & fence panels twice in the last 30 years in my house I now have concrete posts with slot in fence panels & theses should outlast me!!

Thank you for this! It was very well done and informative. I normally prefer short videos that don't go too much into explanation because most explanations tend to to go into too much detail that isn't necessary to understand the work required. I found your level of detail to be spot on and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

Funnily enough I have just set a few posts using postcrete. Like you Stuart I'm a traditional type always mixing my own and using more than enough concrete to straighten Eiffel tower! This time I premixed the postcrete in a builders bucket so I knew it was well mixed and I could then pour it in..... If I didn't get it poured in straight away it was setting in the bucket! And it didn't take many minutes! I feel sure mixed properly it is very strong

Your channel has been a lifesaver for me. It has taught me how to do my own diy jobs with confidence and ease. It has also helped me overcome my anxiety of depending on strangers who charge me a lot for every small thing. Thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge with us.

I don't have a fence or garden on my own but I enjoy watching all your videos and learn from your way to handle things - thank you!

Great video. It is always a bit hit and miss with how much water to add when using concrete directly onto soil as the soil will absorb different amounts depending on its composition (sandy, peat etc). Also I would have put the bottom of the post, after cutting it, into a container (old paint tin or the like) and then put some liquid wood preservative into it for an hour or so to absorb it, whilst having a cup of tea and a biscuit!

Like all your vids Stuart, and I have learned lots from them. My dad n me years ago, did what you've just done, but chucked the bag in!!! Nr Nuclear war won't move THAT post!! But my dad used to call the concrete post, a 'Godfather'.👍

That made me chuckle so much about the Postcrete. Just ignore them, we all have are ways! 😂 Good channel, keep it up. 👍🏻

Thanks to the KZfaq algorithm for suggesting your channel to me, enjoyed your solution to this problem, and as a Yank, also enjoyed the humor and as always the English vernacular!

Carno Another great video mate. Thanks for the extra length video for patrons, great to watch that one. Had a full day of watching all the videos so far. No wife, no kids just proper DIY. Bliss. Stay safe pal.😂

Great video Stuart!! Retired canadian carpenter here, i certainly don't know everything, I'm not sure if "spurs" are sold here in Canada, but your post ( no pun intended) gave me a idea of using what is available. So I'll probaby clean out the hole like you did, but my spur wil be a ground contact rated, presuure treated 4x4, with carriage bolts. I'm also going to try your method for postcrete. Like you, I to don't think its ever properly mixed. So thanks for the video.

Hi, thanks for your videos. When I did the same process for two gate posts at my home I used an m8 length of threaded studding and drilled out the hole in the spur. I found this to be very secure. Cheers.

6mm hole? The spurs I used fit 10mm coach screws, and the better spurs had 3 holes rather than 2. BTW, used your technique for my own spurs and concrete fence posts.

You are an inspiration, I have exactly the same problem on two posts in my garden. Wasn't sure how to attach and concrete in the spur, the only thing I'm going to differently is to put the spur to the side and bolt through (idea from a comment below). Keep up the good work. Remember, opinions are like ****holes, everybody has one. :)

Can't imagine fitting posts without the concrete spur anymore, saves all the hacking out old concrete. I believe the reason posts rot because the concrete isn't taken up to ground level and tapered off so the post doesn't sit in a puddle of water. Always enjoy your videos Stuart.

Good video as usual Stuart. I've never encountered a "concrete spur" before, hence every day's a school day. With all your effort to install this, wouldn't replacing the post be a little easier in the long run? I've been threatening to move house for a few years now, thus leaving the couple of dozen fence posts in my garden (of differing ages) as a delight for the new owners. Recently I have come across those substantial "U" shaped metal brackets that have a spike under them for concreting in, and wondered whether they would be a worthwhile install to hold a post. All to keep the wooden post off the ground. I have already tried the trick where you add some old copper pipework around the post to poison the ground and deter the bugs from feasting on the post, with little success. Oh for an easy life...! Could you not enlarge the screw holes with an SDS bit but the drill not set in hammer mode? Thanks again

Stuart - thank you for this useful video. At my recently purchased 1988 early 'ECO' house I have a picket fence with many rotten posts which were installed many years ago by the now deceased buildet owner. Spur posts are rhe ideal option for progressively repairing the 19m long fence without dismantling the entire fence alongside a roadside footway. My 2 reasons for using them is that they will never rot and even new short fence posts used with them will be protected against rot by stopping them above ground level. My plan is to use concrete made with 1 postfix bag to 1 large bag of ballast, all placed in layers as you've recommended. I've used this mix formerly on quite a large charity-funded fencing installation at a school with great success.

I saw your previous video, and with 20 posts to put in i bought a paddle mixer 😂

A length of another treated 4×4/cedar that mated underneath the cut off one to add strength and looks more tidy too 🎉

Love the end bit about having a lovely vortical fence post lmao brilliant 👍

Your video made me think of my Dad. He could fix anything and it always worked better when he finished. Enjoyed your expertise!

Love your videos, so genuinely practical and helpful. I have lived in a house for 20 years and often wondered why the fence posts never lasted that long, then someone told me the following and it was a revelation: you only have to hit the base once with strimmer and rot will set it...

Done this myself a few times. I personally believe wooden posts in the ground are just a time bomb waiting to rot off. Wouldn't use post crête either. Good to leave a decent gap between the post and the ground level to avoid further rot. Or bitumen paint on the bottom of the post

I already know how to install a concrete spur or a fence post and I'm also familiar with Postcrete and the mixing of concrete....But I still watched the video 😅 👍

Learned today that there is such a thing as a fence spur! Great news

I have some 50 odd wooden posts around my boundary. It’s averaging about 3-4 per winter (always the winter when they finally snap!). But using this method for quite a few of them. I go to a local builder to get my 4inch spurs and they sell the decent right sized bolts for the holes. Biggest issue I’ve had is hacking out the half the old ball of concrete to get the spur up against the post. Removing the rotten wood isn’t always possible. Thanks for the video from one of those new patrons who signed up last week 😊

Posting at 8am on a Sunday morning! :) I used your recommended whacker to set the oversite on my annex this week. Brilliant bit of kit for the price!

@Proper DIY, Hi, Stuart video idea to cover top hung / side hung friction stay hinges for uPVC windows? How to change, making new new screw holes (new ones never align to the old one)? How to repair / get around stripped out holes in the frame where a screw needs to go? How to adjust to get a better draft proof seal? etc. Many thanks if you take it up.

Stuart two things: surprised you have a live water pipe above ground - is your area frost free? Personally I would have used machine bolts and nuts rather than screws to secure the post. True in my case you would need to drill holes in the post

Very good. I’ve used a similar technique but with an additional wooden post. I was able to use coach bolts which I think are stronger. Thanks v much

Use the SDS or Combi to redrill the hole. It wouldn't take more than 20 seconds and you can shove a nice 8 or 10mm bolt through it.

lol that end look, good job mate :D

Thank you, I put up a small picket fence here in the Highlands in July using that darn Postcrete, now December, the whole lot has collapsed.. I'm moving back to Peckham 😕

Everyone has their own opinion and ways of doing things, it doesn’t necessarily mean anyone is particularly wrong and if the end result is satisfactory to the person doing the job then that’s also fine. You offer some great advice, you don’t always do things the way that I would do things but I do get good ideas and tips. At my old house I was lucky enough to have a sturdy wall to secure fence post to, I left a gap between floor level and bottom of the posts and indeed shaped the posts so that rain water would run down off the bottoms of the posts. All well and good until a contractor came the following week and dug up the footpath and relaid tarmac above the level of the post bottoms, best laid plans and all that.

Yet another brilliant video. I used screw bolts on mine with washers but, of course, the heads of the bolts are proud of the posts.

Hi Stuart. Postmix concrete IS quite expensive to use but as you say sometimes it's worth the extra cost for the convenience of speed. Another volunteer friend and I put in 33 posts for a safety railing in the grounds of a junior school, where we had to do all work outside of school hours. For speed and economy we dry-mixed each bag of postfix 'concrete' with a 25kg bag of inexpensive mixed ballast. We then adopted a similar approach to yours - mixing in the hole in layers. The result was the same rapid-set as pure postfix but at much reduced cost. If you've got lots of posts to erect, this can achieve a significant saving -important when working within a tight charity donation budget.

I want you to know that you helped me a lot. More importantly, you made me laugh for the first time today. Thank you.

When installing a new wooden fence with wooden fence posts it is wise to use an ancient Japanese solution, Yakisugi. Simply burn (char so you cannot see any unburnt wood) the bottom of the post to a point just above ground level, this will ensure it will not rot and bugs will not eat it well past the time the treatment will last. If you have seen archaeological digs they'll show you a stain where wood was before it rotted but they always find burnt wood in tact, I have seen 1500yr old burnt wood, so, it works. Another trick for removing old posts and concrete is not to dig it out making a larger hole but to lift it out using a car jack. When I worked on rail projects, namely stations we used a method that ensured rapid changeover for upgrades or damage. We first buried a pipe into the ground and concreted it is then dropped the post into the hole securing it at the depth we needed, then poured dry sand around it tamping it every so often until it reached almost to the top, then we sealed it with a ring of cement. this method is also good for a place where posts get damaged a lot.

Well done Stuart, yet another job successful completed 😊👍

Great vid. Didn't know these existed, so that's good to know. As mentioned, those fixings aren't the best choice. I can imagine they will be the first thing to shear if the wind catches the fence. I would go for widening the holes and using M10 coach bolts. 100mm posts will happily take an M10. Digging out is always the worst job.

Star picket work a treat. Very fast and cheap. I help a mate do his fence 5 years ago. U slide them right next to the post and screw it to the post you can barely see them. Cheers Graham

An easier method that I have found works for many years is to take a metal U post and drive it into the ground next to the broken post. Then attach the U post onto the fence post using deck screws. Here in the United States a U post costs about $8. No digging required. It takes two minutes and lasts for years.

Really great video! Really fun to watch whatever you take on! ❤ Also, loved the last few seconds "I now got a nice vertical fence" 😂😂😂😋

Hi stuart it's John from Gibraltar,a very nice and neat job as always.This fenc post is nice and structurally solid now and will definitely last a few more years.Keep those DIY videos coming.

Glad to see Speedy is still accompanying you on your garden adventures 🐌

Love the final face 😂😂😂

Hi Stuart, I'm sure you welcome polite constructive (pun intended) comments that stimulate conversation and debate, but ignore rude, destructive ones. Keep up the good work, sir!

Hello Stuart, just like to say your videos are great keep up the good work

Always go for concrete posts never let me down especially when it’s windy, don’t rot either

Any negative comments you can just blame the other stuart 😂, great video as per usual

Ive followed the postcrete instructions for these these type of spur repairs and never had any issues even many years later. Top tip though if getting a new fence spend the extra for concrete. And concrete with slots if that fits the garden layout so easy to replace panels later

Wouldn't the string tied to the house have been enough.

Most enjoyable and educational thankyou sir it brought back memories especially the weight of the spur!!!

You've just got to fix the next post to your left now as it's showing signs of fatigue haha! Shucks,, just when you thought you'd earned yourself a Cuppa. Thanks for the Video, I shall now wait for the warmer weather to arrive.😊

I realise that it would involve extra cleaning but I think tip the bag of postcrete in your wheelbarrow, add water and use the same as if you had mixed it from scratch. Yes many people don’t have a wheelbarrow but I’ve used an old washing up bowl for mixing small amounts of cement and concrete. If you are not satisfied with the postcrete instructions and prefer to witness the wet mix then it is surely more practical to mix it first rather than faf about the way you did in the video. Just my opinion. An old washing up bowl is a must have tool. 👍

Interesting fix. Your concrete will set just fine. In fact, you can even put it in dry. The mix will absorb moisture from the ground and set, although it takes a little longer. I prefer to mix mine in a wheelbarrow using a garden hoe, then spoon it into the hole with a shovel.

Really good video very clear and well explained, nice one Stuart, 👍

We have used PM and went by the instructions. Just used a bit more water and poked at it t to ensure the water was mixed in.. Also, obviously with wooden posts we built up a small slope of about 2 inches or so of PM around the base of the wood to stop water getting at the foot of the wooden post. Great vids though. Keep them coming.

Brilliant, just brilliant. Thank you very much for the lesson. I will put it to good use.

Speedy's back!!!

There’s always an expert ! Don’t listen to them Stuart 👍

Nice one Stuart..don't listen to those people who make comments..ohh hang on..that's me as well... Ignore me... Except to say we think your great ...keep up the great work

Another great video Stuart

Cracking job fella as always 👍🏻

Brilliant. Very helpful as I'm about to do this myself. That look at the end though! I'm anticipating this already with all the posts so fore warned is fore armed! Thanks Stuart.

I’m only commenting because I think it helps your youtube presence. I was about to comment on how you should be digging your hole but I didn’t want to contradict the other commenters’ whose opinions will follow me. Besides I’m only here for your accent.

Another great video here . Why did you put the support where you did ? Could you not have put 1-2 either side of post as would not encroach into the path . If used 2 could then put 1 in position then drilled through the post and used studding and bolts to clamp them together ready for the postcrete . Have a good weekend and keep the vids coming

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing your wisdom !

Excellent job Stewart 👍

Should have put the concrete spur at the side rather than in front would have looked much better.

Thank you for your insight. I have not tried your method yet. I have just replaced the post with another post. I covered the post from the concrete up about 6 inches on the post with roof tar. This keeps any water or snow accumulation around the post.

Good job Stuart, your videos are very informative and helpful 👍🍻

Many thanks Stuart. I have this very job to do times two and found your suggestions really helpful. I agree about your Postcrete comments too, you can’t please all of the people all of the time can you? 🤣 Great channel. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻

😂😂😂😂😂I was thinking through the whole video " when's he going to tackle the other post ?!" 😁😁....then I saw the ending lol

The return of Speedy the snail!

Hi Stuart, A great how to video. That's the thing there is only your way and if it works stick to it, I've been told i'm doing it wrong but it worked for me and my fence is standing ,Good video , cant wait for the second fence post video! Take care and have a good bank holiday

Great video Stuart very informative and entertaining cheers 👍👍👍