Frost Heave (Bangor, Orono, Old Town: living, fence, installation)

[McMar]

Ok, tell me about frost heave. I've read the term in relation to installation of fence posts (depth) and some funny comments about it in a few threads. So I kind of know what it is, but would like to know more.

[moughie]

Frost heave is something you experience if you are cruisin around 40 -50 on an old country road and all of a sudden hit a bump that makes you feel as if you are taking off like a space shuttle:
It is particularly fun if you have children in the back seat- they think you planned it all and get very impressed with the flying feeling!!!

[vter]

Heck, they are so ubiquitous is NNE that we have a basketball team named after them!
Vermont Frost Heaves


In basic terms, a frost heave occurs when the ground underneath paved roads starts to thaw.
Frost heaving - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Maine Writer]

A Frost Heaves team! That's funny!

When Kristin was about four I worked in Bangor and took Stillwater Ave from Old Town to Bangor because there was little traffic. Just after the bog in Orono heading toward Bangor there was a dip and bump in the road. One morning it was a little worse than had it been. After I hit it my charming little four year old said, "That was a helluva bump!" The road is better now but we still call it the helluva bump.

[Abbymoulton]

They are the best in an older truck at an accellerated speed. YEE HAA!

As teenagers (before you have to pay for the damage to the car) They can be a great form of entertainment.

[Boomerang]

This year seems to be really bad for frost heaves. Driving north on 24 from Bowdoin to Richmond is like navigating the craters of the moon. Or, if you've seen those National Geographic photos of what highways look like after an earthquake, with the asphalt split open and gaping in some places, broken and piled up in others, yeah, that's it.
Now that you mention it, McMar, I think it's a good photo op! Nobody living outside frost heave country would believe it!

[ribbets]

Usually the town and state road crews post a little sign about 10' before the BUMP to warn you and then there's the assortment of hub-caps,mufflers and gouges in the road to show you where to land. But it's not just on the roads, my back lawn is a very heavy clay base with the minimum topsoil I've seen rocks as big as watermellons rise up as the frost gets deeper, and as the ground thaws they slowly recede to almost were they started when i mow in the spring I usually find that mother nature has moved them just a tad up

[McMar]

Oh, so that is why the roads are "bad" up there (to quote some of you guys)? I should have known that wikipedia would have a definition on frost heave, but it's more fun hearing about it from you guys. Plus, wikipedia did not even mention the Vermont Frost Heaves basketball team. I love team names like that. Ever heard of the Macon Whoopie (Macon Georgia's hockey team). I don't think the team was named after your whoopie pies.

So if I build a fence and bury the posts as deep as recommended, am I going to have to rebuild it ever few years due to frost heaving?

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by McMar

So if I build a fence and bury the posts as deep as recommended, am I going to have to rebuild it ever few years due to frost heaving?

Depends on how deep you sink the posts. If you get down below the frost line and/or make sure there's good drainage, you'll be OK. We used to dig postholes six inches or so deeper than we needed, then throw in a couple of shovels-full of gravel and a flat rock to rest the post on.

[McMar]

Smart thinking, Coaster. Better to put forth a bit more effort on the front end than have to start the project all over again 5 years down the road.