Best tips for installing a wood fence
One thing that many people do not like about fences is installing them, especially wood fences. Even if people do not like installing wood fences, they still like the look of a wood fence. Wood fences give off a rustic look, which is perfect for some houses. Something else that you need to know about a wood fence when compared to a vinyl fence is that it can add to your landscape design, especially if it is stained the right color. If you are thinking about installing a wood fence, you should know that there are some tips that you can follow to help make installing that wood fence easier and quicker.
Here are some of the best tips you can use to install a wood fence in your yard.
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Tip one:
The first thing that you need to do is to dig holes for your fence posts. Most people place their fence posts about six feet apart, but depending on the area that you live in you can go eight feet apart instead. Rather than digging the holes for the posts with a shovel you can use a post hole digger. The post hole digger makes digging the hole easier and quicker because it makes does not require you to bend and shovel, all you have to do is put the hole digger in the ground and separate the holes to remove the dirt.
Tip two:
When setting the posts you are going to want to set all of the corner posts first. This is so that you can make a straight line with your fence posts without having to measure out the distance every time you set a new post. Once you have gotten one corner post in run a piece of string to the next location and leave the string in place until all posts have been set.
Tip three:
You will want to bury the fence posts about 1/3 of their total length. The reason for this is that when the posts are placed that far in the ground they will be able to withstand more weight or high wind pressure. Make sure that you treat the section of wood that will be in the ground so that it is not damaged due to moisture, soaking it overnight in a preservative will be your best choice.
Tip four:
When packing the posts you can use either concrete or dirt, but in either case place two shovelfuls of gravel or a large stone at the bottom of the hole to allow excess moisture to drain off. Always check the alignment of the posts before you pack the holes with concrete or dirt because you want the poles to be in the exact position, and you need to be careful not to alter the alignment when tamping the poles if you are using dirt.
Tip five:
When you are setting the corner posts, you want to take extra care because the corner posts will be bearing the most weight. The reason for that is they will be supporting two sides of the fence at the same time so they need to be set in both directions. To do this you will want to brace all corner posts in the directions of the fence it will be supporting.
Tip six:
When placing rails on the fence for support it is a good idea to place three rails instead of two because it provides extra support for your bigger fences. If you are doing a shorter fence you will not need the extra support, so two rails will work. With the rails, you also want to place them to where they lay flat against the slats that you are putting in. This position will prevent the rails from bowing over time.
