Vent: Had a gate post lean on me in a muddy backyard in Springfield

I was setting a 4x4 cedar post for a side gate last Tuesday, got the hole dug and concrete mixed, but the ground was pure soup from rain the day before. The whole thing started to tilt before I could even get the braces fully set, and I had to hold it upright with one hand while frantically shoving rocks into the hole with the other to keep it from going over. What's your go-to trick for keeping posts plumb in really soft, wet soil?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_singh612mo ago

Honestly, you're overcomplicating it. Just let the concrete do its job. A lean right after you set it doesn't mean the final post will be crooked. Once that mix fully cures in a day or two, it's locked in place for good. All that frantic bracing and shoving rocks in is just making more work for yourself.

nora862mo ago

My neighbor's deck railing came loose last year because the posts shifted while curing.

wyatt86221d ago

Wait hold on, so the posts actually shifted while the concrete was still wet and they just left it? That's wild to me. I've seen guys try to rush a deck job and end up with posts that look like they're doing the limbo a week later. If you don't brace them right while it's curing you're just asking for trouble down the road. A buddy of mine had a similar thing happen, his whole railing started pulling away from the house after a heavy rain because the post wasn't set straight from day one. Concrete does lock up eventually, sure, but if it moved while soft you're stuck with whatever angle it decided to take.