How to Remove Broken Fence Posts Set in Concrete

A fence post snaps at ground level and the top comes away in your hand. What is left is a stub, and below it a block of concrete the size of a bucket or bigger, sunk into the ground as a footing. That concrete is the hard part. It was meant to hold the post for decades, and it is doing its job on a post that no longer exists.

This guide covers three ways to get it out: breaking the footing, digging and levering it, and pulling it with an eye bolt and chain. It explains the tools, the step-by-step work, the safety points that people skip, how to patch the hole and how to decide when to hand the job to someone else. Details apply across the boroughs, Long Island and New Jersey, with local notes below. Information is current as of October 2026.

1. Why Remove a Broken Post Properly

It is tempting to cut the stub flush and screw a new post to the side. That rarely works for long. A broken post usually means one of three things: rot at grade level, a footing that has heaved or cracked from freeze-thaw, or years of load from wind, gates and leaning.

Leaving the old footing creates problems:

• The new post has no solid anchor. Attaching to an old stub passes along its rot.
• Alignment is off. You cannot get a straight line if the old concrete is in the way.
• Water pools at the old stub and speeds decay.
• The fence stays weak exactly where it matters.

Removing the old post and footing takes effort, but it gives you a clean, correctly placed hole for the new one. Before starting, take a moment to inspect the damage. If the wood is severely rotted, the post may separate easily from the concrete, which makes removal much simpler. If the post is sound and only the top section broke, the whole assembly stays stuck together and needs one of the methods below. When you are ready to put in the replacement, our guide to setting a fence post in concrete covers the next step.

2. Safety and Checks Before You Dig

Call 811

In New York and New Jersey, you are expected to contact the 811 utility-marking service before digging, and to wait for the lines to be marked. Gas, electric, water, sewer, and communications lines may run along property lines, exactly where fences stand. Leave the required notice period, mark your work area as instructed, and hand-dig near any marks.

Property lines and ownership

Know where the fence stands relative to the boundary. Replacing a shared fence often requires neighbor agreement, and posts on a property line can be a source of conflict. A survey, deed or plot plan helps. In co-ops, condos and landmark districts, check what rules apply to fences and rear yards.

Permits and rules

Fence height, material and location may be regulated. In New York City, check the Department of Buildings' page on how to obtain a permit, because some fences and retaining structures need review. On Long Island, the town or village building department sets its own rules. In New Jersey, the municipal construction office issues permits under the Uniform Construction Code overseen by the NJ Division of Codes and Standards. Our permit checker can guide a first look.

Personal protection

• Safety glasses or goggles
• Work gloves
• Steel-toe boots
• Hearing protection when using powered tools
• A properly fitted respirator when breaking or cutting concrete, since the dust contains respirable crystalline silica; see OSHA's silica guidance for dust control and respirator requirements
• Lift with your legs, and use mechanical help for heavy footings

Weather and ground

Avoid working in frozen or waterlogged ground. Dry or slightly damp soil is easier to dig, and safer to stand on.

3. Tools and Materials

For a long fence line, renting tools is usually cheaper than buying.

4. Method One: Break Up the Concrete Footing

This method works for most footings, especially large or deep ones that cannot be levered out whole.

1. Expose the footing. Dig a trench around the post to the top of the concrete and then down the sides. Clear enough room to swing a hammer or position a breaker.
2. Remove what you can of the post. Cut or pull away the rotted wood. If a metal post is involved, cut it flush with a reciprocating saw.
3. Wet the concrete lightly to reduce dust. Put on your respirator and eyewear.
4. Break the concrete in pieces. Start from the outside edge with a sledgehammer or breaker. Hit angled, working down in sections. Avoid trying to smash it in the center first.
5. Cut rebar if you encounter it, using the saw.
6. Lift out the pieces and the remaining stub of the post as you go. If the footing is bell-shaped, wider at the base, you may need to dig beneath it.
7. Dig out to the hole's full depth and remove all fragments, so the new footing has solid ground.

This method creates the most debris. Plan where it goes, because construction debris generally cannot go out with regular household trash in New York City. Large quantities usually require a container or a hauling service.

5. Method Two: Dig and Lever the Footing Out

This works when the footing is small and not too deep, often a hand-mixed footing for a lightweight wooden fence.

1. Dig all the way around the footing, exposing its sides and deeper than its base if possible. You want to free it from the soil, not just at the top.
2. Check the shape. If it narrows downward, it will lift easily. If it widens at the bottom, dig under the bulge.
3. Slide a digging bar or lever under the edge of the footing, using a block of wood as a fulcrum.
4. Rock it loose. Push the lever to lift one side, then another. Work wedges or stones underneath as it rises.
5. Tip the footing out of the hole and onto a plank or a wheelbarrow.
6. Break it up on the surface if it is too heavy to move, which is easier than breaking it in the hole.

Do not strain your back. A footing the size of a five-gallon bucket can weigh a few hundred pounds. If it will not budge, switch methods.

6. Method Three: Eye Bolt, Chain and Jack

This approach uses leverage to pull the entire post and footing straight up. It works best when the post has some solid wood or a metal pipe above the concrete.

1. Drill a pilot hole into the stub of the post, then drive in a heavy eye bolt or lag screw. For a metal post, wrap a chain or use a clamp designed for pipe.
2. Loop a chain through the eye and around the post as tightly as possible.
3. Set up a lifting device. A hi-lift jack, come-along on a sturdy tripod or a long lever with a fulcrum block can pull upward. Keep the pull vertical.
4. Loosen the soil around the footing first, digging a few inches down and rocking it as the load increases.
5. Lift slowly. Watch the chain, bolt and jack. Keep body parts out of the line of pull.
6. Stop if something slips. A bolt pulling out of rotten wood can snap back with force.

Do not attach the chain to a vehicle and drive off. It can break the post, snap the chain, damage the vehicle or injure someone. A controlled lift is safer.

7. Fill, Compact and Prepare for the New Post

Once the old footing is out, the hole needs attention.

• Clean the hole. Remove loose soil, concrete chips and debris.
• Check depth and width. As a general guide, the hole should be deep enough to extend below the local frost line, which in the New York area is roughly three to four feet, but confirm with your municipality. The hole is commonly two to three times the post's width.
• Add a gravel base of about six inches for drainage, and compact it.
• Check the line. Use a string line to align with remaining posts.
• Set the new post in concrete as described in our guide to setting a fence post in concrete, slope the concrete top away from the post, and let it cure before attaching panels.
• Protect the new post. Pressure-treated lumber rated for ground contact, steel posts or composite posts last longer. Paint or stain exposed wood on all sides. For a clean paint finish on a new or existing fence, see our step-by-step guide to exterior painting.

If you want to compare the methods, here is a summary:

8. When to Call a Professional

DIY is realistic for one or two posts. A pro makes sense when:

• Many posts must be removed
• Footings are large, deep or reinforced with rebar
• Utilities are close or poorly marked
• Access is tight, such as a narrow Brooklyn or Queens side yard
• The fence is on a property line, a hillside or a retaining wall
• The surrounding area is a patio, deck, driveway or landscaping you want to protect

In these cases, the cost of damage or injury outweighs the cost of hiring help. For larger exterior projects, request a free estimate and ask whether fence work can be included or coordinated.

9. How We Help With Exterior Projects

10. Neighborhoods and ZIP Codes We Serve

N.Y. Renovation Services is based on Staten Island and works throughout the five boroughs, Long Island and nearby New Jersey. Fence situations differ widely across the region.

• Inwood (Manhattan), ZIPs 10034, 10040: pre-war apartment buildings and older co-ops. Private yards are scarce; fence work here tends to involve courtyards, shared areas or small properties, and co-op boards control what is allowed.
• Flatbush (Brooklyn), ZIPs 11226, 11210: Victorian wood-frame homes and pre-war co-ops. Older wood fences and large trees whose roots complicate digging are common, and some blocks are in historic districts.
• Glendale (Queens), ZIP 11385: attached brick homes and two-family houses. Shared side yards and narrow lots mean neighbor coordination and careful access.
• Mariners Harbor (Staten Island), ZIP 10303: two-family and attached homes. Yard size varies; moisture and drainage can affect footings.
• Westbury (Nassau County, Long Island), ZIP 11590: Village of Westbury, with capes and colonials. Village permit rules apply, and Nassau County's website at nassaucountyny.gov lists consumer protection resources for hiring contractors.
• Teaneck (Bergen County, NJ), ZIP 07666: colonials, capes and large lots. Longer fence lines, mature trees and municipal permit rules under the NJ Uniform Construction Code are the norm.

11. Next Steps: Get Your Free Estimate

James - Lead Renovation Editor. With over 20 years in renovation and construction, James writes and edits our guides. More about James