About the Product
StayStraight Posts were designed to be a step up from traditional rough sawn fence posts. They are both laminated and fingerjointed to make them as stable as possible and with a smooth finish offer a classier option for domestic fencing.
The following advice about care and installation will help ensure the product performs to it’s best.
Care and Handling
StayStraight Posts are treated to H4 ground treatment, so while the treatment penetrates the wood, if you have to shorten a post it is always good practice to coat any cut ends with a timber preservative.
StayStraight posts are Kiln Dried and should be installed in this state. They should never be left uncovered in the rain as they will absorb water and swell in size. Likewise, although these are an engineered post (meaning they are fingerjointed and laminated) they are stable and should not bend and warp – if they are exposed to direct sunlight before installation for a prolonged period they will experience some movement or bending as the timber dries even further. All square fence posts rely on the fence rails to help them stay rigid.
It is also good practice to coat posts with a quality oil sealer or paint system after installation. If posts are left uncoated they will eventually turn a grey colour.
Basic Installation
Before installing a fence, you should check with your local council to see what height restrictions there are for your region.
If it’s a boundary fence, consultation with your neighbours is always a good idea as they will be looking at the other side of your fence after you’ve installed it. There are some useful tips about boundary fencing between neighbours on the consumer website:
https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/fencing-law
Check your property plans to see where the services are in relation to your proposed fence. You don’t want to dig through electrical cables or water and drainage pipes. If you aren’t sure what may be located where you intend to dig postholes, you should contact a locating service to get advice.
A plan is always a good idea.
Draw out where you intend to put the fence. (See our animation on the home page that displays this). Hammer in pegs and run a string line to help show where the fence should go.
General rule of thumb for fence rails is to span 2 – 2.4m. So you will need to dig your fence posts at this spacing.
For a 1.8m high fence, you should use a 2.4m StayStraight post and dig the post hole to a depth of 600mm.
Ideally, you should pour a small concrete pad in the bottom of the hole for the post to sit on and dig your hole to a depth to allow for this.
Sit your post in the hole and use a post level to get it level on both sides. Brace from the pole to a peg in the ground. Pour concrete around the post and allow to set. While it is setting you can gently push the posts into level and adjust the braces.
Dig the hole for the opposite end post and install another post.
When the concrete has set you can run a string line between the 2 posts to see where to fix your rails in place and fit your pickets or palings.
