The fence is fine. That is what makes it so annoying. Every paling is sound, the rails are straight, the whole run is good for another fifteen years — and one post has rotted through at ground level, so a two metre section now leans whenever the wind gets up. Replacing that post properly means pulling palings off, digging out an old concrete footing and mixing new, and by the time you have finished you have lost a weekend. This splints the sound timber above the rot onto fresh ground below it, and the fence comes back upright in about twenty minutes.

Why It Stands Out

• You keep the post that is already there — the timber above ground is usually perfectly good. A fence post repair that works with it is faster than any replacement and leaves the palings where they are.
• No digging and no concrete — the spike drives into undisturbed soil beside the old footing, so there is nothing to break out and nothing to mix.
• An H-section upper — the folded profile resists the twisting that bends a flat strap, which is what matters when a fence catches wind side-on.
• A 400 mm spike — it goes well below the depth where timber rots, into ground that has not been dug over, which is why a post anchor holds better than a new post in a fresh hole.
• Two pieces, bolted — bracket and spike join with bolts rather than being one welded piece, so you drive the spike first and fit the bracket after, instead of hammering on the part you need to keep straight.
• Black powder coating — it reads as shadow against a paling fence rather than as a repair, which is more than can be said for a length of galvanised angle screwed to the front.
• Packs of 2 and 4 — posts rot in groups, because the ones that went first are the ones sitting where the water sits. Doing the neighbouring post while you have the tools out is the sensible move.

Where to Use It

• On the paling fence post that has gone at ground level — the classic one. Sound above, soft below, and the whole panel moving in a southerly.
• Where the sprinkler hits the same post every morning — constant wetting at the base is what rots a post years before the rest of the fence.
• At the bottom of a slope or against a garden bed — anywhere water sits after rain, or mulch has been banked up against the timber.
• On a post-and-rail or picket fence — anything from 0.76 m to 2.4 m high, so a low front picket and a tall back boundary are both in range.
• On the gate post that has started to drop — where the gate has stopped latching and everyone has been lifting it for a month.
• Along a boundary you share — a repair that costs an afternoon is a far easier conversation with a neighbour than a quote for a new fence.
• On a trellis, a screen or a clothesline post — the same job wherever a timber post meets wet ground.

How It Works

1. The spike anchors in undisturbed ground — driven in beside the old post, it reaches soil that has never been dug, which holds better than backfill ever does.
2. The bracket grips the sound timber — bolted through the face of the post above the rot, it transfers the fence load down into the spike rather than into the failed section.
3. The H-profile does the stiffening — folded steel resists bending and twisting in a way flat plate does not, so a side wind pushes against the shape rather than folding it.
4. The two halves bolt together — which lets you drive the spike on its own, then line the bracket up to the post afterwards rather than fighting both at once.

How to Fit It

1. Clear the base and see what you are dealing with — scrape the soil back from the post and push a screwdriver into the timber. Where it stops going in easily is where the sound wood starts, and that is where the bracket needs to reach.
2. Bolt the two sections together first — the hex key and spanner are both supplied. Nip them up firm but leave the final tighten until the anchor is in the ground.
3. Drive it in alongside the post — hammer the spike down with the bracket held flat against the face of the timber, checking after every few blows that it is still vertical and still touching.
4. Drill pilot holes through the bracket into the post — use the holes in the bracket as the guide. Pilot first; driving a screw straight into old hardwood splits it.
5. Screw it off and tighten the bolts — all the fixings, then go back and tighten the join between the two sections last.
Tip: put it on the side the wind pushes from, not the side you can reach most easily. A fence that leans is telling you which way the load comes, and an anchor on that face is in compression doing nothing, where the same anchor on the other face is being pulled off the post every time it blows.

Care and Maintenance

• Check the screws after the first storm. Timber moves as it dries and the first wind finds anything that was not quite tight.
• Keep soil and mulch off the bracket. Banking garden bed up against it holds water exactly where you have just fixed the problem.
• Touch up any chips in the coating. Where a hammer has marked the finish is where weather starts.
• Move the sprinkler. If constant wetting rotted the post the first time, the repair sits in the same spot.

Specifications

What's Included

• 2 or 4 × Post anchor, in two sections, in the pack size selected
• Mounting bolts and nuts
• Fixing screws
• 1 × Hex key
• 1 × Spanner