Having spent the last several years living in dorm rooms and a small college apartment, I haven’t had much cause to do any home improvement work. However, I was able to try my hand at a DIY repair job this summer when my grandmother discovered a wobbly fence post. In the past, my grandma would have done the DIY repair job on her own, but her current living arrangements make this impossible.
Being the amazing granddaughter that I am, I decided to fix the wooden fence post. I figured that it should be an simple enough job and not worth the cost of hiring somebody else. While I am glad to have had the learning experience, fixing a wooden fence post was not quite as easy as I anticipated.
Tools and Materials
Fortunately, there aren’t many tools or materials needed to repair a wooden fence post. I went down to the local home improvement store and invested in some premixed concrete. Of course, you can always mix concrete yourself, but I just didn’t feel enough motivation to do so. The other tool I needed for the DIY home repair job was a good spade. I don’t own one, but my grandma had a spade sitting inside her backyard shed.
Pouring in the Concrete
First, I prepared the concrete. This wasn’t overly difficult, as I had taken the lazy way out and purchased premixed concrete. Then, I used the spade to dig around the wobbly fence post. I allowed for several inches on each side of the post. I poured the concrete very slowly into the hole, using the spade to slice it every once in awhile so that there wouldn’t be any air holes in the concrete. Once the concrete reached ground level, I made a small mound of it around the base of the wooden fence post. This would allow any rain to drain out, thus preventing any further damage.
I checked the fence post the other day and it still is in good shape. Obviously, this DIY repair job will only work for a wooden fence post that is just a little bit wobbly. If the fence post is rotted out, no amount of concrete will keep it standing up. You’d be better off just replacing the entire post. If it’s a minor problem, a little concrete can be used for a quick and easy DIY repair job.