Installation Tools

An easy way to install most metal posts is with a manual fence post driver. Ours is useful for installing 1-5/8-inch posts, which are the standard posts used in our dog fences. To use the driver, slip it over the end of the post to be installed. Then put the other end of the post where you want it to go, make sure the post is straight, raise the driver six inches to a foot, and drop it down on the post, driving the post into the ground a few inches. Repeat this process until the post is at the desired depth. Be sure that anyone assisting you keeps their hands out of the way of the descending driver, because this tool can seriously injure hands.

If your ground has a lot of roots or rocks, that can get in the way of the fence post driver. In that case, plan to use a digging bar to prepare the way for your posts. Insert or tap the pointed end of the bar a few inches into the ground, stir it as though stirring a giant pot of soup, tap it in a few more inches, and in short order you will have a hole down to the necessary depth. Then remove the digging bar, insert the post, and tap it in with the fence post driver.

Or else, if one is using posts with sleeves rather than standard posts, one needs drive caps for driving in the sleeves (done with a heavy hammer) without damaging the sleeves. Use the cap below with sleeves for 1-5/8-inch round posts. Get one of these caps for every 20 sleeves to be installed.