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Took me 3 years to realize I was digging post holes wrong
I always dug my holes straight down with straight sides. Every hole the same. Then on a job in Austin last spring this older guy walks up and watches me for a minute. He says you need to flare the bottom out like a bell shape. I thought he was crazy. But he showed me how that extra width at the bottom gives the concrete way more holding power against frost heave. Ever since I started digging that bell shape I've had way fewer callbacks for leaning posts. Anyone else grow up doing it the straight way and get set straight by some random old timer on site?
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parkerrodriguez25d ago
That "bell shape" thing caught my attention. Did that old timer give you any tips on how to actually dig that flare without caving the whole hole in? I've tried it a few times since hearing about it, but my holes always end up looking more like a big mess than a bell. Seems like good dirt would hold up fine, but I'm working in sandy soil half the time and that stuff just falls right back in. How deep were you going before you started widening out the bottom?
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