DIY Network

Build a Fence: Custom Picket Fence

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Materials:

Bags fast-setting concrete
Mason's string and stakes
2" galvanized screws
Galvanized "L" brackets
Clamps
Hinges
Safety glasses, gloves, mask

Tools Needed:

Post hole diggers and shovel
Level
Circular saw
Pneumatic brad nail gun
Cordless drill
Countersinking drill bit
Chop saw
Tape measure
Coping saw
Framing square
Plunge router and 1/2" bit with rub collar
Round over bit with guide bearing (for router)

Before You Start:

• Determine the property boundary. This is done by a survey and will verify the actual property boundary.

• Determine the total linear feet of the fence and order materials.

Installing a Custom Picket Fence

1. After you have made a detailed design of your fence, transfer the design to the property using pink mason's string wrapped tightly around the stakes. This will give you a straight line to set the posts. Our design calls for the posts to be 74" wide. Use bricks to mark the precise spots where the posts will go.

   Note: In determining post locations, try and divide the total length by a number that will give equal distances between all posts and yet keeping the distance between posts under eight feet. (If posts are installed more than 10' apart, it increases the chances for sagging.)

   Expert Tip: Before digging on any property, check with your local codes office to determine proper setbacks. Then, call your utility companies (it is a free service). Each utility company will come out and mark the locations where all of the gas, electrical, phone and waterlines are located.

   Note: When building a fence on a slope, you have a couple of options. You can step the fence down, keeping the pickets level on the top and then each panel drops down and stays level with the ground, or you can have the picket tops follow the contour of the grade of the ground.

2. On the show, the top of the fence is a step-down and the bottom runs with the contour of the grade of the ground -- a combination. Whatever the case may be, you may need to figure your slope mathematically and here is a simple graphic to help you do that. First, determine how many fence panels are needed to span the length or run of the slope. Drive a short stake at the top of the slope and a long stake at the bottom. Run a string to each stake and level it. Measure from the ground up to the string -- this is called the rise. Then take the rise and divide by the number of panels needed. In our design, we need 6 panels and the rise is 45"; so, 45 divided by 6 equals 7-1/2". So, each panel will step down 7-1/2".

3. Start with digging the holes. You can use a shovel, hand post-hole digger or if you have a lot of holes to dig, it may pay you to rent a two-man auger from your local rental center. Dig post holes about 20" deep.

   Safety Tip: It is important to protect yourself when using any piece of power equipment, so be sure and wear gloves, goggles and ear protection.

4. Once the holes are dug, it is time to set the posts. You need to maintain 74" between each of the 6x6 posts. Place a post in the hole, position it in the center and ensure that it is level and plumb.

5. Fill the hole with fast-setting concrete. You will still have a little play when you are done to make any final adjustments. Add water according to the instructions on the bag of concrete. Plumb the post. The posts need approximately 48 hours to set up before you hang the panels.

6. To build the pickets and put together the fence panels, you need to start with 1x4 treated pine boards and cut to length (42"). Because you will be repeating the design a lot, make a jig or template out of 1/4" hardboard.

7. Draw out the design on top of the hardboard and make it 1/8" large in every dimension (this extra 1/8" allows for the rub collar on the plunge router). Cut the design out with a coping saw or jigsaw.

8. On the back of the template, center the pattern and then make a small fence on the top and on one side with a set screw that will help hold it in place and keep it from sliding.

9. Clamp the template onto the board to hold it steady and use a router to rout out the design. Undo the clamps and repeat the process on each board.

10. Once all of the pickets have been cut, panel assembly can begin. Start by making a sturdy workstation. Clamp a piece of steel (or other flat surface) along one of the sides of the work table. Screw down a 90-degree piece of board from the straight edge to ensure that each piece is 90-degrees.

11. Screw down some blocks so the rails can fit inside these "stops." This prevents having to measure the rail positions each time and ensures they are all the same.

12. For your spacing, lay the panels out on the 76" rails to see how you like the looks Start by placing the first picket 2-1/2" from the edge of the rail. Cut a spacer board the desired width (in our case, we came up with 5 inches between the larger pickets with a 1x2 in-between each).

13. The rails measure 76" in length (since our design calls for the panels to be 74" in length, we purposely made the rails an extra inch long on each end so we could trim off both sides of the rails when installing between the posts). That means you will start your first picket 1-1/2" from that line which gives you a total of 2-1/2" at the beginning.

14. Use a counter sinking bit to drill holes for the screws. Use a 2" galvanized deck screw and drive it until it is sitting flush with the top of the wood. You don't want to drive it down too far. Once all of the larger pickets are fastened, go back and place the smaller pickets in between the larger ones. This can be done by eye-balling them so they're centered. Drill a pilot hole in the top and bottom of the smaller pickets and insert one screw at the top and bottom.

15. Once a panel is finished, it's a good idea to take a scrap strip of wood and fasten it to the front of the panel with a couple of screws diagonally. This is a temporary brace, and you remove it once you install the panel between the posts.

    Note: The rails were cut to 76" long and the space between the posts is only 74" long. Make an exact measurement to make sure the sections fit between the posts.

16. Temporarily set the panel between two posts and mark where the excess lengths of the rails will be cut off. Cut the same amount off each end of both the top and bottom of the rail. Use clamps on the posts until you temporarily set the panels in place and level it up before you install the final screws.

17. The bottoms of the pickets need to be cut off if you are placing the fence on a slope. Get the panels nice and level temporarily. Take a measure of the rise and then mark that measurement on the bottom of each picket in the panel making sure to keep the tape measure on the bottom of the ground for each mark you make. What you are doing is transferring the bottom of the ground to the top of the pickets.

18. Cut each picket of the panel along the marked line you made with a circular saw.

19. Install the panels using galvanized "L" brackets. They are 1-1/2" x 3". In the case of the top rails, the brackets will be mounted onto the post. In the case of the bottom rails, they are too close to the ground to get any clearance to drill up from the bottom, so they have to be mounted onto the bottom rails first and then you screw them into the posts when you drop the panels into place.

20. After putting the screws in the top, use a level and plumb it before putting the screws in the bottom.

21. Remove the cross braces.

22. The gates are made similar to the panels with cross bracing added for extra strength. Temporarily nail a small piece of wood at the top of where the doors to the gates meet to brace them together while your install the hinges.

23. When you install the gate, it is installed very much the same way as the panels, except instead of "L" brackets, you use heavy-duty hinges that are spring-loaded and self-closing.

24. Remove the bracing and then install a latch.

25. The finishing touches are the finials which are decorative caps that go on top of each post. Using 2x8 blocks, rout out the design on the top block and then using industrial strength bond glue the two halves together.

26. To install the finials, find the center of the finial and the center of the post and drill a hole in both. To find the center of the finial, take a speed square and make diagonal lines from corner to corner on the finial and on the post. Where they intersect is the center.

27. Install a two-pointed lag screw into the finial. Spread some polyurethane glue onto the post and then screw the finial on.

28. After the fence is installed, you need to seal the wood against the weather. You can use a clear sealant, stain, or you can paint the fence. To stain it, you need to wait a couple of months to let the treated wood season out in the weather, and then apply the stain.