Customer Dug Or Tamped Themselves Diy Induced Decision Tree

Why this matters

The customer dug the holes or tamped the backfill themselves to save on labor, and the fence is now failing. They want you to set posts in their holes or stand panels in posts they already poured. This is a high-risk situation for you because the failure modes (shallow holes, narrow holes, wet soil tamp, wrong concrete mix, no bell at the bottom) are hidden once the post is in. You can decline the work, accept it with documented exceptions, or fix what they did. This tree gets you to a clear sequence: inspect first, document the gaps, price the rework into the bid, and only then decide whether to proceed.

Symptom presentation

Visit before quoting. Look at the customer's prep work with a tape and a probe:

• Holes too shallow: below the local frost depth is the requirement; many DIY holes terminate at 24 to 30 inches when the local frost depth is 36 to 48.
• Holes too narrow: 3x the post diameter is the working rule; a 4 inch post needs at minimum a 12 inch hole.
• No bell at the bottom: a straight-sided hole has nothing for frost to push against and nothing for the concrete to key into.
• Posts already set in concrete with no plumb correction: the customer poured, walked away, and the post settled out of plumb.
• Backfill tamped in fully saturated soil: clay or silt at moisture above plastic limit cannot consolidate; the post will lean within a season.
• Wrong concrete mix: dry-pack with no water added does not develop strength; a small-bag fast-set mixed too wet is also weak.

Photograph each finding. The customer often does not remember details from the install, and the photo file protects both sides.

Quick checks

1. Probe each hole's depth with a tape against a known frost depth for the jurisdiction.
2. Measure each hole's diameter top and bottom; bottom should be wider than top if a proper bell was dug.
3. Push test any pre-poured post. Movement says the concrete-soil bond is not formed.
4. Look at the concrete: full fill to the top with a sloped crown above grade; or partial fill with bare backfill on top; or a thin slurry that ran out the bottom of an over-wet mix.
5. Check plumb on every pre-set post. Out-of-plumb at set time stays out of plumb.

Isolation tree

• Holes inspected, dry, full depth, properly belled, customer requesting you set posts: proceed with documentation. Go to the proceed branch.
• Holes too shallow: redig or refuse. Go to the redig branch.
• Holes too narrow: redig or refuse. Go to the redig branch.
• Posts already set, out of plumb: pull, redig, reset. Go to the pull-and-reset branch.
• Posts set in wet soil that has dried and now move: pull and redo footings. Go to the pull-and-reset branch.
• Concrete partially filled or wrong mix: chip out and redo or refuse to warranty. Go to the redo footing branch.

Proceed branch:

• Document every hole's depth, diameter, bell, and dryness with photos and a written checklist signed by the customer.
• Note in writing that warranty covers your set work only, not customer-prepped holes.
• Provide a 30-day check-back visit before closing the job.

Redig branch:

• The customer paid for the wrong outcome and you will own the failure. Either redig at your price (cleanly priced in the bid) or refuse the job.
• If you proceed without redig, get a written waiver listing the specific footing deficiencies and your limited warranty.

Pull-and-reset branch:

• Pull pre-set posts that are out of plumb or moving. Reuse the post if undamaged; reuse the hole only if it meets your standards after re-excavation.
• Reset on dry compacted base with a properly belled footing and fresh concrete.

Redo footing branch:

• A partially filled hole or a clearly wrong concrete mix is a footing rebuild. Chip out, redig the bell if missing, and re-pour with the right mix and slump.

Confirming diagnosis

• For shallow hole: tape from grade to the bottom. If below by more than a couple of inches of the local frost line, it must come up.
• For narrow hole: tape across at the top and bottom. Bottom narrower than top is a no-bell hole.
• For pre-set posts: push test plus a plumb check. Either failure is grounds for pull-and-reset.
• For concrete mix: a finger jab into the surface in the first hour after pour tells you whether the mix is workable strength. A surface that crumbles under a fingernail is a weak pour.

Remediation

• Proceed only on documented passing holes; require a signed checklist.
• Redig or pull-and-reset wherever depth, diameter, bell, plumb, or concrete fails inspection.
• Replace concrete on any hole where the original pour was wrong mix, partial fill, or dried-saturated.
• Write your warranty to scope you to the work you control. Do not warranty customer-prepped scope without an exception list.
• Educate the customer that the cost of footing defects compounds: a leaning post in year one becomes a fence run rebuild in year three.

Bidding and warranty language

Two clauses solve most of the headaches on this kind of job. The first is an inspection allowance: the bid carries a line for hole inspection at a fixed price, the inspection occurs before any set work, and the bid reverts to a standard install price if all holes pass. The second is a customer-prep exception: the warranty section names the items you did not perform (excavation, footing concrete, plumb at pour) and limits the warranty to your set work only. Both clauses give the customer a clear menu of what they are paying for and protect you when a homeowner-prepped hole shifts after first frost. A signed checklist beats a he-said memory every time.

When to walk

Some jobs do not become good jobs with paperwork alone. Walking is right when more than half the holes are too shallow, posts sit in saturated soil that has not dried, the customer refuses rework on visible defects, or grading problems put any install at risk regardless of the post.

References

• ASTM F537, Standard Practice for Design and Installation of Fences Constructed of Wood and Related Materials (post setting, footing depth and diameter).
• ASTM F1043, Standard Specification for Strength and Protective Coatings on Steel Industrial Fence Framework (post and brace requirements).
• ASTM F567, Standard Practice for Installation of Chain-Link Fence (line, end, corner, and gate post setting).
• ACI 318, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (concrete mix and placement for post footings).