How To Build A Four Rail Wood Fence

Horizontal fence rails are typically full 1 inch thick by 6 inch wide lumber but can be conventional 2 x 6 lumber as purchased from a big box store.

How to build a four rail wood fence. Stagger the rails so that no post along the side of the fence has to bear joints at both the top and bottom. Spacers on the gate posts between the rails to support the gate hardware. Right up front i need to make the disclaimer that i was able to spend just 25 to build this fence because i got my fence posts for free you can too. For a fence with three rails cut one rail in two and use one of the halves to start the middle rail row.

If your fence has four rails stagger the second and fourth rails the same way. Popular types of fences include privacy picket split rail and basket weave and can be made from such materials as wood vinyl and metal. For the strongest fence place your rails on the inside of the posts. Indicate the locations for the lower edges of the top rails and the upper edges of the bottom rails to make it easier to see the marks when you.

The posts you ve bought to build a rail fence should already have holes cut out for the rails to fit in. You ll use this mark to make sure you set each post the correct depth by aligning it with the string you ve set 12 inches 30 5 cm off the ground. Step 3 place the first picket board in the corner of the fence or edge of the gate post aligning it with the edge and string guide then attach it to the stringers with nails. Board fence is usually a 3 or 4 board layout with 4 x 4 or 4 x 6 post assembled from either smooth or rough sawn pressure teated wood.

Corners will have to bear both top and bottom joints. For this fence with 6 foot pickets the lower edge of the top rails will be 5 feet 4 1 2 inches above the ground. Clearly mark each post 36 inches 91 4 cm up from the bottom. Level each rail and nail it in place with galvanized 10d 3 inch nails or screw it in place with 3 inch deck screws.

I was going to buy six foot long treated 4 x 4 posts and have the store cut them in half for me to make homemade fence posts. Then place the posts into the holes and fill the areas around them with concrete to stabilize the posts in the ground. To build a wood fence start by digging holes in the areas where you want to place your fence posts. Learning how to build a fence involves securing the posts attaching the panels or pickets and providing post caps.