How to Install a Board Fence
Keep prying eyes out of your yard with a board fence. This type offers the best privacy and is difficult to climb - it's also the most expensive to build. Another version of the board fence - an interlapping board fence - has alternating vertical boards. This type holds up well in windy areas and looks good from either side.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Fence Posts
- Measuring Tapes
- Weather Stripping
- Wood Preservatives
- Chalk Line
- Hammers
- Levels
- Variable-speed Drills
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1
Set your fence posts 10 feet apart. (See "How to Install Fence Posts in Concrete" and "How to Install Fence Posts in Dirt.")
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2
Use screws to install a rail between posts at 4 inches below the top of the fence, 1 foot below that, and 6 inches off the ground.
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3
Choose pressure-treated wood, prefabricated panels, or precut boards for the slats. They should be of uniform size.
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4
Lay the boards out side by side and snap a chalk line at each rail point to help you align them. (See "How to Snap a Chalk Line.")
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5
Nail the boards to the rails using galvanized hardware. Butt the edges up closely - the wood will shrink eventually, no matter what, but you can minimize gapping by putting the boards up tightly to begin with.
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6
Keep a level handy and watch the top and the bottom to make sure your fence is even.
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7
Alternate the boards on either side of the fence for the interlapping method. Use a spare board to keep the spacing even.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Treat any areas you cut with a wood preservative.
Finish the fence with a waterproof stain, paint, or sealer.
Get your neighbor's permission if you will need to be on his or her side of the fence.
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Comments
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This entire article is essentially useless. Most fence boards come in 8 or 16 foot lengths, so 10 foot post spacing makes no sense. 8 foot spacing is standard. Step 4 should just be removed. You SHOULD snap a line on the posts at the top of where each board show be. Then there's no need for a level, which is useless anyway, since most yards and horse fields are NOT level. The fence should follow the contour of the land, in other words, be parallel with the ground. I've NEVER seen a fence built with the boards on alternating sides of the fence posts. All the boards should be on the same side. For yards, the boards are usually on the side of the posts visible from the street, so it looks nice. This is also how it's done on horse farms that use double rows of fencing. But the inside row should have the boards on the side of the posts where the horses are. That way, when the horses (or cows, or goats, or emus, or whatever) are pushing against the fence, they're pushing the boards against the post. If the boards are on the other side, they're pushing the boards AWAY from the posts, which will result in the boards getting looser and looser, since the nails are the only thing holding the animal back. This is also true for wire fencing. Put the wire on the animal side of the post. Incidentally, if you've ever wondered why horse farms use two rows of fencing, there are two reasons: first, almost any horse in good condition can jump a standard fence with a running start. But with the two rows of fencing only 10 or 15 feet apart, if the horse jumps the first fence, he won't have enough room to get a running start to jump the second. The other reason is it prevents horses if adjacent fields from being able to reach each other, so it prevents biting, disease transfer, etc. It is NOT done to make handy roads through the farm, that's just a fringe benefit, which is very nice, since it keeps the horses away from trucks, tractors, etc.
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tntitans21399
Nov 30, 2008
Should go more in depth, like a lot of people use 4x4 for the post, 2x4 for the side boards that the panels screw to and a lot more details. -
projectmgr
Aug 15, 2008
Yes it is too simplistic and incorrect. Posts ten feet apart might work with a 3 foot high fence. Step number 4 makes no sense at all. Step number 6 "keep a level handy". All posts should be vertically plumb in all directions and the vertical pickets as well. Step number 1; "How to install fence posts in dirt". Gotta read that one.
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projectmgr
Aug 15, 2008
Yes it is too simplistic and incorrect. Posts ten feet apart might work with a 3 foot high fence. Step number 4 makes no sense at all. Step number 6 "keep a level handy". All posts should be vertically plumb in all directions and the vertical pickets as well. Step number 1; "How to install fence posts in dirt". Gotta read that one.
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twopolarbears
Jun 13, 2007
This is a BS article, and too simplistic for almost every wood fence installation.
