A guy is coming to repair seven broken fence posts. He said he has special tools that allow him to remove the post without disturbing the concrete and then he puts a new one in the old one's place. A friend of mine used to be a home inspector and he asked me what the handyman did to keep the water out of the concrete and away from the post. When I asked that question to the handyman, he said that he did not use anything. Also, my friend said that the concrete should be above the grass line. The concrete in place is not above the grass line. It is a little below it.

Does any of this matter? How important is it to keep the water out of the hole in the concrete and if it is, is there anything I could put in there to keep the water out? How important is it to have the concrete above the grass line? I like the idea of using the concrete that is already there.

The fence people I've talked to around here don't seem very interested in digging holes. They want to use some kind of metal bracing. Seems like that would damage the concrete but I haven't looked into it that closely.

What is the best way to go with this?

Thanks for any insight.

S