Most fence problems in Colorado Springs trace back to one cause: posts that weren’t set deep enough for our frost line, or posts that were set correctly but have had their footings worked loose by 100+ freeze-thaw cycles per winter.
The Push Test
Before calling anyone, do this yourself: put both hands on the post and push firmly in each direction. Any movement at all means the footing has failed. A sound post won’t budge. A failed footing will rock — sometimes just a quarter inch, sometimes dramatically.
What you’re feeling is the concrete collar separating from the surrounding soil. Once that gap opens, water infiltrates, freezes, expands the gap further, and every subsequent winter makes it worse. Bracing from the outside buys one season at best — it transfers the load to adjacent posts without fixing the root cause.
Why Colorado Footings Fail Faster
El Paso County’s frost line is 36 inches. Posts set to 18 or 24 inches — common in DIY builds and budget installations — sit above the worst of the freeze-thaw movement rather than below it. The ground cycles around them all winter.
The correct depth for a six-foot fence post is two feet of burial minimum — ideally below the frost line. Combined with a gravel drainage pack at the base (which most repairs skip) and a concrete pour that crowns slightly above grade so water sheds away from the post, a correctly set post will outlast every board, rail, and hinge around it.
Wood Species Matters at Altitude
Pressure-treated lumber comes in treatment levels. The relevant ones for fence posts are UC3 (above-ground, not in soil contact) and UC4B (ground contact, below grade). Standard lumber yard posts are often UC3 or unmarked — not rated for continuous soil contact in Colorado’s conditions.
For boards and rails above grade, cedar handles our UV and humidity cycling significantly better than pine. At 6,035 feet, UV radiation is roughly 25% more intense than at sea level — the same intensity that forces deck restaining every 2–3 years here instead of every 5. Untreated pine boards degrade faster than most homeowners expect in this climate.
The combination that holds up: UC4B posts set below frost line with a gravel base, cedar boards and rails above grade, finished with a UV-resistant penetrating stain.
When Repair Makes More Sense Than Replacement
Replace the full fence when: more than 40% of posts have failed footings, the fence is over 15 years old and boards are consistently splitting, or the style no longer matches the property.
Repair makes sense when: isolated post failures in an otherwise sound fence, boards damaged by a single hail event or vehicle impact, or sagging gates that just need new hardware and a post reset.
We do a free walkthrough and written flat-rate estimate on every fence project — repair or replacement.
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Flat-rate written estimate, no hourly surprises. Serving Colorado Springs, Monument, Fountain, Woodland Park, and the Pikes Peak region.