Post holes

Further depressing news. One of the guys from the city came out this morning, he was very nice. The city right of way apparently extends halfway into my yard on one side, and I can't put a fence there on their part, and for some reason they put the water meter in front, outside of their right or way. I'm rethinking the whole project.
Maybe just a mixed hedge with flowering shrubs like esperanza, and roses.
If they were a bunch of yahoos, I'd probably be heating up right about now. But most of them are nice, accommodating, they just built a sidewalk on my property for the kids walking to school but it is nice to have it there.

Fence update and question: I had to set back the fenceline because of the city right of way. Did not want to chance a broken wrist from a gas/electric auger, but the post hole digger was not going to get it. I found an antique ship wood auger which one manually turns, does a great job, The kids helped dig the post holes. I set 8 of them yesterday.
Went to the Home Depot site to check out rail and picket lumber. I'm seeing them push vinyl fencing, and one can get a pre-made 8 foot section of fencing. Has anyone ever used this kind of fencing, and can anyone offer an opinion please on whether they think vinyl will degrade or discolor over time? I've seen old vinyl siding that looked pretty shabby, but maybe they have updated vinyl manufacture, I don't know at all.
I do not mind painting wood picket fences ever couple years but the premade section idea seems appealing.
A nice story: Yesterday I was setting posts and this older couple stopped by in their car. They said they had passed by several times and had seen me working on the yard and fence. They had a cute little Pomeranian in there. After I admired their dog we talked about the fence, the guy said if I needed it he had a nailer for the pickets which I could use when I was ready. Those were some nice folks there, every time I read a horrifying news headline or see something egregious on the BOI that makes me wonder about humanity, it seems as if along comes an experience that reminds me that there are still those that value being neighborly, helpful, generous and kind.

The vinyl fencing they use will not discolor. the only bad thing with vinyl is cracks from weedeaters,kids throwing balls, etc. very hard to replace and or match colors up. Back to the one man augers. they have a safety clutch on them that once you hit Rock it stops spinning fast. worth a shot unless your ok with the new one you are using.

Originally Posted by jasballs

The vinyl fencing they use will not discolor. the only bad thing with vinyl is cracks from weedeaters,kids throwing balls, etc. very hard to replace and or match colors up. Back to the one man augers. they have a safety clutch on them that once you hit Rock it stops spinning fast. worth a shot unless your ok with the new one you are using.

Thanks for the vinyl info.
The clutch you describe sounds like a wise safety deal. The new (actually antique) auger has already done most of the holes, I have maybe 4 left. The kids helped by doing most of them, but the ones I've done were done pretty easily. I conferred with a neighbor whose picket fence was done without concrete at all, the posts were just set into the holes. The fence has held up well. So I decided to make my post holes only a little larger than the posts and use only 40 lbs of Quikcrete per hole.

I've really gotta go check out the one man augers if they've got some safety functions on them.

No experience with vinyl. I don't think the concrete for the posts is a bad idea though. They won't wobble around in a few years, and the ground will take a lot longer to destroy anything. I'm sure you already know that though. Please do share any helpful things you learn along the way, for the rest of us that'll be doing that stuff sooner or later.

http://www.ascscientific.com/lbdrills.html
This is the type I am talking about

When the vinyl gets cold it is very easy to crack.

Originally Posted by JColt

When the vinyl gets cold it is very easy to crack.

It doesn't get cold much here. It is cold and rainy now so I haven't finished the posts. I have not seen any vinyl fences in the neighborhood although there are a few wood picket fences.
Another different fence material, not pickets, is that premade wood lattice.
I'm in no rush, in fact I want to get the garden around the fence ready and plant a few roses and that will be easier without the fence up.

I primed the top of the posts and the primer is peeling, maybe because newly sold pressure treated posts are generally wet from the chemical bath they get. So instead of a white picket fence I'm going to stain it.
I'm looking into fasteners, apparently ordinary nails have issues with the chemicals, there are nails and screws made for treated wood.
The pickets will be delivered in the next few days.
I'm going to use my electric miter saw to cut the backboards to exact length, I've never used it so I'm hoping that it is not as complicated as the instruction book makes it out to be.
One of my neighbors down the street fixed up their home and it is up for sale. It looks as if there is a trend toward gentrification, which is good in my opinion. I love old fashioned houses, they have personalities. It seems as if the vast suburban developments have homes that all look alike. I'm not knocking that, some people just want a decent house, but I like a home no matter how small that has a little personality.

My sisters house in southern Indiana is very small but is just the coolest house ever. Staircase in odd place, sliding doors, dumb waiter. Odd and charming at the same time.