Just changed my mind about setting posts in frozen ground

I had a job in early January here in Grand Rapids where the ground was rock solid. The client really wanted their privacy fence up. I figured I could use my gas powered auger and muscle through it, maybe add some hot water to soften things up. That was a bad call. What should have been a one day job for six posts turned into three full days of fighting. The auger just bounced and the water froze almost right away. I ended up having to rent a proper ground heater and a demolition hammer to break up the frost line, which was almost two feet down. It cost me an extra $300 in rental fees and a lot of lost time. Has anyone else found a better way to handle deep frost for a small residential job like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin3mo agoMost Upvoted

That's just how winter goes, man.

kaiharris2mo ago

I get what you're saying, but calling it "just how it goes" feels like giving up. My grandma used to string up cheap fairy lights in her kitchen when it got dark at 4pm. It was a small thing, but it fought back against the gloom. Last week I started leaving my heavy coat by the door so I'd actually go out for a ten minute walk. It's not about fixing winter, it's about refusing to let it win every single day.

adams.spencer3mo ago

Yeah, that's true, winter just hits different. I mean, last year I was so over the cold and dark. What kinda worked for me was just forcing myself to do one small thing, like making a point to walk to the coffee shop on my block even when it was gloomy. Or just cooking a big pot of soup instead of ordering in. It didn't fix everything, but it made the days feel a bit less like a slog.