Privacy fence post installation

Most wood fences meet their early demise when the wood post rots at its base. Leaving the fence vulnerable to high winds that simply blow it over. A Wood Fence With More Privacy When using the FenceTrac system to build a wood fence with metal posts, we recommend using tongue and groove red cedar fence pickets. You can stain these wood pickets before possibly the best way to stain a fence … Or after installing them into your FenceTrac fence.

The FenceTrac rail system gives you flexibility to create a decorative wood fence design that is completely unique to your property So you can have the look you want. In addition to wood pickets, you can use nearly any type of fence infill material you want. You have complete freedom to create a fence that fits the style and functionality that you need. Here is a small sampling of residential and commercial fence projects using FenceTrac. A Stronger Privacy Fence With Metal Posts As you can see — with FenceTrac — the possibilities are endless in terms of fence design, fence style, and fence layout options.

Or you can build a privacy fence with some other type of infill. View more privacy fence ideas. Fence color options include: black, white, tan, and green. Fence Installation and Accessories Now, lets walk through the installation details, add the gates you'll need, as well as other considerations dealing with the installation of your new privacy fence.

Gates will be the same size as fence, with all hardware, hinges and installation included. Estimated Cost of Gate s. Pro Installation or DIY? Professional Installation. Whether your goal is privacy, a better-defined property line, or simply a beautiful addition to your yard, a fence can fit the bill.

Read on for the full details. Remember that different types of wood offer drastically different levels of long-term fence-post performance. Pressure-treated wood, which boasts both durability and affordability, ranks high among the top choices. Also commonly used—and considerably more expensive although prices vary by region —are beautiful, naturally resistant species like cedar, cypress, and redwood.

All contain resins that forestall the harmful effects of pests and moisture. Other species, including spruce, oak, and pine, may be used with confidence only if treated beforehand with a brush-on preservative look for copper naphthenate on the list of ingredients. Building codes and ordinances in your area may stipulate a legal depth and diameter for fence-post holes.

If not, conventional rules of thumb offer a reliable guide. Typically, in part to ensure that posts lodge below the frost line, experts call for a hole deep enough to submerge the bottom third of the post below ground. For a six-foot-tall post, therefore, you would dig a hole two feet deep. The ideal diameter, meanwhile, should measure three times the width of the post. Instead, make quicker and easier work of the task by opting for a posthole digger available for rent at your local home center.

You can plant Arborvitae, an evergreen shrub which grows three feet a year, put in an iron or chain fence and train ivy on it, or grow more standard hedges like holly. Part 2. Find post locations. Using string tied to stakes, determine the perimeter of your fence and mark the corner locations, as well as measuring and marking the locations of the intermediate posts if they are needed. The distance between posts is up to you but keep in mind the normal spacing is 8 feet 2.

Mark all locations with spray paint or stake holes. Dig post holes. Make sure you follow the rules stipulated in your permit, as many cities have rule regarding hole depth. You can use a manual digger or a motorized auger. Both can often be rented from your local hardware store.

Place gravel. You will want to put a few inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole, to provide drainage and ensure that the posts do not rot. Place posts. Use 4x4 posts at your preferred height factoring in the depth of the hole and place them one at a time. This may require a helping hand.

Varying the depth of the hole to keep the height of the posts the same is much more labor intensive than digging the post hole to approximately the same depth of each hole and cutting off the top of the posts after they have set for 24 hours.

It is also important to seal the tops of posts to protect them from rainwater damage. Pour in quick-set concrete. Alternatively, mix the quick-set concrete in a bucket or wheelbarrow and then pour it in. You will want to continue to use string to make sure the posts are in line with each other.

Continue setting posts. Get in all the posts before moving on. Use temporary cross bracing to hold posts in place while the concrete hardens. This will take at least 24 hours. Part 3. Measure and cut your rails. These are the boards we recommend 2x4s set between the posts, in a perpendicular alignment. You will attach the main boards of the fence to these rails.

They should be measured and cut to fit between the posts. You will probably need two or three rails, depending on the height of your fence. Create your rail frame. Next, take a 1x4 and cut it to be the same height as the posts. Mark the spots on the board where you would like your rails to go. With that marked, nail the 1x4 flat to the end of the top and bottom and possibly middle rails. Do this for each end of the rail. Fit and attach the frame. Fit the frame in between the posts and fasten from the inside edge into the posts using deck screws.

Attach the outside slats or pickets.