How to remove old metpost

casper_gutman

If I absolutely had to get the thing out I'd probably just dig it out. Loosen the soil adjacent to the metpost using a digging bar or an SDS drill set to chiselling mode (i.e., with rotation stop set). Remove the loosened soil with a trowel or suitably gloved hands.

You'll soon find out if there's concrete around it, in which case you can adapt your approach.

TELLIT01

As has been suggested, whack it hard from all sides either with a lump hammer, or preferably a sledgehammer as the sledge will apply a lot more force. You may have to attack the concrete with a cold chisel and lump hammer.

booksandbikes

So many replies….am working at the mo, so will reply quickly and maybe somewhat messily!

It's not so easy to whack with a sledgehammer - as we have a neighbours green fence on the right, no access on the back and a massive bush on the left, so very little room to swing (let alone swing accurately 🙈). We have hit it from the front, but all that seems to do is actually bend the post (see the bottom right which it is dented in).

The lump on the right is concrete that is supporting the neighbours green fence. We have two neighbours at the back, and the new fence we are going to install will be the same type of the fence (ie. metal) as the other neighbour with the green fence. Where the green fence goes back at a 90 degree angle - that is the fence that is between our two neighbours at the back. I'm surprised that it is an option to stick the first post more to the left - I thought there HAD to be one at the end of the fence??

There are metposts all along the fence line - our neighbour has yet to say how he will tackle removing them as they look like they are on his side of the boundary. When the fence installer came out he was most concerned about the concrete posts on our side (but in order to remove the concrete post in the pic, we have to remove the metpost blocking it). The concrete posts we have are not supporting the existing fence in any way - they are just there in front of them, and we have managed to knock one down already (it basically crumbled). Neighbour has said he will remove the fence and we will remove the posts on our side - but he is elderly and perhaps not aware of how difficult it will be.

We've put a crowbar down the side of the metpost and hit with a hammer but it is still not budging - would using a digging bar help - more leverage maybe?

I think I need to have another conversation with the neighbour, as I don't think he has been able to have a proper look at what is on our side. He has mentioned he has a disc cutter to cut it down, but I do think it's preferable to dig it out.

booksandbikes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82002657#Comment_82002657

It's a 24" post (still had the old sticker on it), we have 12" sticking up, so pretty much the same length is in the ground (measuring from below the puddle of water in my photo). It doesn't look like much but it really is a stuck pig. 😵

booksandbikes

OMG, "we" (meaning my husband) have managed to get it out!!!! I showed him this thread, and I think it gave him a burst of fresh energy and inspiration. He went out with a hammer and crowbar, hand trowel and the scaffolding pole, and he has managed to dig the bloomin' thing out. Look at the size of it…..that is even bigger than I measured I think!! Thank you all for replying - honestly, I thought it was a lost cause.

casper_gutman

Oh wow, great work. That thing's a whopper!

QrizB

OMG, "we" (meaning my husband) have managed to get it out!!!! I showed him this thread, and I think it gave him a burst of fresh energy and inspiration. He went out with a hammer and crowbar, hand trowel and the scaffolding pole, and he has managed to dig the bloomin' thing out.

That's good news!

Brute force and ignorance always works. If it seems like it's not working, it just means you're not using enough of it 🤣

bjorn_toby_wilde

Well done! They’re hellish to shift.