backwards t-posts
Did you know there is one specific way to install a t-post? I did not. This is not even something that crossed my mind when I ordered the one-size-fits-all t-post extenders for my electric polytape fencing to go around Dancer’s pasture. I wanted to put 5″ extenders so that he wouldn’t go near the plain wire fence because I know it’s not strong enough to keep him contained by itself. So, after many months of weed clearing, barbed wire annihilation, and wire replacement sessions, we were finally ready to install our electric fencing. I could not believe this day had finally come. We invited our friends to come out and help/celebrate the end of our ginormous project and decided to meet early in the morning before it got too hot so we could get more accomplished.
I woke up that morning, excited, nervous and anxious to finally be at the end of our project. I also woke up very early. Ryan and I got all of our supplies together, gloves set out, bug spray and sunscreen applied and water bottles ready. I set out the solar charger, took the supplies out to the fence and our friends started arriving. Ryan had the honor of snapping the first clip onto the t-post….only it didn’t snap on. It sort of snapped onto the side and hung loosely sideways as it struggled to hang on to the post. I thought Ryan didn’t attach it properly, so I went over to investigate. We tried everything to get it on the interior of the fence and nothing worked. Finally, Ryan pulled the extender to the outside of the fence and it snapped right on. Great. It works, but it’s on the outside. How do we get this on the inside? Then it hit me – all of our t-posts were backwards!!! How could this be hapening? Why did the person who installed these posts not put them in properly? I had been so frustrated by their horrible barbed wire application that I had failed to notice the arrangement of the posts. And I had no idea that it mattered at the time. I had waited so long to get to this point and now it was gone. This meant we had two options – uproot every t-post and turn them around…or find a way to make the clips work. After some experimenting with wire, we realized that the clips just wouldn’t hold. On the verge of tears, I decided to consult the internet. Surely someone else had this problem!
Twenty minutes later and many Google searches processed, we had a solution: reversed t-post clips. The problem: they only make them for wire/poly rope. I planned to use poly tape and had already purchased multiple spools. The solution: surely I could return the items I ordered. The glitch: it had been more than 30 days since the orders had been placed. I immediately called the horse supply companies and told them my sad story. All but one took pity on me and allowed me to return the unopened items! Victory! I did have to purchase the clips again, which meant more money spent on this project, but it could have been a lot worse. I am now waiting on my new items to arrive and hope to install the last part of this fence ASAP.
What I learned: always research every last detail of a project before you order the supplies. I had measured, counted t-posts and double checked on all of the supplies I would need, but I never thought I would run into backwards t-posts! Oh well, at least it makes a good story, right? (Just let me keep thinking it is so that I feel better about it all, OK?)
