A simple cedar gate job turned into a full day because of a hidden rock shelf

I was putting in a 4-foot cedar gate in a backyard in Bellingham last Thursday. The first post hole went fine, but the second one hit a solid rock shelf about 8 inches down. I tried a digging bar and a rock chisel, but it was just too big. Ended up having to rent a small electric demo hammer from the local rental place, which took an extra hour just to get. What should have been a 3-hour job took me almost 7 hours total. Anyone have a better trick for breaking through shallow bedrock without heavy tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

victor_butler502mo ago

Feels like every simple job has that one hidden thing that blows up the whole day. Nature's way of reminding us who's really in charge of the schedule.

nancyd852mo ago

Just wait until you find that one stripped screw holding the whole thing together. Spent an hour yesterday on what should have been a five minute shelf fix because of that. The universe definitely has a weird sense of humor about our plans.

keith1161mo ago

My uncle in Spokane hit a solid slab of granite putting in a fence. He ended up using a pressure washer to make a hole, which took all weekend and made a huge mud pit. Sometimes the weird fix just makes a bigger mess.