How to install fence panels

How to Install Fence Panels: Tips and tricks

Installing the support rails for a fence and attaching the fence posts is the first step in fence construction. The laborious task can be done much faster with prefabricated fence panels that come with fence pickets already attached to the horizontal rails at the top and bottom. This fence panel assortment is available at home improvement stores and includes panels for solid privacy fences, shadowbox fences, and spaced picket fences. An entire privacy fence can be installed quickly and easily at a single weekend without the hassle of installing individual pickets. Below are easy steps:

  1. Your fence posts should be spaced by measuring the fence panels from edge to edge.
  2. Posts should be 18 inches deep and as far apart as the fencing panel width underground. Put concrete or gravel around the posts to increase their stability. Install the fence panels 24 hours after attaching the posts and use the level to adjust for plumb. The distance between each post and the centre of each panel must, for example, be six feet. 
  3. Set the fence height by tying a string around one of the end or corner posts and pulling it tight to the opposite post. You will have to tie the string to the opposite corner or end of the post and cut off any excess height after marking and cutting the posts along the string line. Fencing on flat areas doesn’t require this step; fences on slopes need the extra height until the panels are installed because they install in a step pattern.
  4. A panel should be positioned so the outside edge of an end post lines up with the centre of the next post in the line. According to the type of fence, depending on the top support rail, it should be aligned with the tops of the posts. In order to use the step method on hillsides, align the fence panel sides just off the ground on the uphill side of the fence; the opposite end will be farther off the ground as it is further downhill.
  5. Nail or screw the four-inch wood screws or 18- to 20-diameter nails into the horizontal rails of the fence posts. 
  6. Use the horizontal support rails as a guide to align the second fence panel with the one you just installed. You only need to lift the second panel a few inches above the ground on the uphill side of the fence if you need to use the step method.
  7. After completing the installation of the second fence panel, you can continue installing fence panels until you reach the opposite corner of your yard.
  8. Utilizing a circular saw or reciprocating saw to cut through the posts without damaging the fence panel, remove the excess length from the top of the posts after installing the last panel. Shorten the fence post so it fits between the fence pickets.

How to fit fence posts?

Dig a 2 foot-deep hole for a typical fence post, which is between 6 feet and 8 feet tall. Including a post digger or shovel, a 6-foot level, soil, gravel, or crushed stone, you’ll need to install fence posts. Concrete will also be needed for gateposts.

Installing fence posts

  1. Posthole diggers or shovels can be used to dig the holes.
  2. Dig the holes about six to eight feet apart and between 24 and 30 inches deep for most picket or lattice fences.
  3. For ensuring drainage, construct a 6-inch base of crushed stone buried 36 inches deep.
  4. You should then pack the soil around the posts every 6 inches, minus any topsoil from the holes.
  5. Sand can be packed more tightly by adding gravel to it. When you’re working with clay soil, you should only cover posts with gravel.

How to Install Close Board Fencing?

Due to its flexibility, security, and ease of maintenance, close board fencing remains one of the most popular choices when choosing a fence. When erected properly close board fences can last for many years, even though they require more time to erect.

Whenever you are considering a fencing installation, the first step is calculating your component quantities. Always remember you can speak to a knowledgeable staff member or an expert for help.

This method is beneficial in that you can choose the distance between fence posts according to your preference, not the fence panel width, whereas traditional fence spacing is usually 1.8m, 2.7m, or 3m. Posts that are more than 3m apart are not stable.

Depending on how tall your fence is, you will need to install horizontal rails. Two rails are sufficient for a fence up to 1.2 m high, and three rails are preferred for fences higher than 1.2 m. Concrete posts need to be at least 600mm deep in the ground, thus a fence that is 1.8m (6′) would require a fence post that is 2.4m in length.

The general rule of thumb for determining the number of feather edge boards to be used is to allow:

  • For 100mm boards, there are 13 boards per metre
  • For 125mm boards, 10 boards per metre

You should order a few extra boards just in case your overlap varies. I always recommend ordering a few extra boards.

How to put up a fence with concrete posts?

Concrete posts are easier to work with and last much longer than timber posts.

Although there may be environmental reasons not to use them, they are definitely worth considering.

The posts for a 6ft high fence will need to be 8ft high because 2ft of the post needs to be buried.

However, there is one problem. Concrete posts that are six feet tall cost more than eight-foot posts most of the time! Because there are not so many users, not so many are made, and they are therefore scarcer. Therefore, they are more expensive.

If you hire or borrow, a decent power disk cutter, an 8ft post can easily be trimmed down to the correct size.

You should be provided with a water bottle for dust suppression when you have a powerful cutter. We filled the bottle with water. Pumping the handle builds pressure in the bottle, then connecting the hose to the cutter, starting the cutter, and turning on the water.

During the cutting process, water is automatically sprayed on the blade to keep the dust to a minimum.

Instead of cutting off the top of the post, cut off the bottom. 

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