How Do I Put Up Wooden Fence With Vinyl Lattice Top?

Lattice panels add a decorative touch to fence panels.

Fences provide security and privacy for your property. Adding a lattice top provides a decorative detail that sets your fence apart from the hordes of wooden stockade fences that fill most modern neighborhoods. Using prefab, flat-top panels will shortcut the construction labor and is typically less expensive than building a fence board-by-board. A fence is only as good as its posts, which serve as the foundation, so take the time to set them properly for a long-lasting installation.

Things You'll Need

• Wood stakes
• Hammer
• Tape measure
• Colored tape
• Post hole digger
• 4-inch by 4-inch, 8-foot-long treated posts
• Prefab fence panels
• Trreated deck screws
• Drill
• Joist hangers
• Concrete
• 1-by-4 treated lumber
• 1-by-2 treated lumber
• Vinyl lattice panels

Instructions

1. Drive in one stake at each corner of the proposed fence line. Tie mason's line between the stakes to mark the fence line. Measure along the line and wrap a piece of colored tape at intervals of eight feet and four inches to mark the post positions.

2. Dig a post hole under each piece of tape. Make the holes 24 inches deep and 10 to 12 inches across, using post-hole diggers. Set the dirt aside to pack the top of the hole.

3. Attach joist hangers in the center of two opposite faces of each 4-inch by 4-inch, 8-foot-long treated fence post that will be" in line," at the height of the horizontal rails, plus 24 inches for the post hole. Attach hangers to two adjoining faces to each post that will be installed as a corner. Attach the hangers with 1 5/8-inch treated deck screws.

4. Stand one corner post and one in-line post in the first two holes. Stand a four-feet-high, eight-feet-wide flat-top fence panel between them. Set the ends of the horizontal rails in the joist hangers and attach with treated deck screws.

5. Add half a bag of concrete mix in each of the two holes. Add water with a hose and mix the concrete thoroughly. Set a level on the face of the first post and adjust until the bubble is centered. Pack the top of the hole firmly with dirt to hold the post in position until the concrete hardens. Do the same with the second post.

6. Attach a treated one-by-two piece of lumber to the back of the fence panel, flush with the top edge. Use 1 1/4-inch treated deck screws. Attach a treated one-by-four board along the top of the fence, with its edges flush with the faces of the posts. Cut two one-by-fours to fit against the inside faces of the fence post, three-quarter inches short of the top of the post.

7. Install a one-by-two board along the front edge of the horizontal one-by-four atop the fence, with treated deck screws. Cut and install one-by-twos to fit along the front edges of the one-by-fours attached to fence posts. Cut them three-quarters of an inch shorter than the one-by-fours.

8. Cut a vinyl lattice panel 22 1/2 by 94 ½ inches using a circular saw. Position the panel behind the one-by-twos you installed in the last step. Attach a one-by-four between the posts (atop the one-by-fours you attached to the post's faces). Drive treated deck screws down through the top one-by-fours into the tops of the one-by-fours attached to the posts.

9. Add one-by-two frame pieces along the bottom edge of the top one-by-four and on all four sides of the back face of the lattice panel to match the front.

10. Build as many sections as needed to complete your fence following the same pattern on each panel.

References

• "How to Build & Repair Fences & Gates": Rick Kubik: Voyageur Press, 2007
• "Wooden Fences": George Nash; Taunton Press, 1997