About 7 or 8 years ago I had a garden fence replaced. Being short on cash, I had wooden posts set in concrete straight in the wet, wet ground. Great for 7 or 8 years, but now they’ve rotted off, and one of them has broken off at ground level.
So how do you fix this? Options include digging out the rotten stump and putting a new post in the concrete socket; digging out the concrete and doing the job again (with concrete posts this time!), or using a metal repair stud. I bought one from Metpost for a few quid. You also need something to put down inside that you can hit hard, but that’s the right size to not get stuck – Metpost can sell you one of those too – the black thing with a bit of metal round the top.
I was sceptical at first, and as I couldn’t find much on the internet about these studs I thought perhaps this might help someone.
First job is to detach the fence panels. This is probably the trickiest part.
The post was completely rotted off at ground level.
Slip the repair stud in amongst the rotten wood that’s left in the ground
Give it a good smack with a big lump hammer until it won’t go in any further. I was surprised how easily it went in – the metal is actually wider than the wood, and therefore shouldn’t fit in the concrete socket; but it went home easily.
Then the post goes back in the new socket
Give it a few taps to seat it.
And re-attach the fence panels.
Job done in less than an hour. Those panels are going to need replacing too in a couple of years, but with those sheds and greenhouses on the other side there’s no risk of the neighbour’s dog getting through, so no great urgency for that one.
If you’ve got the same problem – good luck. And if you’re putting up a new fence; do yourself a favour and use concrete posts.
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