Guest Post by Danny L. Montgomery of zukzik.com.
There are so many reasons that can drive you into thinking about making a fence. But most importantly, fences are a practical solution to security boost, noise reduction and boundary mark which you would love to make around your home. Again, a well-designed fence can give your home a picturesque outlook and that is something you can easily arrive at by considering wood fence around your home.
Wood fences combine function and style together, something which is hardly achieved using other fencing options. Besides, making a wood fence isn’t a huge deal especially if a homeowner opts for pre-assembled fence panels. If you are planning on making your own fence though, then you should first make sure that you have enough wood to build it – why not check out these timber suppliers here, just in case you need extra (or haven’t brought any wood yet). Here are some tools and materials that you need to have when making a wooden fence by yourself.
- Posts
- Rail boards
- Pickets
- Spacer for uniformly aligning the pickets
- Ready mix concrete
- Gravel
- Water for mixing concrete
- Post hole auger
- Shovel
- Line level
- Flat head screwdriver
- Rubber mallet
- Digging bar
- Safety glasses
Here are the general procedures you can follow when installing a wood fence around your property.
Mark Your Property Line
You first have to mark the line where your wood fence will occupy and this can help you to come with the right quantity of materials depending on how big your property is. Next, you will decide on the appropriate height of your wood fence. Six foot is considered ok if you intend a fence for privacy purposes. For a picket fence, three feet height can be a good pick. Make sure you are very thoughtful when picking fence height since that factor determines that depth of post hole you should work with.
Mark And Square The Corner Stakes
The stakes will give you a general guidance on the outline that your wood fence should follow. To square the stakes, tie a string around them and make sure you connect the stakes with the string in a well-defined square or rectangular pattern. Use a square-level to ensure that the stakes assume a 90 degrees alignment.
Place The Middle Posts
For this procedure, you should measure lengths of about 8 feet along the strings you are using assuming that you have accordingly squared the corner posts. For instance, a fence measuring 24 feet will need two middle posts to create a structurally sound outline.
Digging Posts Hole
Use a post hole digger to make holes in the location for which you have a stake. For structural stability, a post needs to be buried 33 percent its entire height. For example, 8 feet tall polls will need to have 2.5 feet of their total height dimension buried beneath the soil. Besides, the holes you are digging should be wide enough to properly accommodate the size of the pole you may be using.
Once you are done digging the holes, put 3-4 inches of gravel at the bottom of the holes. The gravel is important for maintaining stability and ensuring that any post that goes inside a hole gets to be properly aligned. Use a post leveler to ensure that a post is standing straight when placed inside a hole and also do a thorough inspection to confirm that posts are standing at the desired height.
Apply Concrete Footing
Carefully make sure that a post in its right place and pour in concrete until the post hole is about two-thirds full. Add water to the concrete and stir to get a roughly uniform water-concrete mixture. Allow some time for the concrete to assume its right structural properties. Assuming that the concrete has set in accordingly, you can fill the remaining post hole depth with soil fillers to ensure that more structural stability is achieved.
Proceed to make a builder’s line from one post to another and make sure that the line passes all the posts at an equal height. That approach will ensure that you keep a uniform height of the wood fence you intend to put in place.
Making The Support Boards
The horizontal support boards you settle on should be long enough to reach the centers of the posts. You should make sure that the support boards are spaced not more than 24 inches since it is ideal to have 2-3 support rails for a fence. Use decking screws to link the support rails to the posts.
Adding Privacy/Picket Boards
Now that you have put the support posts in the right place, your next procedure would be to attach the pickets (sometimes referred to as vertical or privacy boards). You can use nails to attach the pickets to the support rail. You can as well choose the right drill bit to make appropriate joint holes on the pickets and support boards you have, and then you use screws to make appropriate joint connections. Use a spacer to ensure that the pickets are uniformly placed next to each other depending on the overall design you would want to achieve.
Treating The Posts And Pickets Used
You can paint your wood fence or add a weather-proofing finish to keep it durable for many years to come. Preferably, you should use paints that offer waterproof capabilities so that less water get into contact with your wood fence material. Remember, excessive water-wood contact can accelerate rotting of wood fence.
Author Bio:
My name’s Danny L. Montgomery. I’m the founder and owner of the blog zukzik.com. I love all things DIY & Home Decor. I hope I will be able to share my experiences with the interested readers
