How to Build a Fence From Wood and Welded Wire
A fence keeps animals like deer out of your garden or keeps your pets from marauding through your neighborhood. Many people build fences to make their yards a safer place for young children to play. You can build a sturdy, functional fence with welded wire and wooden posts that will serve these purposes just as well as those made with chain link, vinyl, or ornamental iron. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Wire mesh fence
- Pressure treated wood posts
- Quikcrete
- Wire cutter
- Level
- Wire stretcher or come-along
- Post staples
- Post hole digger or shovel
- Wooden stakes
- String
- Tape measure
- Wheelbarrow
- Gate hardware
Instructions
-
Preparation
-
1
Measure the length of the area that you plan to fence. This gives you the total amount of welded wire fencing that you need to buy. You will also use this figure to calculate the number of wooden posts. Use one post every 5 to 10 feet. The more posts you use, the better the fence tension.
-
2
Buy all the fence materials and supplies at your home improvement center or hardware store. You may have to buy more wire than you actually need since it comes in 25, 50, and 100 foot rolls. You can use the leftover for trees, gardens, or a compost bin.
-
-
3
Mark the fence line by inserting wooden stakes into the ground at every place you plan to put a post. Run a string from one stake to the next, around the entire area as your installation guide.
-
4
Dig holes at each stake position with the post hole digger. Each hole should be 1 to 2 feet deep. A deeper hole will make the post stronger.
-
5
Mix the Quikcrete with water in a wheelbarrow. Mix only enough for one post at a time. Shovel a few inches of Quikcrete into the hole, then place the post in the hole and add Quikcrete. Leave one to two inches at the top to replace the dirt that you removed. Check each post to be sure it is straight and level, before the Quikcrete sets.
Attach Fence
-
6
Unroll the bale of wire and lay it out along the post line. You may need to put bricks or concrete blocks on it to flatten it. Stand the fence up against the posts.
-
7
Wrap the wire around the first post and fasten it with post staples. Use a fence stretcher or come-along to pull the wire tightly between each post. You may need a helper to pull the fence tight, while you fasten it to each post.
-
8
Cut the fence wire with pliers or wire cutters when you reach the post for your gate. Wrap the wire around the post and fasten it on all sides to finish the fence installation.
-
9
Install your gate between the first and last post. The type of hardware that you use will depend on the gate you have chosen. If you want to make a gate that matches your fence, buy extra fence posts. Cut them to the size you need and build a frame. Then attach welded wire to make your gate.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Quikcrete sets in about an hour. If you use a different concrete mix, you may need to wait 24 hours for the posts to set.
Some pressure treated wood has been preserved with arsenic; buy environmentally friendly treated wood for your family's health.
