We are happy to answer ANY questions you may have about this new product that is revolutionizing the fencing industry.
We have found that for many this is nearly a wash in cost with many other benefits. The cost of the I-Post will be offset by the savings of no concrete, shorter aluminum post, no dirt clean up, less wear and tear on your trucks and team members, and decreased labor cost per section. All of this plus you are offering your consumer a stronger fence with a cleaner faster install, many are charging the consumer for that extra value increasing their profits even further. You should also consider the massive opportunity cost involved with adapting to all No-Dig with the I-Post on your aluminum fence, this is the easiest way to increase revenue without purchasing new trucks or hiring more team members. Using the same resources you already have, you can double or even increase your production rates by 2,000%.
Believe it or not, this is a common question we are getting from those that are seeing the benefits of adopting this system and using the I-Post. Without increasing the size of your average job which used to take a full day or two days now crews are getting done before lunch. We have found several companies have been able to remove a team member from their crew, downsizing their No-Dig teams by one or even two team members. We hear all the time one of the biggest problems in our industry is finding good team members or enough of them. Now you can cut the weakest links or break your great team members off into additional smaller crews. We have also seen an improvement in the caliber of people interested in building fences when they learn we do not dig holes or pack concrete around.
Due to the design of the I-Post, they drive exceptionally well even in some adverse conditions, we have successfully driven them through hard-pack clay, shall rock, and hard cured asphalt. We have found the I-beam design drives better into the ground than round posts do, with more surface contact with the soil for increased passive resistance connection into the ground.
You are no worse off than if you were to dig and set to begin with, at that point if you are not deep enough for a solid post set, then you would remove the partially driven post with a post puller and dig through what is in the ground or use a tool similar to the SpaceX to relocate the post over a picket width or two until you are able to drive. If you do excavate the hole, you will need to set the I-Post or fence post with concrete due to the disturbed virgin soil.
By purchasing a license, you will save 20% on the cost of the I-Post as long as you purchase them in full unit quantities. Using the I-Post with the installation of an aluminum fence is a patented system reserved for our licensee partners. Every post has the cost for the license built into the pricing. By purchasing the license for $1,000 each year, you can buy an unlimited number of I-Post without paying the license fee on each post. This ensures we protect the patent and those using the I-Post for the installation of aluminum fences.
Absolutely. As a matter of fact, it's stronger. This is mainly due to the fact the traditional post thickness for residential aluminum fence is around .065 leaving the post itself the weakest link bending or breaking off at ground level with little force. The I-Post is not only double the thickness at .125 wall thickness it is also a stronger profile design. Not only is the aluminum post now stronger with the I-Post added to the system but with the increased depth of the I-Post driven into the virgin soil than a traditional dig and set, we have increased the leverage advantage of the fence against impact and wind load and decreased the ability for frost heave to move the post.
Roots can be difficult to deal with as they can absorb the impact from the drivers bouncing with the impact of the drive not allowing the I-Post to cut through them. If this is the case you can try to cut the root or roots out of the way with a reciprocating saw or similar tool and then continue driving. You can again use a spacing tool similar to the SpaceX and relocate the I-Post over a picket width or two missing the root.
Driving the I-Post into virgin soil rather than digging an 8" wide by 30" deep hole decreases your chances of making contact with a buried utility by over 450%, simply due to the decreased amount of soil disturbed. Even with dig and set methods, you have a chance of damaging a buried utility. Oftentimes with some of the gas drivers, you can feel the utility and stop driving prior to damaging them.
The ease of installation and speed of installation is incredibly easier and faster. Most have to see it to believe it. It's not hard to see the advantage of not moving dirt and packing heavy concrete, but it is also less stressful on your team and requires fewer tradesman skills. As far as speed that is where the I-Post really shines, it is not uncommon to find traditional dig and set methods of aluminum fence around 1 section per man hour for residential aluminum fences around the country. We have already seen many installers double that or quadruple that on their very first No-Dig I-Post installation. We have witnessed production rates as high as 18.6 sections a man hour so far, and that's not the ceiling. As installers become more familiar and confident with the processes, the sections per man-hour will continue to increase drastically.
It's as simple as cutting a board to the specs needed and using it as a positive stop between the most recent set I-Post and the one you are currently driving. There are also some tools available made to accurately space full sections but also to allow for driven post accurately on cut sections leaving the driven post exactly where it needs to go leaving the distance between the remaining last picket on the panel and the post identical to the standard space between the picket and the post on the rest of the uncut sections, this tools is called the SpaceX Tools by www.mrfencetools.com
Absolutely you can in most residential gate applications the driven I-Post supports the gates just fine. For additional support and to reduce even more flex or movement we have seen a heavy wall (.125) gate post driven over the top of the driven I-Post leaving you with an extremely stable post to support your gate.
We have seen many successfully install precut posts just a few inches in the ground once they slide over the I-Post. This will allow for grade changes and still hide the I-Post from view. This will also allow for easy grading of the top of the fence by gently tapping the post down to grade using the Mini Thumper and Mini Equalizer or similar tools.
Most aluminum fence manufacturers require a screw for the connection between the post and the panel. We suggest the bottom screw is predrilled and then the same screw from the fence goes through the post panel and into the I-Post locking the elevation of the fence in from moving up or down. If you use material that does not require this type of connection, we recommend predrilling a hole at ground level through the post and into the I-Post and inserting a self-tapping screw through both. Make sure your elevations are finished before inserting the screw.
That's a great question with a simple answer, dissimilar metals will aggressively react or corrode rapidly. With the I-Post being designed for aluminum fences specifically, we need to prevent this corrosion from happening, so our options would be aluminum or stainless steel. Another option would be some sort of insulator between the two, but that would increase cost and get in the way of installation. For this reason, we don't recommend using the I-Post with the installation of 2" steel posts. There are adaptors/insulators to be used if there is a need to use the I-Post on 2.5" post.
This is such a simple process you can do this without training, if you are interested in increasing efficiency with using the I-Post system in your company then Mr. Fence Academy offers installation training courses private and public all around the country find more info at www.mrfenceacademy.com. Our partners SWI Fence of Florida and Mr. Fence can offer free demonstrations by appointment.
You can still use the I-Post for this application. Just drill a 2.5" hole through the concrete using a large hammer drill then drive the post through that hole and install it like normal from there.
Yes, the I-Post can be driven with a handheld post driver.
