A wooden fence surrounding your yard not only provides you with privacy and solitude, but it also deters potential intruders, keeps children and pets contained, and protects them from harm as they play. Wooden fences not only look great but also add significant value to the property they surround. Wood Panel Fences are one of the types of fences that may be installed by the homeowner with the least amount of difficulty. These fences consist of pre-built panels with pockets that can be joined to new posts that have been planted in the ground.
When you consider that the labour costs alone for professionally constructed wood fences can reach up to $55 per linear foot, it is substantially more cost effective to install a fence on your own and perform the work yourself. This method will produce 32 linear feet of fencing; to completely enclose the perimeter of your outside space, you will need to double the amount of supplies used.
How to Efficiently Construct Your Own Wooden Fence
An option to construct the wooden fence from scratch is to install vertical posts made of four-by-fours in concrete and then run premade wood fence panels in between the posts. This creates the appearance of the fence being built from scratch. In order to construct a fence in the correct manner, you must first plan the area that will be enclosed by the fence, then dig post holes in straight lines with consistent spacing, then set your fence posts in concrete and attach the fencing to them after the concrete has dried.
Posts for the Fence
Rather than using wet concrete, putting 4×4 posts in holes with dry concrete is the recommended method for installing fence posts. After the water has been added to the dry mixture, the hole will momentarily be filled with water before the water begins to drain through the soil. After that, the concrete will begin to set in a little under an hour.
Panels for the Fence
The majority of home centres and lumberyards carry fence panels in their inventory. Panels typically have a height of 6 feet, which satisfies the requirements of the majority of building codes. There are several different types of fence tops available, including solid, lattice, dog-ear, and venetian, which is a style that features horizontal slats.
It is crucial to make sure that the fence posts are set correctly, at a distance of 8 feet apart, when placing fence panels in between the posts. When measured from the facing side of one post to the facing side of the following post, each panel of a fence is eight feet in length. This is a crucial point to make, given that if the poles were spaced 8 feet apart on centre, there would not be sufficient room for the panels.
You have the option of leaving a space under your fence panels depending on the height you want your fence to be and whether or not you have any pets that could potentially fit underneath it. If you do decide to leave a gap, it is helpful to ensure that the gap is as even as possible by making the top of the fence level while you are measuring its height.
Advice on Construction for Those Just Beginning
Before beginning construction on your fence, you should carefully consider the following essential preliminary steps:
Get the property lines marked so that you won’t accidentally install your fence on the property of a neighbour.
In order to establish whether or not a permission is required for the fence, check with your local authorities. In certain regions, building permits are not required by the local building regulations, however in others, the local building codes may be rather stringent and even regulate the type, height, and position of the fences that can be constructed.
Make a decision regarding whether or not you want to put a gate in your fence. It is necessary to appropriately place the fence posts in order to provide for even 8-foot runs between panels in the event that a shorter gate will be erected. Since the width of gates might vary, this is necessary.
When to Construct a Fence Out of Wood
During the dry and warm months, the job will be easier for you to complete and more fun overall. If you live in a region that frequently has extremely low temperatures, it’s possible that you won’t be able to start the project while the ground is frozen. Also consider what will happen in the future. Because constructing a fence may be a time-consuming endeavour, you should get started as early in the season as feasible if you intend to fence in the entirety of your land.
Concerns Relating to Safety
When installing a fence made of wood, the majority of the materials are on the heavier side. Not only do individual fence panels weigh close to 110 pounds each, but they are also quite huge and difficult to move around. There are fifty kilogrammes in each bag of dry concrete. Start by lifting with your legs. Always remember to keep a straight back. Because the panels are splintery, you should always wear protective gloves.