DIY Fence Installation - The Basics

By Benedict Yossarian

Who said fences are out of vogue? Fences remain useful additions to any home or any yard. Kids and even domestic animals can be kept safe with the use of fences, especially if you live on generally uneven and dangerous terrain. It's the "final frontier" so to speak, before an individual steps out into another territory.

Wooden fences are actually quite nice to look at especially if they have this honeyed finish that looks cool during hot afternoons and are still visible at night. If you live near a mountainous region, then a DIY fence installation is all you need to keep your kids that much safer.

Preparation

Before you buy any materials for the fences, first make a complete measurement of the entire length of land that would be fenced. Use a conventional mechanical meter for this. If your house is situated on uneven land, give certain allowances for these uneven parts of the land, but make the measurements doubly accurate.

Allowances from the house should be adequate, as you would not want to be literally "boxed in" by the new fences. If you have neighbors, and you don't have ready access to both sides of the land, make sure to ask your friendly neighbors if you can work from their part of the fence as well. This would allow you to make the necessary micro adjustments with little difficulty.

The steps

1. The wooden panels for the fence often come in different sizes. Often, the fences are 6 feet wide and have the following heights:
• 3 feet
• 4 feet
• 5 feet
• 6 feet

2. If you wish to use more traditional support or foundations for your wooden fence, then you would have to use a power auger or an efficiently-shaped shovel to make way for the supports. Typically, these supports are hammered or pummeled into the ground until they are snugly in place. Using conventional supports means you need shorter posts. Having shorter posts means you would not have to deal with rotting posts in a few years.

3. On the other hand, you can use concrete in securing your fence posts. Drying the concrete might take a while but provide wonderful stability, especially if you live in stony areas. Muddy areas that are moist all year round do not lend well to the concrete approach.

4. After installing the posts, the panels should be securely put in place and reinforced with "post supports". Post supports are large screws that lock the panels to either the mid-region of the post or the upper-region.

5. Concrete post supports should be at least two feet deep. The posts should be supported adequately with two wooden planks at least ¾ of a foot long. These should be placed securely upon the ground to keep the post erect until the concrete dries.

6. Slope fencing can be tricky. Try to find a particular "rhythm" to your installation so that the fence evenly descends the slope. Use increments to make sure that the fence looks good from afar.

The author of this article was Benedict Yossarian. For home improvements Benedict recommends Dekorbeton Imprinted Concrete as a cheap alternative to expensive bricks and Roof Bond Spray Foam Roof Insulation to reduce your heating costs.
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