TL;DR
A gravel post base is a fence-setting method in which the post sits on and is backfilled with compacted crushed stone instead of poured concrete, letting ground water drain away from the wood and allowing easy plumb adjustments or future post replacement. Crews dig below frost depth, add a few inches of stone under the post, then compact 3/4-inch angular gravel in lifts around it.
What it means
A gravel post base is a fence-setting method in which the post sits on and is backfilled with compacted crushed stone instead of poured concrete, letting ground water drain away from the wood and allowing easy plumb adjustments or future post replacement. Crews dig below frost depth, add a few inches of stone under the post, then compact 3/4-inch angular gravel in lifts around it. It suits wood privacy fences in well-drained soils, while gates and heavy panels in clay usually still warrant concrete.
Where it sits in the glossary
Gravel post base is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.