This excellent video will walk you through the process of erecting a wooden garden fence, with tips & advice from the professionals and a few common mistakes to avoid.
Here’s a few pointers from the video:
- Use a string line and bamboo canes to mark out where your fence and posts will go.
- A standard fence panel is 6′ or 1.83m wide.
- Remember to include the width of your posts when marking out. The wooden posts in this example are 10cm wide.
- Tie a string to your two end posts, and use this as a guide to get all your other posts to the correct height.
- You should be using treated timber posts anyway, but you can soak them in wood preservative overnight to extend the lifespan even further.
- Use a spirit level on two sides of each post to make sure they are nice and straight.
- Metal fence clips (U clips) are easier and more convenient than nailing the fence panel directly into the post.
- Your panels should be raised at least 50mm above the ground to avoid rotting. The gap can be filled with a gravel board.
- If you need to cut a panel down to size, move the battens to the correct position first and use the end batten as a cutting guide.
- As the cement begins to dry, trowel it up to towards the post to help rainwater run away.
- Post caps are a simple way to extend the lifespan of your fence posts.
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