Post Buddy Fence Repair Stakes - 2 Pack

My goodness, these actually seem to work. I had a post with a gate that was always too heavy for it. Plus the post based started rotting. The swing of the gate moved the post side to side a good foot at the top. I slammed 3 post buddy's in and hammer drilled various deck screws in and what do you know, post is plumb and stable. Was probably 30 min or less of labor. I found it was good to hold the post buddy with a glove to stabilize it when you hit it. Alternatively, I put a thick pry bar over the top of it and hit that with my hammer. Anyway, the one thing I wanted to do after is fill the new gap at the base of the post with silicone. But I didn't have that on hand. I feel like more water will get in now that the post buddy's have made extra room. These things are hilariously expensive for what they are. But they do seem to work.

These work really, really well. Not perfect but better than anything I've ever seen or tried. Will definitely be using more of these on fences in the future

Post Buddies are great. This pack of 4 was the 2nd time I've bought them. The 1st time I only bought 2. I have also used the E-Z Mender repair devices made by Simpson Strong Tie (https://www.amazon.com/Simpson-Strong-FPBM44E-Powder-Coated-12-Gauge/dp/B004I3YYN4/) and I would give them a positive review also. There are trade-offs between the two types of menders. The E-Z Menders are much more rigid and stronger because they are much more massive. In fact I've used them to repair several posts and despite the fact that two are recommended, I've found one to be sufficient for all 4 of the posts I've used them to repair. On the other hand, two Post Buddies are definitely required to get a secure repair. A problem with the E-Z Menders is that they can be extremely difficult to hammer in to a sufficient depth in some cases. How hard depends on the particulars of the particular post being repaired. The problem I've encountered is that the E-Z Mender can be too wide for the hole in the concrete that the rotted post is in. If the difference is small, hard hammering can overcome the problem. In one case I actually used a drill and chisel to modify the hole so that the EZ-Mender would fit. With Post Buddies this not-fitting problem doesn't exist. Though they can be surprisingly hard to hammer in sometimes, given that there's no fitting problem. I think than can be due to irregularities in the concrete sides of the hole or to roots that have somehow managed to grow into the hole. There are other post-repair devices available but there's one that I couldn't find, but I wish it were available. That fantasy device might be described as a cross between the Post Buddy and the E-Z Mender. It would be flat (no "L"s at the sides) like a Post Buddy but much wider---just narrow enough to fit width-wise in any hole that is for a 4x4 post (really 3.5x3.5). One of those might be sufficient to repair most posts but it wouldn't have the not-fitting problem than an E-Z Mender can have. Another fantasy device I'd like is something to make both of these post menders easier to hammer in. I'm referring to how awkward it is to hammer so close to the face of the post, not how much force is required to drive them in. I've tried a few tricks to address this issue and the best so far is a section of a 1x1 solid-steel bar. I hold that against the top of the mender and hammer the bar. With the Post Buddy another trick is rotating the head of the sledge hammer 90- degrees from how it's normally used so that a wider face is hitting the top of the mender. The price on Amazon for a pack of 2 Post Buddies is $19.95 + $7.95 shipping, though the shipping charge is the same for packs of 4 and 6 also. For a single E-Z Mender, it's $16.96 & FREE Shipping.

As always, depends on your specific situation, i.e. was concrete poured as a "cup" under post, is there even concrete, how rotten is the post below grade, etc. etc. Is it perfect? No, still some flex with the posts, but it straightened 2 posts that were leaning several inches over, and pulling rest of fence with them, and has since withstood strong wind and rain. I had 2 posts, one with a concrete collar, the other in dense, clay soil, and this worked in both situations. The posts were not completely rotten once you went deeper. Often times posts only rot at ground level, or just below. In a different situation, and post was in better shape, I used 12 guage simpson wood straps (12-16 inches long), and they worked well. But the Post Buddy with the ridges, did drive deeper and bite better. The simpson straps were too short and didn't get below the rotten wood for the worst posts. Also, when you drive in the Post Buddy's , they end up somewhat "v"ed out at the top, i.e. an inch or so separated from the post on both sides, so when you screw them into the post, there is tension. This tension helped to pull the post back to vertical. Tip, drive in the Post Buddy on the side that the post is leaning >away< from first, so you can get post closer to vertical before driving in the one on the leaning side.

Great product. I had a post pushed off plumb by tree growth. Rather than go though the expensive process of removing it, I cut it off near the ground and used this product to splice on a new one. Undetectable after some plantings.

Like most people, I'll take the path of least resistance or the "easy out" and this was my intent when I purchased the Post Buddy to fix rotted wooden fence posts. The Post Buddy works by wedging itself between the rotted post and the concreate poured into the post hole. This system relies on having a something solid to wedge against down inside the post hole allowing it to form a support structure that holds the above ground post in proper position. My post holes are 36 inches deep with the majority of my posts rotted to the ground level leaving nothing in the post hole to anchor against which effectively renders the post buddy useless. To be fair, one of the three posts I attempted to repair did have some solid material remaining down in the hole and the post buddy worked as intended. In conclusion, there is no easy, inexpensive, solution to rotted wooden fence posts. The only real fix is to dig out the rotted post and replace it with a new wooden or metal fence post. I plan on using the galvanized metal fence posts designed for wooden fences. Metal posts are costly but are warranted for the original buyers lifetime so, in the long run, they are worth the extra cost.

Don't expect these things to make your post solid like a new foundation of concrete would: they won't. But they will give you a few more years of life. The post will still rock some, and I wouldn't go leaning anything valuable on it, but it'll keep the post upright and more solid than it was. Fairly easy to use. They give you a link to an instructional video, and you can find tons of videos easy enough. You will need a small sledge hammer, your own screws, and a drill. A second person makes the job a lot easier, but it's not absolutely essential. My dog was jumping on my fence and making it wobble pretty bad. It still gives when he jumps on it, but not as much. Like I said, don't expect an instant fix, but it's sure a lot cheaper and easier than putting in a new post or a new foundation. Have purchased many times and probably will again.

Tropical Storm Hillary snapped a couple of my fence posts with a gust of wind. I was hoping to get another 10 years out of that fence. I just replaced all of the bad frame boards this year. The fence is 18 years old. It was constructed properly with a concrete curbing that was rounded at the top to prevent water from rotting the posts and a foot of gravel at the base of the post hole below the concrete. One of the posts was clearly rotted below grade, bad neighbors through the years have watered the fence with their lawn????? The other post simply snapped like a twig in the wind. Drilling and digging the wood out of a post hole in concrete is a lot of work. It would take me the better part of a day to replace just one post so you can imagine how happy I am to have found the Post Buddy product. I repaired both posts in about an hour. The post that simply snapped took longer to drive the Post Buddies in with the 2.5# hammer. A 4# would have been better. I was only able to drive them just deeper than the ribs. The post is very solid. I expect this repair to last many years. The post with rot subgrade was easier to drive the post buddies home. It is also solid for now but it remains to see how long the wood down in the hole will hold? I love this product and I highly recommend them.

I could not hammer them between the post and concrete as advertised.

I was little skeptical, but the steel is thicker than I expected and seems to work well. The top of the concrete was lower than the ground so the post rotted. I added 2 braces and build up the concrete to be above ground to prevent further deterioration. Some posts were not as bad, so I added 1 brace to the front and added concrete. Time will tell if this works. 2 of the posts are too far gone and I will do a proper replacement pulling the concrete up,.installing new post and concrete. If the posts are not too far gone, this system should work. I was also surprised that it was not that hard to hammer the brace in, I used only a regular hammer.

Excellent product. Simple and easy to install. Solved the problem fully.

Bent at first application

This works very well to support fence posts that are broken or almost broken below ground level and for supporting wobbly posts. Unlike some reviewers have said, the steel is very strong (it is designed to bend a little because that it how to get it in properly). However it requires a concrete base on the fence post. Once you hammer it in solidly along the post behind the concrete base, and screw it into the fence post above ground, it is very effective at supporting the post. The concrete post base below ground is what holds it in place below ground and makes it all work. If you do not have a strong base, it may not work well.