Before we begin constructing a fence, I want to go over some of the basic terms for use. To do that, let’s look at the anatomy of the stick pill fence also known as building a fence from pickets. A fence is built from the ground up in a predetermined sequence. The first step is to lay out its perimeter. This will help you accurately locate the corners of your fence, the post locations and the locations of gates and other features.
Posts provide the main structure for your fence. These posts typically consist of four by four lumber set in the ground using concrete or tampered earth. Approximately one-third of the post is below ground to provide sturdy support to the fence. Rails or stringers typically consist of two bi-lumber that’s suspended between the fenced posts. Vertical fencing boards or pickets are attached directly to the rails using nails, screws or other hardware depending on the fencing material chosen. Gates allow access to the fenced portion of your yard. So, like their location and style carefully while planning your fence location, so you have easy access to your yard. If you’ve chosen to build your fence out of wood, you can apply finish such as stain or paint to increase durability. Fencing accessories such as post caps can add decorative types that complete the look of your fence.
Our first project will be a six foot high fence made from individual pressured treated boards. We’ll place this in a board on a board pattern which results in extra privacy since the boards overlap each other and there’s no gap between them. The first step in building any fence is to lay out the perimeter. We’ll use tapes and mason’s line to do this. The line is stretched tight between the stakes and intersects at the corners. To be sure that the corners are square, use the three-four-five method. Start at the corner where the lines cross, measure three feet along one line and mark the spot. Mark a spot four feet from the intersection on the other line. The lines are square if the distance between the marks is five feet. If they’re not square, move the stake in line until they are. You can measure the post locations from the corner post. Usually, posts are six or eight feet apart.
Start by digging the corner first. You can use post hole-diggers or to make a job a lot faster, you can use a gas powered auger as we are doing here. After you use the auger, you can use the post hole -diggers to fine tune the hole-depth. As a general rule, you want to dig the hole, half as deep as the fence is high. However, this can vary by a region and the frost line for your area. You’ll always want to be six inches below the frost line. If you prefer, you can dig the hole a bit deeper and use four inches of gravel at the bottom for drainage.
Generally speaking, the hole should always be four inches wider than the post. We’ll be setting our post directly in the hole without gravel. You should always set corner and gate post in concrete. The post in-between or lined post can be set in concrete as well, or you can use the soil that came out of the hole and tamp it down around the post. Another method is to pour dry concrete mix into the hole around the post up to six inches below the ground and then put water in the hole. Fill the rest of the hole with dirt. The concrete mix will then harden in the ground. To plum a post, use a post level which attaches to the post and lets you level it easily. For posts that are being set in concrete, you may want to hold them in place with stakes and braces until the concrete cures, which could be up to twenty four hours depending on the weather conditions at the time. We’ll be installing a pre-built gate in our fence. So we hold the gate out to be sure we position the gate post correctly. Once the two-corner posts are set, we stretch a mason’s line between them to ensure the other post and fence board remain at a uniform height at the top.
Now, the posts are set. It’s time to install the railings, sometimes called stringers. For this, we use two by fours narrow side up. Rails should be no more than twenty four inches apart. So for our six foot-high fence, we’ll need three rails. We attach the rails to the post with decking screws. We’re using two by fours long enough to spend all the post on this side of the fence. So we go ahead and attach all three rails. And then go back and cut out the post and gate opening, and at the corner post, where the two by four extends past the end. If two rails need to meet on a post, which they will eventually, be sure they meet at the center of the post. It’s a good idea to stagger the rails so each post only has one rail joint.
Now, we begin installing the fence pickets. We’re constructing a board on board fence, which means the pickets slightly overlap each other. We’re attaching the boards with a pneumatic nail gun which makes for a much quicker job. And it’s a lot easier on the fence than banging on it with a hammer. If you’re going to hand nail, we recommend a galvanized ring shank or spiral nail. The first run of fence boards or pickets needs to be less than the width of one board apart. To properly place them, we’ll use a spacer, in this case, the end of a two by four. Install the first roll of boards down the link of the section.
Now, we go back and install the second roll of pickets which covers the gaps between the pickets in the first row. Continue down the line until the section is completely covered and repeat this for each fence section. The last step in our fence is to install the gate. We’re using a pre-built gate that matches the pattern of our fence. This gate is available as a special order item at the Home Depot. You can build your own gate pretty easily. For details on building gates, refer to the Patios and Landscape Construction One- Two- Three book. We install the gate using the hinges and latch that are available as a set at the Home Depot. And there you have it, our board-on- board pressure treated wood fence built with components or stick pill as we say in the business. In the next section, we’ll show you how to build a wood fence using pre-built wood panels and how to construct the final panel sets.
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