How to remove an old broken fence post from its concrete base.

This is a task I'm often required to do. If a post has become unstable or possibly just broken then it is usually best to remove it and replace with a new one.

There are a couple of ways to do this but my favourite way by far is to use a car jack.

This is a surprisingly simple but effective method and one that almost anyone can do with a few basic tools and and your old car jack!

To see how to remove an old broken fence post checkout the video below, or for a detailed breakdown just keep reading.

How to remove a fence post from a concrete base.

What you need.....

• An offcut of thick wood. (an old section of fence post works well)

• A Drill/driver with a couple of wood drill bits.

• A brick (a thick piece of wood board would also work)

• A hammer

• A couple of long bolts and a spanner of matching size. (a socket wrench is ideal if you have one)

All you need to remove the broken fence post.

Lets get started:

The first thing to do is to drill two holes in your offcut of thick wood/section of fence post.

These holes are for your bolts to thread through. If the bolts are not long enough to reach all the way through the wood you can drill a larger hole part way through as shown here. This will enable the bolts to sit deeper into the wood giving you some extra thread length.

This offcut will be used to attach to the base of the broken fence post and will be pushed up with the car jack.

Drill 2 holes for your bolts.

When you have drilled your two holes, thread the two bolts through until the ends poke through by a few mm.

Thread through 2 bolts

Aline your offcut wood flush with the base of the broken fence post leaving enough room to place the brick and jack underneath.

Tap the bolts with a hammer leaving two indents in the broken fence post.

Using the indents as guides drill two pilot holes in the broken fence post.

Drill 2 pilot holes.

Using your socket wrench or spanner attach the offcut to the base of the broken fence post by threading the bolts through the offcut and the fence post making sure to tighten sufficiently.

Attach the offcut to the base of the broken fence post.

Place the brick on the ground under the attached offcut wood. Place the car jack on top of the brick. (The brick is used to give the car jack a base to stop it sinking into the soil)

Prepare the car jack

You can now start to crank up the car jack and watch the post rise effortlessly from the concrete socket.

Crank up that jack!

Keep cranking until the post is loose enough to remove entirely from the socket.

Remove the broken fence post from the concrete base.

You are now ready to replace the post. In most cases you will simply be able to put the new post in the existing concrete socket. If it is a bit loose you can simply mix up some cement or Postcrete and fill the gaps giving the post a secure fit.

I hope you enjoyed this post. For more useful tips check out my other posts here or visit my YouTube chanel here

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