What concrete do I need to do to lay the fence?

What concrete should I use to install the fence?

Hello everyone, I'm Marco from Fenceshop. Today we will talk about how to prepare the concrete for setting the fence posts. First of all, a disclaimer: I am not a concrete expert, but I want to share some tips based on our experience of over 45 years in the fencing industry. These tips are meant for DIY enthusiasts who want to tackle this task.

Necessary materials

To prepare our concrete, we will need:

Water
Pre-mixed concrete
Fine sand and “pea” sand (with a grain size of 12-18 mm)

Recommended dosages

If we need to order a concrete mixer, let's choose concrete with RCK20 hardness and S3 workability. These parameters indicate the hardness and consistency of the concrete. If we decide to make the concrete ourselves, we can follow this proportion: about 20 shovels of sand for each bag of cement. This is a general rule that works well for most fencing tasks.

Practical tips

An important aspect concerns the type of sand to use. The fine sand and pea sand must be mixed to obtain a good grain size. Avoid using crushed stones or material with too large a granulation because they could hinder the insertion of the posts during the installation. By using rounded gravel, the posts will slide better into the fresh concrete.

Concrete consistency

The workability of the concrete, indicated as S3, is another crucial factor. The concrete must be pasty, neither too liquid nor too hard. This consistency allows the posts to be inserted into the fresh concrete, keeping them in position without having to stake or support them with wires. Too liquid a concrete would not be able to support the posts, making the task more complicated.

A trick to understand if the concrete has the right consistency is to observe how it falls from the shovel: it should look like a heavy material that makes a “swoosh swoosh” sound when it falls, excuse the sound but it gives the idea!

Conclusion

These little tips may seem trivial, but they are essential for achieving a good result. Using the right grain size of the sand and keeping the concrete pasty can make a big difference in setting the fence posts.

Thank you for following our tutorial! If you have any questions or want to share your experience, leave a comment. We will be happy to respond and assist you. Visit our websites www.reteplastic.it and www.fenceshop.eu for more information and to discover our range of fencing products. Good luck to everyone, bye!