Remove fence post in concrete

[fredhargis]

Thanks Roly, I didn't realize there was such a product. I agree that is quite a bit for a small job, and it isn't exactly free. I did notice that Amazon lists it for mayeb $8-$9 less.

[EightFingers]

What I used


Jam the pointed end into the concrete, use a piece of wood as a fulcrum and pry out. May take a couple of tries.

[gear jammer]

how rotten is the wood inside the concrete. I would try to burn the wood out. Several ideas come to mind. I'm sure you could come up with some.

[K. L. McReynolds]

I did that once. used a series of long spade bits(which I had on hand) and gradually ate out the wood, using flat bars and screwdrivers to break out pieces. Shop vac to clean. The bottom half of the stub was not rotted, by the way.

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

I have an 8" round fence post that rotted off. This post is set next to a vinyl post. Both of these posts are set in the same concrete. There is probably 1'-2' of concrete at the bottom of the hole. Any ideas how to get the post out so I can replace it?

I had to do a similar job not too long ago with some deck posts that were set in concrete. I ran a lag screw into what was left of  the wood in the deck post attached a chain to it and used a high lift jack to jack it out of the concrete. Worked pretty well.

[alexh1]

I have done a 4x4 post in a concrete walkway (with cement also poured around post about 1-2' down) just using one of those metal bars used for cutting roots etc. Took a while but will do the job. I replaced the post, had to run it through the jointer because it was a bit too big, then smeared PL8X on it and slipped it in.

I have replaced fencing before and you will see youtube's on using a high lift jack to pull out the cement along with post. I have a highlift and in my case its not even close to having the capacity - I broke the fuse (not sure what they call it) every time. An engine hoist would probably do it.

[crokett™]

Even if you do get the post out unless you use a much smaller post its doubtful you'll get enough concrete around a new one to hold it in there. If it were me I'd attempt to split the concrete off the vinyl post with expansion grout. if that fails get a jack or tractor or somesuch and lift both posts out, break the concrete off the vinyl one then reset it and the new post. but pour them separately.

[CEPenworks]

I got the post changed out. I was going to try the demolition grout and noticed they call for a minimum 1.5" hole. My thought was I only need to slit the concrete at the sides of the post so I ordered a 1" drill bit. I thought I could make two holes in the direction I needed to split the concrete. As I was drilling the holes the concrete blew out on the sides a little which got me thinking the caulk is not going to slit out the sides and not split away from the post. Then I tried wedging my breaker bar in the holes to see if I could force the concrete to crack the way I needed. After some brute force I thought it looked like the concrete was moving. I got the tractor out and put a chain around the concrete and tried to pull it out with the loader. It just kept trying to pull the tractor over, should have put some ballast on the three point. It did look like I had moved the concrete. SO I applied more brute force then tried pulling with the tractor form a different angle. The chain slipped off a couple times. I gave one more try with the chain and it felt like it slipped off again so I backed the tractor up and noticed the concrete hanging from the bucket. Then I went after the remaining post. After a lot of manipulation with a chain and tractor, should have had ballast, I finally got it out. The trouble with the post was it was another foot deeper in the mud than the concrete. The water table there is about 1.5'-2' down. So the post was in about 1' of mud. I then had 2' of concrete then another 1' of dirt on top of that.

Turns out the post wasn't rotted. The fence is a high-tensile PVC fence so it is under tension. The cross brace helping transfer some of the tension to the next post had broken. The tension of the fence eventually snapped the post at the ground.

[fredhargis]

Glad you got it resolved, I'm planning on using some of that demolition grout on a flag pole base I want to remove.

[Roly]

Glad you got it resolved, I'm planning on using some of that demolition grout on a flag pole base I want to remove.

If it gets cold enough for a long enough time fill the drilled holes with water and let nature do its thing when it freezes.  Roly