Finally got that tricky corner post set right on a sloped job in Bend

Honestly, I was about ready to call it a day on this one. The grade dropped a full 18 inches over an 8-foot run, and my usual step-down method just wasn't lining up the rails. Tbh, I tried setting the corner post 6 inches higher than my line and cutting the mortises for the rails at different heights before dropping it in the hole. It worked perfectly on the first try. Anyone have a different trick for a steep slope like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

adams.vera28d ago

Oh man, that's a brutal slope. I gotta say, setting the post high and cutting the mortises before you drop it is smart, but you're gonna have a heck of a time keeping that post plumb while you backfill. I'd have dug the hole a little deeper on the high side, set the post to the right height for the rails, then packed the heck out of the low side with gravel first. Saves you from wrestling a pre-cut post in the hole.

evanc6728d ago

Yeah, the part about keeping a pre-cut post plumb while backfilling is the real trick. I read a tip once about using a temporary cross-brace screwed to the post and staked into the ground on the high side to hold it.

shanejackson15d ago

That cross-brace trick is the only thing keeping my sanity on these sloped jobs.