Floating Brace Keeps Corner Posts Straight

Floating Brace Keeps Corner Posts Straight FENCING Miscellaneous 17-6-8 You can keep corner fence posts straight and eliminate the need for an extra post by using an angled "floating brace" to sup-port the post, says Tom Cadwallader, University of Wisconsin extension live-stock agent. The "floating brace" consists of a wooden post nailed no more than 30 in. high on the corner post and angled down-ward to a cement slab where the end of the post is free to move back and forth. The two posts are tied together by wrapping two lengths of high-tensile, galvanized wire around the bottom end of the brace post and about 2 in. off the ground on the corner post. A ratchet-type tightener is used to tighten up the wire so the floating post squeezes up against the corner post, forcing it to straighten up. "It's an easy way to keep the corner post straight and eliminates the need for an extra vertical post to support the brace post. Works great with electric perimeter fences," says Cadwallader. "The secret is to keep the floating brace post fairly low on the corner post so that all force is at ground level in a straight line. "New Zealand farmers have used floating brace posts for years. One caution is that you have to use the right kind of backfill and an adequate size corner post to prevent freezing and thawing from heaving it out of the .ground. I use a mixture of sand and gravel as backfill. I release tension on the wires in winter and tighten them backup the following spring. The bottom end of the post is beveled so it rests flat on the concrete slab. I used a pre-poured 4-in. thick, 14-in. dia. concrete slab that sells for $1.50." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Cadwallader, Gleason, Wis. 54435 (ph 715 536-9784).

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