CONCRETE FENCE-POSTS There is a constantly increasing demand for some kind of fence-post which is not subject to decay. The life of wooden posts is very limited, and the scarcity of suitable timber in many lo calities has made it imperative to find a substi tute. A fence-post, to prove thoroughly satis factory, must fulfil three conditions: (1) It must be obtainable at a reasonable cost; (2) It must possess sufficient strength to meet the demands of general farm use; (3) It must not be subject to decay, and must be able to withstand successfully the effects of water, frost, and fire.
Although iron posts of various designs are frequently used for ornamental purposes, their adoption for general farm use is prohibited by their excessive cost. Then, too, iron posts ex posed to the weather are subject to corrosion, to prevent which necessitates repainting from time to time; and this item will entail considerable expense in cases where a large number of posts are to be used.
At the present time the material which seems most ready to meet these requirements is rein forced concrete. The idea of constructing fence posts of concrete reinforced with iron or steel is by no means a new one; but on the contrary such posts have been experimented with for yeaTrs, and a great number of patents have been issued covering many of the possible forms of rein forcement. It is frequently stated that a rein forced concrete post can be made and put into the ground for the same price as a wooden post. Of course this will depend in any locality upon the relative value of wood and the various ma terials which go to make up the concrete post; but in the great majority of cases, wood will prove the cheaper material in regard to first cost. On the other hand, a concrete post will last indefinitely, its strength increasing with age, whereas the wooden post must be replaced at short intervals, probably making it more expensive in the long run.
In regard to strength, it must be borne in mind that it is not possible to make concrete posts as strong as wooden posts of the same size; but since wooden posts, as a rule, are many times stronger than necessary, this difference in strength should not condemn the use of rein forced concrete for this purpose. Moreover, in
many cases strength is of little importance, the fence being used only as a dividing line; and in such cases small concrete posts provide ample strength, and present a very uniform and neat appearance.
In any case, to enable concrete posts to with stand the loads they are called upon to carry, sufficient strength may be secured by means of reinforcement; and where great strength is re quired, this may be obtained by using a larger post with a greater proportion of metal and well braced as is usual in such cases.
In point of durability, concrete is unsur passed by any material of construction. It offers perfect protection to the metal reinforce ment, and it is not itself affected by exposure, so that a post constructed of concrete reinforced with steel will last indefinitely and require no attention in the way of repairs.