A question about fence posts. The cement does not reach the top of the hole, can I fill the rest with dirt?
Answers:
"well traveled" has the right answer. Since you used concrete, it MUST be to the top, otherwise it will invite rainwater to pool there (conrete will hold the water there, not allowing it to drain away), rotting your posts. The other guy who mentioned pea gravel is also right, as it will drain the water away from the post while providing a suitable anchor. However, you can't just fill in pea gravel on top of the concrete, that will not solve anything. Your best bet is to just fill up the holes with more concrete.
Other answers:
yes you can fill it in with soil/dirt
yes you can fill it in with soil/dirt
You dug a mighty big hole for that post, it is not going anywhere..just back fill with dirt...will be fine. Good luck
either way you want to do it. As long as it is level and has no give to it then covering with dirt is fine.
Yeah, the Lowe's guy was right. You are just anchoring the post. and a wider anchor (ie 12 inch wide hole) works better than a deeper, thinner anchor. Don't sweat it - you did it right. Besides, you don't want concrete all the way up to the surface (wouldn't look good). Pack in the dirt. Wait a few days for it to settle and top it off.
There are 2 reasons to use a concrete footer for fence posts: 1 -- to anchor the post in the ground; 2 -- to keep water from accumulating around the post and rotting it away.
And yes, even pressure-treated wood will rot, it just won't do it as fast.
You really *should* fill the hold up the rest of the way with concrete, so the concrete is slighly ABOVE ground level -- that will keep water from accumulating on the post and rotting it faster. If you're not going to fill it up with concrete, use rocks at least -- dirt will just hold the water next to the post.
If you fill it the rest of the way with dirt, just be aware that termites may be a problem. I don't really know much about this, but a homeowner friend was telling me just a couple days ago that he put a wood trellis in his backyard and the cement did not reach the top of the soil. He said termites got to it very quickly.
Absolutely, you did it perfect. Don't worry your posts will be fine.
Termites won't eat pressure treated wood.
Shouldn't be a problem, I usually set my posts with pea gravel. Makes it easier to pull them out once they do rot.