How to Straighten a Leaning Fence Post

A leaning fence post can cause serious damage to your entire fence if left unchecked. It could be caused by rotten or broken posts, shallow posts, or just weather damage.

Regardless of the cause, it’s important to straighten wayward posts before they start to pull the rest of the fence with them and require more costly repairs. As with any fence problem, it’s important to stop problems from developing further if you’d prefer to repair your fence rather than replacing it entirely.

Fortunately, there are easy fixes for leaning fence posts so it should not take too much time or money to put it right. Just follow these directions:

1. Remove the soil around your leaning post and put it on some tarp so that you can easily refill the hole and you don’t leave a mess on your lawn.
2. If you used cement footing for your post (this is recommended to reduce the risk of rot), you will need to break this out with a sledgehammer or dig it out.
3. Check your fence post for rot – this is most likely to happen underground. You can check by pressing a screwdriver into the wood – if it sinks in easily, you have a rotten post. Also look out for differences in colour and texture. If you find rot, you will either need to cut it out and fill in the post (if there is only a small section) or replace the post entirely. If you have cut out a rotten section, make sure that you cover the cut wood with a preservative.
4. Secure your fence post so that it stands straight and check it with a level. Brace your post by nailing stakes in the ground to keep it steady.
5. Pour in a new cement footing or just refill the hole if you do not use cement footings for your fence. Remember to slope the surface of your cement to let water drain away from the post rather than pooling near the wood.
6. Pack the soil down to hide the site of repairs and remove your braces.

This simple repair should not take more than an afternoon to complete and will save you time and money in the future.