Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

If you are building a fence, flagpoles, or a birdhouse on a pole, you need to dig small holes. Using a shovel for this, you will make holes larger than necessary, so it is better to use diggers to dig holes under the posts. Here's how to do it.

Steps

1. 1 Buy a pair of pole diggers. This tool is designed specifically for such tasks and will allow you to get the job done with a minimum of time and effort. However, there are a few things to consider before starting.
   • Pole diggers are difficult to use on rocky surfaces, as the relatively small rock will interfere with the digger tip penetrating into the soil.
   • Very loose, sandy and dry soils are difficult to dig, as the "clamp" of the vise will not work very effectively with such non-solid materials. If you have time, start by filling the holes with water the day before you come to dig them.
   • Diggers for digging holes for posts make holes to a maximum depth of about 3/4 of the length of their handles, so that a one and a half meter pair will dig approximately 110 cm deep.
   • Very hard, clayey soil will be extremely difficult to dig with a hand pair of pit diggers.
2. 2 Choose a location to dig the hole. If this is a single hole for a project such as installing a flagpole, you can choose the location "by eye", but for fences and other projects that require multiple holes, you may want to "measure" the hole locations more precisely. With stakes and tape to indicate the direction, as well as a long measuring tape, you can set the spacing for this purpose.Drive in the pegs on both sides of the line you are going to dig along. Tie a ribbon to one peg, then pull and tie to the other.
3. 3 Determine if there are any underground utilities in the area where you intend to dig. To build a fence around a private property, this will not be a problem, as the property owner should be aware of any underground utilities on his property, but if in doubt, for more confidence, contact your local underground utilities service.
4. 4 Start digging holding the digger handles close to each other, one in each hand. Drive the blades into the ground so that they cut the "plug" out of the ground (and sod, if any). If the soil or sod resists the digger's blade, you can drive the blade a few more times to loosen and break the surface. You must submerge a few centimeters in the soil before raising the soil (dirt).
5. 5 Spread the handles to the sides to "grip" the soil in the "vice" (between the digger blades). Press firmly enough to grip the ground securely, then slide the digger out of the hole.
6. 6 Turn the digger to the side of the pit, then close the handles back together. This will open the vise and pour out the collected soil.
7. 7 Repeat the steps above, setting the digger deeper each time. If roots or other hard materials prevent you from continuing, rotate the blades when you hit an obstacle at a different incline until the digger goes deeper. The hole will be narrow at first, and then it will get wider with each excavation. This will help secure the post. Wet soil will hold it better than dry soil.
8. 8 Moisten the soil if you are faced with a very hard or sandy, dry surface that cannot be excavated with normal excavation. Moistening the soil will give you a better chance of success and make the task easier.
9. 9 Install your poles, poles or other elements for which you dug holes.
   • Level it with a building level before filling the hole and tamp it down with filling material to hold the post in place.
10. 10 When using concrete to install fence posts, be sure to use appropriate cement work techniques to keep the posts firmly in place.
    • Some contractors prefer to throw dry, bagged cement directly into the pit and flood it with water. This will reduce the strength of the concrete by as much as 80% since you cannot control the uniform mixing of the water or the proportion of the mix.
11. 11 Use the minimum amount of water to achieve the maximum strength of the concrete. For a strong cement mixture, it will be sufficient to add wet sand to the dry cement powder. Adding more water will make the cement lighter, but it will drastically reduce its hardening strength.
12. 12 For large-scale projects, it is more economically profitable to prepare the concrete mix on your own, instead of buying the ready-made mix in bags. Mix coarse masonry sand and Type 1 (or Type N) sand at a 3: 1 ratio for a strong cement mix, or add gravel at a 2: 1 ratio for each mix.

Tips

• Make sure you dig at least 5cm below the freezing point of the ground, otherwise, when the ground freezes, it will push the pole out.
• All new hole diggers should have sharp holes, like the paddles on a lawn mower. So, take a small manual sharpener and sharpen its main blades and any blades and bevel blades if you can get them out and grip them while sharpening. They don't have to be razor sharp. Take a close look at the tip of the new bevel blades at the hardware store. You should get a good idea of ​​what your digger's sharp blades should look like, ideally. Always wear safety glasses when using a manual sharpener.
• Use a digging stick to loosen the soil as you work.A "digging stick" is a heavy metal pole with blunt blades at the end, also sometimes called a "loosening" stick. The weight will help you break down tree roots, small stones, and more.
• Use dry sand or insert the poles into the concrete for a good, firm hold.
• If your soil is sandy, carefully expand only the very bottom of the hole, making it much wider than the diameter of the entire hole before pouring concrete into the pillar. This downward-flared shape of the lamp will help hold the pole so that it does not come out of the hole under the pressure of the fence chain.
• The photographs show typical (old fashioned) diggers for digging holes. Nowadays, there are new, complex, ergonomic design and better diggers, but for the price, the usual digger is hard to beat.
• When digging holes with a digger, you may need a jackhammer to break up very large rocks.

Warnings

• Find out about possible underground communications before you start digging.
• Using a digger to dig holes can be a tiring job, so wear gloves to avoid blisters and don't overwork yourself.

What do you need

• Diggers for digging holes for posts
• ribbon
• Building level
• Tape measure
• Shovel for filling the hole when burying posts