How to Straighten a Wood Fence Post

As you drive down the street you almost always can spot a fence that has a crooked fence post, they look ugly and can cause the rest of the fence to fail structurally. If you have a fence post that is crooked you need to fix it quickly or it can weaken the entire fence. Once a fence starts fail there is little you can do except start over. Especially if the posts are doing the failing you need to fix them immediately. Here is a quick and easy way straighten a wood fence post.

First you need to dig around the post footing until you reach the bottom of it. The footing is the concrete that the post sits in. This is the base of the post and what gives it all its strength. If this fails the entire section or the entire fence can fail. Once you have dug around the footing you need to save the dirt for later back filling. If the post is set in concrete you need to break up the concrete with a small sledge hammer, 3 pound works good, and a cold chisel. If you don't have a cold chisel or a sledge hammer you can use a regular hammer and some sort of chisel like tool. The problem with using a regular hammer is that you will probably break it if you use it for jobs like this. The point of doing this is to break the concrete into smaller pieces so it is easier to handle and remove.

Once you have broken the concrete off the post you are ready to get started straightening the post. Inspect the post that was in the hole originally and make sure it is still good without rot. If it has rot or looks bad you may wan to replace it with a new post. Now you need to plumb the post (make it straight and square) and then brace it into place. You can use any scrap lumber for bracing, just make sure it is strong enough to keep the post in its proper place.

Once you have your post placed in the proper way you need to mix up some concrete to the consistency of oat meal. Start filling the hole with your concrete keeping the post level and square. It is important to check your level and square frequently as a slight bump can create the same problem you are trying to fix. Once you get to the top of the hole with the concrete make it slope away from the post to create drainage. If you have water sitting on the concrete all the time it will create problems for the concrete and the post itself. You are done and now you have a fence that is back to full strength.

It is really important to keep an eye on your fence as it can fail for many different reasons. If you live in an area of strong winds you need to check more often than most. Like I said, one weak link in a fence can weaken the whole thing and can cause complete failure. A fence is only as strong as its weakest link.