Replacing Timeworn Fence Posts

September 1, 2021

It takes a lot of work to maintain the fencing here at my Bedford, New York farm.

The pasture fencing is made from 100-year-old white spruce railings. I purchased all the antique railings from Canada and when the fences were built here we used new cedar uprights to support them. A number of posts have deteriorated over the years and need replacing. Pete Sherpa and Fernando Ferrari, longtime members of my outdoor grounds crew, began replacing them last summer. It's a tedious process and has to be done by hand so as not to disturb or damage the antique wood. The duo is at it again this week and doing an excellent job.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: I have lots of fencing here on the farm. This antique fencing surrounds all my horse paddocks and various trees. The antique pasture railings were constructed into a split rail fence, but now many of these cedar uprights are wobbly and no longer support the railings as they should.

: My Friesian horses, Fell pony, and my five donkeys get turned out into their paddocks every day, so it is important to maintain the fences and ensure they are all in good condition. This photo of Banchunch, Rinze, and Bond was taken by my stable manager, Helen Peparo.

: Here is a closer look at the fence with its original posts and antique railings. Many of you have commented on how much you admire these fences. The railings are sandwiched between two cedar posts and attached to the inside of one of them. The other supports the railings from the other side.

: Here’s Pete removing nails from one of the railings after the post was pulled from the ground.

: The nails used to secure the railings are quite long – four inches. It takes a bit of time to remove them so they can be reused.

: Some of the uprights were so worn, they broke during the removal process.

: Here’s Fernando with another post – look how it has deteriorated. These posts will be chipped and repurposed as wood chip top dressing at a later time.

: To remove one, Pete digs around the post by hand using a post hole digger, a hand tool used to manually dig deep and narrow holes in order to install fence posts.

: Here’s a closer look at the post hole digger – this tool is available at any hardware store. A post hole digger is also known as a clamshell digger, because of its resemblance to the seaside shell.

: Once Pete has removed enough of the surrounding soil, he pulls out the old, deteriorated base.

: See how deep these posts are in the ground – a good two to three feet.

: All the new uprights are placed next to the ones being removed.

: Pete places a new cedar upright into the hole, adjusts it for level, and turns the post so that the nicest side faces out.

: Each hole is more than three feet deep. The new posts will be very secure here – and no cement is needed.

: Pete uses a tamping bar to pack the soil tightly around the post as he backfills the hole with soil.

: Once the post is secure, Pete rakes around the post to make the area neat and tidy.

: And then Fernando attaches the railings to the post once again.

: Here, one can see which posts were replaced and which ones are still in good condition. The next step is to cut the tops of the new posts, so they are all the same height as the fence.

: Pete uses our STIHL chainsaw. STIHL designed and built its first electric chain saw in 1926 and 94 years later, it is still one of its best pieces of equipment. This one is run on an AP 300 S Lithium-Ion Battery, which is powerful and compatible with a wide range of other STIHL tools.

: In just a few minutes, the post is cut.

: This new post should last another 15-years or more. It is made of cedar. Cedar is extremely durable and holds up well to outdoor weather conditions.

: No wonder we put in so much effort to maintaining these old fences – they look stunning against the backdrop of these lush American beech trees.