Pros & Cons Of The Metal Fence Post
If you're building a new fence, one of the things you'll need to decide is what type of fence posts to use. It sounds like a minor decision, but there are several types of posts, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most common types of fence posts include cedar or some other variety of wood, steel, aluminum and concrete. Let's look at some of the pros and cons of the metal fence post.
Metal posts can come in a number of different materials. Aluminum and steel are the two most common, however. Installing these metal fence posts can be less work than wood. Because wood fence posts generally need to be set in cement, they can take a lot of work to install. Metal posts sometimes need to be set in concrete as well, but they can often be driven straight into the ground which save a lot of time and effort.
If you're installing metal posts this way, a steel fence post driver tool (around $25 at Amazon) will come in handy. It will be much easier to manage than trying to drive a post with a sledgehammer, especially if you're working alone.
Steel posts are generally more heavy duty than aluminum, so if your fence is going to need to be stronger - if you're keeping large animals contained on a farm for example - this is the best choice. Aluminum posts are still quite strong, and are generally less expensive, so if the fence is not likely to have any great pressure against it, this is probably the better choice.
For example, Home Depot sells a 54" aluminum fence post for $15 compared to a heavy duty 13 gauge steel post at about $40. This difference will add up quickly if your fence is more than a few feet in total.
Also, if you're installing an electric fence and using metal posts, you'll need to get insulators to hang the fence. Otherwise the metal fence post will act as a ground and short out the fence.
Some types of fences are obviously suited to a specific type of post. If you're erecting a cedar privacy fence, for example, you're going to want to use treated wooden posts - metal posts would just look out of place. On the other hand, if you're installing a chain link fence, metal posts are a natural.
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