Stretching Barbed Wire Off a Rock-Weighted Jack Post Brace Where You Cannot Dig: Load the Crib Heavy, Pull in Stages, and Watch the Brace the Whole Time

Wooden fence post topped with stacked rocks holding barbed wire strands on bare volcanic ground

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Some fence lines run straight across bare bedrock, a lava flow, or a talus slope where no post will ever go in the ground. A jack post with a crib of rocks becomes the brace, and it does not forgive a careless pull.

Where no post can be set, load a jack post brace with 300 to 400 pounds of rock. Anchor the stretcher low on the jack, pull the barbed wire up in small stages while watching the brace for any lift or lean, and stop short of the full pre-stretch you would use on a set brace.

What the specs say

The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications allow jack posts and A-frames only where it is impossible to set a post. They call for 4- to 5-inch uprights tall enough for all four wires and a rock platform built of 3- to 4-inch material, carrying roughly 300 pounds of rock on line jacks and about 400 pounds on jack post braces.

The same specs say care is needed when stretching wire from jack post braces so they are not pulled over. They also call for pre-tensioning barbed wire to 600 pounds and stapling at 250 to 300 pounds, which a light jack may not survive.

The British Columbia factsheet on dispensing, stapling, and joining fence wire says about 250 pounds is the working tension for nonelectric wire fences. That number is the realistic goal on a jack.

Building it heavy

  1. Build the jack from treated posts and rails, with the uprights tall enough to carry every strand.
  2. Pile rock on the platform until it will not rock when you shove the top of the upright. Bigger rocks at the bottom, smaller ones chinked in on top.
  3. Set the jack so the pull of the wire runs along its long side, not across it.
  4. Treat any cut ends with a wood preservative.

Stretching in stages

  1. Tie the strand off at the far end first, on a set brace if you have one.
  2. Anchor the stretcher chain low on the jack upright, close to the platform, so the pull does not lever the top over.
  3. Clamp the wire grip a few feet out and take three or four clicks on the ratchet.
  4. Stop and look at the jack. Check the platform for lift on the far side and the upright for lean.
  5. Add more rock if anything moved, then pull again. Repeat until the sag is out and the wire is at working tension.
  6. Wrap the strand twice around the upright with no gaps, twist the tail, and staple the wraps tight.

A ratchet-style fence wire stretcher built for barbed and smooth wire lets you pull a click at a time, which is the only safe way to load a jack.

The classic mistake is cranking the wire tight in one long pull because it worked on the dug brace at the other end. The jack lifts on one side, the rock slides off, and the whole thing tips into the fence.

Working safely on rock

  1. Wear gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection. A tipped jack lets the strand go all at once.
  2. Never stand between the jack and the run while you pull. Work from the side.
  3. Recheck the jack after the first big wind or snow. Rock settles and frames shift.

Gear and next steps

Tractor Supply carries treated posts and rails for the frame and clip-on tension indicators for the wire. A heavy rock bar makes moving platform stone much easier.

Where the ground does take a post, frost can still lift it; here is a walkthrough on pulling and resetting frost-heaved T-posts.

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