Building A Wood Fence

Here, our son Rob and his neighbor are showing us how building a wood fence between their two properties went smoothly and was finished in just a few weekends. Like the deck, this was Rob’s first time building a fence.

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Before they dug the first hole, they called to have the utilites marked. Fortunately, all their utilites are in the front yard and since they were only fencing their backyards, they did not have to worry about digging up buried cable. Here are a couple of pictures of the flags marking the utilities.




Remember, know what’s below. Call before you dig!










NOTE: If you are building a wood fence in the United States, look on the first page of your phone book for emergency numbers. Usually, the number is 811, but in your area it could be something different so look for something that says "one call" or "utility locator".

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Here are the materials that were delivered for the fence.

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The first day, they dug 61 holes 2 feet deep. They dug the holes approximately 8 feet apart. This is the hardest part of putting up the fence. Here are three pictures of some of the holes they dug.

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The task was completed in about three hours and went much easier courtesy of the power auger that they rented.

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For the next four hours or so, they put in 25 wood posts and set them in concrete. Mixing the concrete went very well since another neighbor let them borrow his mixer. They used one 80 pound bag per hole. The remainder of the posts were set on another day.

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They put stringers up, which are small pieces of wood (1" x 2" x 4'), to hold the 4 x 4 posts while the concrete dried.

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Next the 2 x 4s which are 8 feet long and used for support go in place. They put three of these 2 x 4s across between each 4 x 4 post.

NOTE: Each 2 x 4 only goes half the way across the 4 x 4. The next 2 x 4 butts up to it. When you get to the end 4 x 4, you go to across the full 4 x 4.

Having a nail gun makes the job go so much quicker and easier.

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Here are pictures of both the back of the fence where you see the 2 x 4s and the front of the fence where it shows the vertical fence boards. The vertical fence boards are 5 1/2" wide, 3/4" thick and 72" long.

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Below are pictures of the chain link fence they put up across the back of the yard. I like how the fencing has a green vinyl coating on it so it blends in with the trees.

In the first picture on the left below, the wood fence on the left in the picture was already there. The wood fence on the right is the new one. In the picture on the bottom right, that is the finished fence of Rob's neighbor that they also built.

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There you have it! Building a wood fence is not that difficult. For a first try, they did an excellent job!

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