If your fence has stood solid all year and a post has suddenly started to wobble, the weather is the likely culprit. England has had one of its driest Julys on record, with just 3% of the long-term average rainfall and soil moisture deficits at record levels for the time of year, according to the Environment Agency’s dry weather report. Ground that dry moves, and it takes fence posts with it.
The timing matters. The Met Office UK outlook points to an area of low pressure crossing the country in early August, bringing heavy rain and the possibility of strong winds. A post that is merely loose today is exactly the sort that snaps or blows flat in the first proper gale. Here is the 10-minute check to do this weekend, and what to do if a post fails it.
Why does dry weather make a solid fence post go wobbly?
Most of Britain sits on clay-rich soil, and clay shrinks as it dries. The British Geological Survey maps large parts of central, eastern and south-east England as having high shrink-swell potential, which is the same ground movement that drives subsidence claims in drought summers.
When clay shrinks around a concreted-in post, it pulls away from the concrete footing and opens a gap. The footing, which relied on tightly packed soil to hold it upright, now has room to rock. That is why a post that was rock-solid in spring can lean or wobble by late July without anyone touching it. Add wind loading from a full fence panel acting like a sail, and the movement only gets worse.
The cruel part is what happens next. When that early-August rain arrives, the clay swells again, but rarely back to exactly where it was. The post is left sitting in disturbed ground, weaker than before, right as the wind picks up.
The 10-minute fence post check
Walk the length of your fence and give each post these three checks. You are looking for the early warning signs, not just the posts that have already gone.
1. The push test
Put a flat hand on top of each post and push gently, then pull. A sound post barely moves. If the top travels more than a centimetre or two, or you feel the base rock in the ground, that post is working loose. Pay special attention to end posts, gate posts and any post carrying a run of tall panels, as these take the most wind load.
2. Look for the gap at the base
Crouch down and check where the post meets the ground. A fresh gap between the post and the surrounding soil, or between the post and its concrete collar, is the tell-tale sign of clay shrinkage. You can often slide a screwdriver or a finger into a gap that was not there a few months ago.
3. Check the post at ground level for rot
Dry ground movement finishes off posts that were already rotting. Timber posts fail where they meet the soil, because that is where they stay damp longest. Press a screwdriver into the post at ground level. If it sinks into soft, spongy wood, the post is rotten and will not survive being leaned on by a storm, however firm it feels higher up.
Found a loose post? Your options before the wind gets it
If a post has failed the check, you have a short window before the forecast turns. Broadly, there are three ways to deal with it:
- Prop it and hope. Tempting, but a timber batten screwed to a wobbling post is a very temporary fix and does nothing about the movement at the base.
- Dig it out and replace it. The thorough option, but it means excavating the old concrete footing, which is heavy, slow work, and it disturbs the ground around neighbouring posts. In ground this hard and dry, digging out a footing is genuinely tough going.
- Repair it in place with a no-dig system. This re-secures the existing post using the concrete that is already in the ground, with no excavation, which is where Post Buddy comes in.
We have priced all of these routes properly in our companion guide, what a broken fence post actually costs to fix in 2026.
The no-dig repair: how Post Buddy re-secures a post in about 20 minutes
Post Buddy is a UK-patented fence post repair system designed for exactly this situation: a post that is leaning, wobbling or snapped, but where the panels either side are still good. Instead of removing the old post and its footing, you drive a pair of galvanised steel Post Buddys around half a metre into the ground alongside the damaged post, so they anchor into the existing below-ground timber and concrete. You then screw them to the sound part of the post above ground with the supplied screws, bridging the weak point and holding everything rigid again.
There is no digging, no mixing concrete, and nothing to dismantle. Most people finish a post in 15 to 30 minutes with a club hammer, a drill and a spirit level. It works on any size or shape of concreted-in post, including in awkward, hard-to-reach spots where a spade will not go. That last point matters this summer: when the ground is baked hard, driving in a steel stake is far easier than trying to excavate a footing out of it.
A repair starts from £15.99 plus £6.95 delivery, and orders placed before 2pm on a weekday go out for next business day delivery, so a post spotted this weekend can be fixed before the low-pressure system arrives. It is the approach more than 4,100 five-star Trustpilot reviewers have already used.
Do the check before the first August gale
Dry ground has quietly loosened posts up and down the country, and the forecast is turning wet and windy just as those posts are at their weakest. Ten minutes with your hand on each post now is a lot easier than picking a flattened fence panel out of a flower bed after the storm.
If you find a loose or leaning post, see how the repair works or order a Post Buddy repair in time for the weekend.
FAQ
Why is my fence post suddenly wobbly in summer?
Dry weather shrinks clay soil, which pulls away from the concrete footing and opens a gap, letting the post rock. After one of the driest Julys on record, this is happening across much of the UK, even to posts that were solid in spring.
Will a wobbly fence post survive a storm?
Often not. A post that already rocks in its footing has far less resistance to wind, and a full fence panel acts like a sail. With unsettled, potentially windy weather forecast for early August, a loose post is the one most likely to snap or blow over.
Can I fix a leaning fence post without digging out the concrete?
Yes. A no-dig repair system such as Post Buddy anchors into the existing below-ground post and concrete, so you re-secure the post in place without excavating the old footing or replacing the post.
How do I know if my post is rotten or just loose?
Press a screwdriver into the post at ground level. If the wood is soft and spongy, it is rotting and needs support regardless of how firm it feels higher up. If the timber is still sound but the whole post rocks, the problem is movement at the base.
How long does a Post Buddy repair take?
Most posts take 15 to 30 minutes with a club hammer, a drill and a spirit level. There is no concrete to mix and nothing to wait for, so the fence is back to full strength the same day.