Fence post next to house
I'm installing a small section of split rail fence with it ending next to my house. I was hoping the footer would be far deeper than it is, but it's only about 8" deep and extends about 15 inches from the house.
I was trying to figure out the best approach for the post, but found conflicting information when I searched online. I tried searching in this group, but all I could find was advice for privacy fences.
Obviously, I don't want to attach anything to the house. Is it acceptable to use something like a Simpson bracket to attach the post to the footer? My understanding was to absolutely not drill into the footer. Or would it be better to poor concrete on top of the footer and attach to that? Most of the advice I saw was to install the post the roughly 20" from the house and overhang the top rails. But that's not really possible here.
The 3 top rails will only be about 2.5' long to another end post for a gate. So it doesn't have to bear much weight. I live on the Piedmont of North Carolina. Any help will be appreciated!