How to Install a Wooden Fence
- 1). Check with your town or city government to see if you need a permit or if there are any ordinances or regulations concerning fences (e.g., a fence cannot be placed next to the road). Also, contact your local utility companies to have them mark where any pipes or electrical lines may be. In addition, if you are unsure where your property line is, you may wish to contact a survey company to survey and mark your land.
- 2). Sketch out your property and measure your fence line. Measure one side at a time and mark it on the sketch. Also, mark on the sketch where you want your gate(s). Take this sketch to your local fence retailer to purchase your materials. The number of posts and fence panels will vary depending on the size of your panels, which usually come in 4, 6 or 8 feet long.
- 3). Stake out your fence line with stakes and string. First stake out the corners of the fence line and tie a string tightly between. Next, measure each individual panel because every panel may not be exactly the same size. Place a stake in the ground along your staked line that coordinates with the panels you just measured. This will be where your posts go. You may want to number each panel so you remember in which order you measured them. Do this for every side. Measure your gate and mark with a stake where the gateposts will go. You may want to lay out your entire fence panels and poles before advancing to the next steps so that you avoid any mistakes.
- 4). Dig your postholes with a power auger or posthole digger. The depth of the hole should equal about 1/3 of your fence panel length plus 6 inches. Add another 6 inches for corner and gate posts. The postholes should be 10 to 12 inches wide.
- 5). Fill the posthole with 6 inches of gravel. This will allow the water to drain away from your wood posts.
- 6). Install the wood posts by placing them in the holes and securing them with two 4-foot 2-by-4s that are nailed to either side for stability. Use ready mixed concrete and fill in the holes so that they are slightly taller than the hole. Use a trowel to slope the concrete from the center post to the ground to allow for proper water drainage. Check with a level to be sure the posts are 90 degrees to the ground before the concrete sets. Allow the concrete to dry according to the package, usually 24 to 48 hours.
- 7). Cut the tops of the posts. Tie a string tightly to the first post at the desired height and to the last post. Mark each post and cut with a circular saw.
- 8). Attach the fence panels and gate using stainless steel screws or galvanized nails that are two and a half times the thickness of the horizontal rails, which preattached to the fence panels. You will be nailing the rails to the posts on both the top and the bottom. Each panel should be placed from the center of one post to the center of the next and should be level before nailing.
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