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How to Build a Fence Part 2: Setting the Posts

Published: 07/04/2010 by Patsy Hamilton for HomeImprovement411.ca

Setting the posts correctly is one of the most important parts of how to build a fence. If you read the previous installment, you know what tools and materials you will need.

You should have already measured the length. So you know how many posts and how much fencing material to buy. Here are the next steps.

Using scrap lumber, stakes or bracing material and some kite string or twine, you are going to create a “model” of your fence. Start at one corner and drive a stake or scrap piece of lumber into the ground. Put the stake a little farther out than you actually want the corner post.

Remember to be aware of your property line and any buried utilities. If there are buried utility wires in your neighborhood, you need to find out where they are located before you dig a single hole.

The phone numbers to call vary from state to state in the US and from province to province in Canada, but in all cases, there are services in place to help you avoid a costly and dangerous error. That is digging into an underground electric, gas or waterline.

If instead of learning how to build a fence on your own, you hire a contractor, he or she will know which authorities to contact before the digging begins. It is just one of the services provided by experienced contractors.

Now, let’s get back to your model. Drive stakes in at every corner. If the fencing will run up next to your house or an outbuilding, you will need to place a stake next to the building.

This may seem like a waste of time, but it is an important part of how to build a fence. It will ensure that the posts are aligned and the fencing material is straight.

Once you have the corner stakes in, tie one end of your twine to the first stake. Walk to the next and wrap the twine around it. Continue in this way until you arrive back at the beginning or at the fourth corner.

Run the line as close to the ground as possible. You will be using it as a guide when you dig your postholes.

Using your posthole diggers, you will want to dig a hole deep enough to accommodate about a third of the post’s total height. If the holes are too shallow, they will be unstable.

Learning how to use posthole diggers is a subject not covered in these How to Build a Fence articles. Hopefully, you have some experience with them.

It is particularly important that the corner and any gate posts are set deep enough into the ground, because of the pressure placed on them.

Put two shovelfuls of gravel in the hole. Center the post in its hole and use your scrap lumber or bracing material to hold it in place.

Measure the location of your next post and repeat. How to Build a Fence Part 3 covers securing the posts and hanging the fencing.

Patsy Hamilton is a home improvement journalist at HomeImprovement411.ca. For more great useful home improvement articles please visit: http://www.homeimprovement411.ca

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