I have a chain link fence that is on a concrete retaining wall between my property and neighbour's property. It is about 3'-4' in height and I was originally thinking about attaching a wooden fence to the existing fence posts. The fence I would need to build would be 5'-6' in height and I think the present fence posts are extremely solid and would hold the wind forces. I am giving it a second thought because the distance between posts is around 10' and I am concerned that this will make it even more difficult to support the wind load.

Is there a way I can anchor fence post supports into the concrete and build a wooden fence that way? Help!

I don't see why you couldn't drill a hole into the concrete - larger than the post - and cement a post in. I don't think you'll find a bit big enough at your local Lowes/HomeDepot/etc. but tool rental places ought to have one.

I wonder, though: I see your new fence will be 1-2 feet higher and offer privacy. Is privacy your #1 goal? If so, have you considered colored slats to slip into the chain link rows?

You can get metal brackets that you can bolt onto the concrete floor, then just put the wooden posts into that and fix in place. My fence posts are 6' apart as is the standard fence panel size in the uk.


Edit: Here's an example (8th one down)

http://www.fencingtrade.co.uk/acatalog/Kwik_Posts.html

Thanks for the tips guys, a follow-up to StuMegu. I had seen these post brackets at the hardware store and I thought they might work. So you have used these at 6' intervals and the fence is standing strong? Is that for a 6' high fence -- I am nervous about the wind knocking it down :rolleyes:

How do you prepare holes in the concrete so you can bolt these down? How long should the bolts be?

Thanks for your advice so far!

I was wondering the same thing. Any answers on how to actually attach the anchors to the concrete. Do you need a special drill and bit? Thanks!

Hi Guys,

Sorry about the lack of response Dave, I didn't get a notification that you'd posted - I think I messed up my account temporarily.

As for the metal brackets, I didn't use these myself (I have concrete posts set in concrete in a hole in the soil), I just knew of them so please bear that in mind. I would say about 3 inches is deep enough into the concrete for any bolt, just make sure the hole drilled is the right size for your bolt normal (masonry drill should be fine).

Another thought about the brackets, if you have room, try to leave a tiny gap between the wood post and the ground, therefore any water running down will get away and hopefully slow down any rotting that might occur. It could be that the design of the brackets allow for this but if not, maybe drop a tiny stone into the bottom to create the gap!

Any idea where to get these fence post concrete brackets at other than off this UK website? Like Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Lowe's, OSH, etc?

Has anyone purchased one of these braces from a store? Where did you find it?

I Didn't buy one of these myself as I have a different situation but I would imagine you can get them from the local builders merchants or wood yard etc. If they don't have them, hopefully they will tell you where you can get these.

Hi, I thought I'd toss in my own experience here with virtually the same project, and hopefully help you out a bit.

My concrete wall is about a foot tall, and did not have any metal posts cemented in it like yours does. So for me, I was not able to use just metal brackets, because nobody makes one that is strong enough. In other words, all the bolt-on metal post-holder brackets I could find here (made by Strong-Tie) were only rated for "top-supported" applications, like holding posts of a deck that would also be supported on top by the structure. None were rated for "stand-alone" application.

So what I did was actually bolt the 4x4 fence posts to the SIDE of the concrete wall, plus dig them into the ground and set them in concrete. The dug holes were not sufficiently deep to hold them on their own, which is why I added bolts to the concrete wall. They're sturdy and should last fine. (I did add some spacers so moisture won't sit there between the wood and concrete and rot them out, too)

However, you have metal posts already, at 10' spacing, as you mentioned. So, you could install wood posts in between each metal one, using Strong-Tie brackets, to decrease the open span of each fence section and add some strength.

Strong-Tie brackets can be ordered from Home Depot, or if you have a more specialized hardware store they'll have them in stock.

You could also go the route of drilling BIG holes in the cement, and installing more matching metal posts, also making 5' intervals. To install them you may want to use anchoring cement instead of normal concrete.

Either way you'll need to solve the problem of how to bolt your new wood supports to the metal posts... StrongTie might have a bracket for that already. Check their website...

To drill the holes: You need masonry bits, and the fastest way to drill into cured poured concrete is with a Hammer-Drill, not just a regular drill. I say rent the whole setup, which shouldn't be more than $40 or so for a day.

I was able to install five posts in about two hours, to give you an idea of the time you'll need to rent for.

Hope that helps out a bit!

I'm attaching a photo so you see what I did. Cheers!

Attached Images

 

Have you considered boring a hole in the bottom of 4x4 or 6x6 wood posts, and mounting those on top of the existing metal posts? You could then drill through both to attach and secure.

10' is too large of a span for for a wood fence panel.

Which side of the fence should the posts be

Is there a law for which side of the fence the post must be