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Installing Gates
and Fences
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Fences offer a number of
things, a windbreak,
privacy, a way to keep your
pets or children in the yard, security from thieves, or decoration. First,
decide which is most vital to you, and then build the type of fence that will
meet those needs.
Planning and Design -
Fence styles are only limited
by your own imagination. A good way to get going is to look around at other
fences, and to look in home magazines or books.
There are a lot of different kinds of fences, picket, panel, ranch style,
chain-link, etc. Nearly all of the principles for installation are the same.
Before you begin building your fence, check for underground pipes or cables.
Utilities companies will come to your home and mark these with paint if you ask
them to.
Make certain that you know where your property lines are. You should have a
surveyor mark the corners of your yard before you begin building.
Layout - Laying out a fence is a
matter of, staking out where you will build your fence, and stretching a string
between the stakes. This will be used as your guideline to install your posts.
If the fence will begin at your house or another fence, you will normally want
to build off it at a right angle. You can work out this angle using what is
called the 3-4-5 methods:
- Begin by staking out the
point where your fence will begin.
- Tie
a length of string to your stake and extend it out at about a 90-degree
angle to your house, or whatever you are working from.
- Measure
four feet on the string and make a mark on the string.
- After
marking a point on your house three feet away from your stake.
- Place
a tape measure slantwise between your three-foot mark on your house and the
four-foot mark on your string, and move the string until the distance
between the marks is precisely five feet.
- Tie
down your string in this spot. It is now exactly at a 90 degree angle to
your house.
Mark
the place were you are going to be putting your first post. Then mark out the
remainder of the posts along the section of your fence.
Place your string on the outside edge of your posts. You will have to measure in
from your string for the center of your posts. Mark these with a stake.
If you are running your fence downhill you have a couple of choices, you can
have the tops of your fence follow the slope of your hill, alternatively you can
have the tops of your fence remain level by stepping down the fence posts at
each point.
To build a step-down
fence, find out the difference in height from the top of your hill to the
bottom, than divide the number by the number of fence sections. This number is
the amount to step down each fence post.
Digging Post Holes - You
can dig your posthole with a clamshell digger. Using a clamshell digger is a lot
of hard work, so if you have many holes to dig or your ground is hard you can
rent a power auger.
It normally takes two people to run it. Even with a power auger, digging
postholes is hard work.
In the majority of locations, your posts holes should be lower then the frost
line, so that if your ground heaves from frost, the post will remain in place.
Some building codes specify that posts be dug down forty-two inches. You only
need the corner posts, or posts that have a gate attached to be that deep. For
your middle posts, dig down thirty-six inches.
Setting Posts - Treated
posts, redwood, or cedar resist decay and rot. You should a put a five or six
inch layer of gravel in the bottom of every hole.
Water that collects in the bottom
of the hole will drain away because of the gravel.
Put the end posts in first. Use
some concrete to set the posts in securely.
Line up the edges of the post along your string. Use a four-foot level to insure
that the posts are plumb in both directions.
Fill the hole up a bit higher with concrete than ground level, and slant the top
of the concrete away from the post a little. This will prevent water from
running down between the concrete and the post.
While the concrete cures brace the post in place.
Line posts require less
support. In the majority of cases, you can set them in dirt.
Use a spacer so that all of your posts are the same distance apart. When the
posts are in position, fill the hole in with dirt.
Once you have placed three to four inches of soil in the hole pack the dirt
down, using the end of a one by two, then continue fill up the hole.
When all of your posts are
set firmly into the ground, cut the tops to the correct height.
Installing the Panels - Your
fence panels can be made up of numerous pieces. Stringers run horizontally
between the posts and hold up your fence boards. Where the stringers go on
depends on the design of your fence.
Make sure you leave at least a few inches
beneath the bottom stringer and the ground to stop rot and to make it easier to
cut your lawn.
One way to fasten the stringers is to cut
them so that they fit in between the fence posts and then toenail your stringers
to the posts.
Alternatively, you can cut out a piece of
the post and set the stringers in flush with it.
You should always use
galvanized nails on any thing that will be exposed to moisture.
Fit the stringers in squarely; make sure your posts stay plumb.
You can design your fence panels any way you want to. You can install pre-made
panels, lattice, or vertical pickets. It is best if you keep all your panels
symmetrical and consistent.
Building a Gate
- For swinging
clearance, leave a minimum of a quarter inch of space on both sides of your
gate.
It is recommended that you build your gate on a flat surface like particleboard
or plywood.
For a picket fence gate, use two cross pieces and a diagonal piece for support.
Nail the pieces to the plywood, and then nail them to one another.
Attach your panels to the support pieces.
Remove the nails holding your gate to the plywood.
Put your gate in place, use blocks to hold your gate at the correct height. Use
spacers to keep your gate at the correct distance from your posts.
Use non-corrosive screws and hardware to fasten your gate to the posts.
Installing a Chain-Link Fence -
First, install the corner posts for a chain-link fence.
Allow the concrete to set up a little make your finishing adjustments so that
your posts are plumb in all directions.
When the concrete is completely dry, use your corner posts to string a line to
use as your guide to line up your middle posts. Typically, chain-link fence
posts are usually spaced about ten feet apart from one another.
Make certain that your concrete is totally cured until you install the fencing,
because this puts a lot of stress on your posts.
You can also set fence posts in concrete using an anchoring system and stakes.
With this method, you can install the posts to the precise height that you need.
Posts set in concrete have to be cut to the proper height using a pipe cutter.
The upper rail runs through
the loop caps on the top of the each line posts. This rail forms the upper part
of the frame that the fencing attaches to.
Roll out your fencing on the outside of your fence posts. If you have to make
the fencing longer, you can interlace two sections together.
Attach
your fencing to a post at one end. Use a tension bar together with tension
bands.
Loosely attach all of your fencing to your upper rail. Then stretch your fencing
using your hands, as much as you can.
Using a winch specially made for this the job, pull the fencing until it is
taut. Next, permanently connect the fencing to the posts and your top rail.
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