Anchoring posts in hilly country

Anchoring a steel fence post on a rise or in a dip in hilly terrain can greatly increase the ground holding ability of the fence post and reduces the chance of the post lifting out of the ground with the pressures placed on it from a strained fence line.

Parts Required

Before you start, you’ll need a few extra things. In addition to the post for your fence line, you’ll need:

 - An additional post (or at least 60-80cm of a cut off post- ensuring there is a hole near the top of the post) 

 - Approx. 1m of wire. Use 3.15mm or 4.00mm wire if soft wire is available, otherwise use 2.50 mm Flexabel or Tyeasy and double it over.

 - A sledgehammer is also needed to drive in the anchor post. Here’s how to do it.

Steps Required

1. Drive the post into the ground. For best results, anchor the post at the top of a rise and at the base of a dip.

2. Place the second post (the anchor post) on a 45-degree angle from the vertical and drive it in just behind the main fence post.

3. Continue driving the anchor post with a sledgehammer until it is only a few centimetres from being flush on the ground. 

4. Feed the wire through the top hole in the anchor post and through one of the bottom holes on the main fence post. Once fed through, tie the wire so that it cannot come undone. Don’t be concerned if the wire doesn't seem too tight – this will be rectified in the next step.

5. Once the wire is secured and tied off, tap the anchor post the remaining few centimetres into the ground until there is tension on the wire. Your anchor post is now complete.