How to Fence a Yard Cheaply

A split rail fence is both beautiful and affordable if you use wood from your own property.

New homeowners frequently find themselves facing a dilemma--they need a fence for the yard, but with a monthly mortgage payment, getting a fancy new one often isn't in the family budget. Between pets and children, having a secure, fenced yard is often a necessity, especially if you live near a busy road. However, there's an important distinction between cheap and inexpensive; although a fence constructed from wooden pallets may work out in the country, it could look quite out of place in the middle of the suburbs. Take the time to decide your desired fence style before you dive into your frugal fencing project--and don't forget to come prepared with work gloves in hand if you really want to fence your yard cheaply.

Things You'll Need

• Work gloves
• Posts
• Post-hole digger
• Fencing material (wood/stone/chain link)

Instructions

1. Discuss your fencing needs with the other members of your household. What's the main purpose of the fence? If you're simply building a fence for landscaping purposes, then you have a wide range of potential fencing materials and styles available. On the other hand, if you need the fence to contain animals or children, then some building materials, such as stone, are typically not going to work well. Decide your most important fence criteria to help further narrow down building materials; common criteria include safety, cost, privacy and appearance.

2. Gather materials for your fence from free or inexpensive sources. If your wife's heart is set on having a split rail fence, why not look into harvesting some of the wood from your own property? Search for free wood in the form of pallets at warehouses, mail distribution centers and grocery stores. Collect the pallets and take them apart to construct a simple picket fence. Check online sources, such as the Freecycle Network, a nonprofit, worldwide community of more than 7 million people who give away a vast range of items for free in order to keep them from ending up in landfills.

3. Invest money in the important parts of your fence, such as posts, which provide the framework. Purchase treated wooden posts for a wooden fence; the posts come in direct contact with the soil and failing to use treated wood will inevitably lead to the need for post replacements within just a few years, according to Albert Jackson, co-author of "Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To."

4. Install the fence yourself. Dig the post holes using a hand-held post-hole digger and tamp them into place using dirt instead of cement to save money. Take a page from Amish and Mennonite communities and throw a fence party for your friends and relatives--provide a hearty meal and refreshments in return for free labor. Determine the jobs ahead of time so everyone has something constructive to do during the workday, and you may find yourself the proud new owner of a complete yard fence after just one day of manual labor.

Tips & Warnings

• Check with your city office regarding any permits you may need to obtain before beginning construction on your yard fence.

• According to Abigail Gehring, author of "Back to Basics," you can opt to use disease-resistant tree species, such as black locust, cedar or osage orange, for wooden posts if you don't want to invest in treated lumber for your posts.

• You can injure yourself building a fence, Exercise care when lifting and moving fence materials to avoid injuries, especially to your back.

References

• "Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To;" Albert Jackson & David Day; 2009
• "Back to Basics;" Abigail Gehring; 2008