How to Build a Basic Fence Parts 1-7

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Type of fences:
Wood Privacy

Step 1

As soon as your lines are planned and before you dig any holes.
Call "One Call" or "Call before you dig" nnumber in the front of your local telephone book under "Emergency numbers" or under "Utilities"

It is a free call and they will notify all utility companies that you are plannning to dig in the area and within two days they will come out to your site and mark every underground utility. That way you can avoid costly repairs to the lines or worse... a broken gas line would be a real bad deal in your front yard... Getting an undergroud electrical line or phone line etc can also cause significant disturbances for you or your neighbors...
Just make the Call... its a free service and you will be glad you did... besides... its the law.
Thank you to projectmgr for his reminder of this important step.
Step 2

Fence Building From start to finish… Part 2

The First Parts of fence building are the same no matter what kind of fence you are installing. Pressure Treated Wood or Chain Link I will try to cover both in this article.

Things you will need for phase one include:
• Nail Gun (with 2” ring shanks and 3” – 3 ½” Glue tips
• Skill Saw
• Reciprocating Saw
• Tape Measure
• Pen and paper
• Roll of surveyor’s string line (Brightly colored preferably Orange or Hot Pink as they are easier to see)
• 1 Can of inverted Ground marking paint. (Orange seems to work best)
• 3 Post levels (common item at Home Improvement stores.)
• Good wheelbarrow (two wheels in front preferably with plastic body)
• Flat point shovel for mixing concrete (in wheelbarrow)
• Post hole digger (heavy duty)
• 5 gallon bucket for water
• Long sturdy stick for poking the concrete to settle it into the holes.

o Chain Link fencing you will need a Hack saw: Preferably a Battery powered Reciprocating saw with a 6” Hacksaw blade
o Hint: Bosche and Dewalt have dual purpose Wood and Metal blades
o For chain link you will also need a good pair of lineman pliers. “Klein’s” The kind with both cutter and pliers jaws.

First determine the type of fence you will build and where your corners will be located.

Mark your corners.

If you are building a 6’ tall fence then you need posts that are long enough to go into the ground about 18 or more inches. Remember it is easier to Cut off some of the top of the post than to add a little bit to it… so don’t dig them in too deep but don’t skimp either.

Don’t ever skimp on your Corner posts, End Posts, Gate Posts. If you do you will almost always regret it. If you have a question of how tall the post will need to be for the fence to look right due to uneven terrain always go with longer posts that can be cut down to size when you are in the finishing phase. The Price difference between an 8’ 4x4 pressure treated post and a 10’ post is only about 1-2 dollars. Your headaches will cost you far more than that… when in doubt… don’t skimp.

Lay out of the fence starts with where you place your corners. And where you want your Gates. Mark your corners making sure that you are not over the property boundary of your neighbor… I have only seen one or two people who actually told their neighbor they were over the line before the fence was completed… Its far cheaper to give a few inches than remove 200’ of fence… due to a law
Step 3

Fence Building From start to finish… Part 3

Put your posts next to each hole and put a Post level on each of the first few posts you will cement in.

Mix your concrete in the wheelbarrow using the flat point shovel and recommended amount of water. (on Bag) Usually it’s about a half bucket give or take depending on the amount of concrete and the type. Be careful not to splash the concrete as you mix it… try not to make a mess… “don’t wear your Sunday go to meetin clothes…” know what I mean? Its pre mixed in the bag Concrete… its not rocket science…. Just mix it until its like thick oatmeal and if it’s a little too runny add some more concrete…

Stand the post up in the hole and have someone hold it while watching the post level to make sure they have it standing up straight.
Use the Shovel to spoon in the concrete until about half full and then use the long stick to poke the concrete and settle it in around the bottom of the post. Add more concrete and keep settling it as you go. When you are all finished with the post check the level (without touching the post) When Its perfect… Back off slowly and leave it alone!!!

You want your Corners and End Posts Perfect!!!

Take your time and do it right!!!

Let the concrete harden some before removing the post levels. (if your concrete was thick and chunky like it should have been, and you prodded it in real good… it will be safe to remove the post levels in about an hour or so.

In other words… By the time you finish the third or fourth hole it should be time that you may remove the first post level and so on. Or you can do as many as you have post levels and then take a break. After… you’re a hobby builder… and the longer you take building the fence… the more neighbors will notice you “Doing it Yourself”

Be careful of their advice. “Every Neighbor is an “Expert” on what they have seen someone do once or twice back in the early 1900’s”

Follow my instructions and you’ll do all right.

After the Corners and ends are installed give them a day to sit and let the Concrete harden.

Your next thing to do is pull a string line from one end to the other tightly and you don’t want to pull your post out of level by rushing the concrete.
Step 4

Fence Building From start to finish… Part 4

String Line Usage:
After your Corner and terminal posts are in and the concrete has hardened.
You can tie the string line off at the Terminal post and go to the corner… pull the string tight around the corner post just off the ground.
• You don’t want it riding on any roots or with any ferns or fauna pushing it out of alignment.

Measure the distance from end to corner. (in most cases you want the posts on near 8’centers) It will be far better to have a distance of 7’8-11” on center spacing of the posts than to have a distance of 8’1” If your distance is 8’1” you could have to buy three 10 foot 2”x4” stringer rails and cut 1’11” off of each one… what a waste!!!

So when you measure and calculate you post spacing make sure that all your posts are closer together than 8’!!!

If you are building a Chain link fence… Chain link fences are typically done on 9-10’ spacing.

Example of math you will be doing: the distance from the corner to the end post is 98’
You would then experiment to see how many spaces you will need between the posts.

98’ and you want close to but not over 8’ between.

So if you divide 98 by 8 you will get 12.25 spaces of 8’… well of course you don’t want a space of .25 between the last two posts…. but this figure just shows you that you need to divide again but this time by the number 13. (rounded up from 12.25 to the next higher number)
This time you get a number like 7.538 (ok… 7 ½ foot) That is perfect.. it gives a little slippage in case you make a blunder on a post distance… you should still be ok…

Now go down the line measuring and marking your post holes with the marking paint. When you get to the end you should have the marks evenly spaced from one end to the other.
The marks should be Less than 8’ on center.
Again:
Each space should equal less than 8’ from the center of the Post to the Center of the next post.

Best to Take the string line down while you dig your holes…. That keeps you from cutting the string line with the Post hole digger. When you get done digging the holes put the string line back up. Is the string line still just a few inches off the ground? Is it good and tight?
Now take several pieces of wood the thickness of your finger and at both ends of the string line slip the piece of wood between the line and the post. The tightness of the string should hold it in place.

This is a called a “Stay” as It makes you string
Step 5

Part 5
The Next step will determine much of the outcome and overall appearance of your fence. In this step we will determine the position of the stringer rails. These stringer rails will be what you nail your fence boards to. On a 6 foot fence you should have three rails… a Top rail, Bottom rail and a Middle rail… The middle is necessary to keep the “Dog ears” (Face boards) from bowing when they start to dry out.

I have seen contractors build fences without a Middle rail but I have also seen those fences (builders) several months later being cussed by their owners. One man wanted me to go back and try to add a middle rail to his fence… too late the boards were already warped and it was unsalvageable. When he is ready to do it financially he and his wife plan to have a new fence built… this time done correctly to accent the other constructions done in their yard. It is sad that a person who paid good money for a fence would have to tare it down and have the whole thing redone because someone in a major fence company would sell them one MINUS the middle rail to cut the cost. That is NO WAY to compete on costs in my thinking… that is RIPPING PEOPLE OFF!!!
Don’t skimp on the middle rail… enough said?

First you want to know the proper placement for the top rail.
Take a dog ear, a hammer and two 3” nails and go to the corner or end of the line. Put the dog ear against the post and move it up or down until it is where you want the fence to be. Then Nail it to the post leaving the head of the nail sticking out so you can remove it later.

Go to the other end and do the same thing…

Lay of the Land: after you have placed the face board on the terminal and corner posts you then need to look at the lay of the land. If you have a long distance line you will probably have differences in elevation between your two ends. There are a couple of different ways to handle this. Normaly you can go to the middle and position a board on a middle post and then shoot your line to there. This will tame most uneven terrain leaving the bottom of the fence needing some fill dirt. This is the preferred way.

Now that you have the face boards on the ends and in place where elevation needs to be compensated for…
Measure below the top of the face board 8” and mark the post with a pencil.

Pull a string line from the first post to the last post in the line and use a few nails at the mid points to hold the line… making it stay where it needs t
Step 6

Part 6
Alignment and keeping a straight line.

One of the fastest ways to ruin a well started fence… Is to get in too much of a hurry on the Dog ears… The Dog Ears or “Face Boards” can make a fence look great or make it look like it was built by an amateur.
One of the first mistakes an amateur makes is to let the ground determine where the bottom of the Dog ear rests and just nail it into place.
If you do that you will have a top line that goes up and down from one end of the fence to the other and looks like spit!

As much as possible you want your fences top line “Laser Straight” from one end of the fence to the other!!!

A Bubble level has NOTHING to do with this!

You need to set a string line from one end to the other at the desired fence Top position.
If the string line is sagging a little in the middle add a face board in several places along the way with a nail to support the string line and look at the line from a distance… you can eyeball the line and adjust it until it’s straight and tight.

Starting with the end of the line on your Right work towards the left (if you are right handed… If left handed then just reverse and start from the other side…) This will help you allot.

Place your First Dog ear in Place and Check its level Vertically. It should be perfectly Level and just under the string line without touching the string.

Never let your boards touch the string line!!! Always keep a credit card space between the top of the lumber and the string. If you don’t the lumber will progressively push the string out of line and by the end of your run you will be way off!

After the First Board at the corner is in place, Holding the Nail Gun in your right hand and the board in your left. Place the board next to the other board with the top of the board just under the line (again NOT TOUCHING).

When board is in place and snug against the corner board, “Hit it” or… Give it one nail that will secure it to the top rail. Now still holding the board by the side, place your right foot against the side of the board with your heal on the ground and use your foot to press the bottom of this board into the corner board.
Carefully Give it two nails into the center of the bottom rail.
Now you can Give it two more nails in the Middle rail and the last nail at the Top rail.

Continue doing this for 4 or 5 boards and then check your level.
You should watch your vertical level and your top line carefully.

If you get
Step 7

Part 7
Rounding the Corners

Just about the time you get to the end of the side your working on… say about half way between the last two posts… You should have about enough room for 5 or 6 last fence boards to finish the side. At this point you are going to do a little trick that will make your work look Finished.

Install the first Face Board on the next fence section and make it flush against the edge of the post. Now install the Last board on this section with it exactly overlapping the edge of the other face board. Your face boards should make a perfect 90* and the corner will be perfect.
Step 8

Part 8
For these steps you should have an inexpensive portable table saw that works well… It should have a sharp blade and a good Rip fence as well.

This will be divided into Two terms: “Trimming a few boards” and “Cutting the final board to fit”

“Trimming a few boards”
When you get down to the last 18” or so of the last fence panel on a side you need to stop for a moment and do some planning before you finish it. If you just keep going headlong you will end up with a sloppy end that has only a 2” or 3” strip of dog ear finishing it and it may not even be even from top to bottom. Lets avoid this problem by planning ahead.

Tip: If you have several fence sections to do. Then leave this section for now and go get the other sections finished to this point and then do all of the Trimming and fitting at the same time.
Step 9

Assuming that you are finished with the other sections to this point and are ready to start closing up the gaps…

Measure the opening at the top and the bottom.
On top you may have a measurement of 23 3/8” but the bottom may be different by a little bit… like 24 5/8
If you are right at 24 inches go ahead and put up another board

Take the measurement of you face board and see how many boards you will need to close this gap. If you have 6” wide face boards then you will see that you need 4 - 5 boards!!! But one of the boards would have to be cut to nothing…
This is what we hope to avoid.

What you want to do is take a little bit off of several boards so that the last board is almost its full width… instead of being only a sliver. It is best to try and keep all of the boards including the last one wider than 4 ½” … this being said I like to keep them larger than 5 ¼” but sometimes the math don’t work out.

Easy way… Lay the boards against the fence and look at them see how many will fit and how much you would need to trim off several of them to make the last board be almost its full width.
Then Cut a little trim strip off of each board to that when they are in place only the last board will now need to be custom trimmed to fit the final hole.

If you have watched your level and kept the boards properly vertical you should have little trouble in fitting the last board. If you have got an angle problem don’t worry… Ill explain how to deal with that also.

Practical Example: You have a gap (20”) that will require 4 boards to fill and the last board is looking like it will be a 2” wide strip. If you cut a 1” strip off the other three boards you would be left with approximately a 5” wide last board. And that is perfectly acceptable.

Remember this is not an exact science so if you need to take another board off and trim 5 by 1/2” that’s ok too…
Step 10

“Cutting the final board to fit”

When you are down to the final gap and maybe its shaped like a Keystone… larger at top than bottom or maybe the board next to it is warped a little…
Have a friend/spouse or neighbor hold the last board in place while you carefully mark it from the other side with a carpenter’s pencil.
You may have to mark only one side of the board or you may have t mark both sides depending on your situation.

Before you make your cut remember… its easier to cut more off than it is to put it back on.

Be exact in your cut and stay outside the line by a 1/32” or so… just barely leave the line legible. If you cut out the line you will probably have a sloppy fit. It is better to have a snug fit than a sloppy one that kids can look through.

Remember to Be Careful with Power Saws!!! They can take off a finger or thumb and make your day real miserable!!! Be Careful!!!
Step 11

If you left the board next to it with only two nails holding it up… Good. You can take this board off and put both boards up at the same time either snuggling them together or spreading them out a little to get rid of the little gaps.

With a table saw handy you can also set the rip fence and take a 45 degree trim off the edge of each of these boards and let them bypass one another… I usually don’t bother with this but it is sometimes useful to know that you can do it.

When the last two boards are fitted in place and you are satisfied with how they look… Now go ahead and nail them down.
Step 12

If you still have posts that are sticking up above the fence boards... this is a good time to cut them off...
You can angle the Cut from the back side, Or Cut them off flush an inch or so below the top line of the fence.

Comments

FacePro said

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on 7/2/2009 Thank you for the tips on alignment. They will come in handy for a few of the boards that I need to replace. 5*

on 3/2/2009 Here is the Building Code office info for Pass Christian MSI would probably start by asking for Kenny Wittmann. or Gene Peralta as they will probably know of any existing codes from off the top of thier heads without having to look them up. 228-452-3316 or 228-452-3324 Address: 203 Fleitas Avenue, Pass Christian, MS 39571 EMAIL: codesoffice@ci.pass-christian.ms.us Staff: Debra Welch, Gene Peralta, Tommy Piernas Code Enforcement Officer: Gene Peralta Building Inspector: Kenny Wittmann Electrical Inspector: Avery Allen Hope this helps... Mr M.