*Post Hole Digger Tip*
By: John1lt
30 March 2022

BEFORE you dig any holes call 8-1-1 or your local call-before-you-dig number or your local utility companies and have any utility lines located! Yes some utility lines are shallow and you don't want to hit and damage the line. I've worked for excavation companies and I've found unmarked utilities so be careful even after the utilities are marked. Trust me you don't want to be the guy to break a fiber optic phone line, the repair bill starts in $10,000 range and only goes up rather quickly.

A couple of years ago I put up a small fence and had to dig several post holes by hand. All the holes needed to be approximately the same depth so that all my post tops were even. Rather than use a tape measure to check every hole I marked depths on the side of my post hole digger so that as I dug the hole I could check the depth just by glancing at the side of the post hole digger. I measured from the tip of the blade up the handle and marked off a few measurements that would be useful to me, 12 inches, 16 inches and 24 inches.

If you have a lot of holes to dig rent a power auger and mark the depth you need on the side of the auger with spray paint. If the dirt doesn't wear off the paint wire brush it off before you return the auger. I've never had the rental yard say anything about the paint on the auger, YMMV.

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