Why do fences blow down so much around here??
There's more than one reason, obviously but I think the biggest culprit is the POSTS.
I recently started using METAL POSTS, by POSTMASTER, at almost 8 feet long, once buried 25 inches in the ground with three bags of sac crete, it makes them incredibly strong!!
The bummer is the cost. But, with prices of wood triple what they were a year ago, NOW it's only about 25% more per post, and the trade off is, a FIFTY year post that will be someone else's problem by the time it wears out.
Even if not using metal posts, you can make a barrier with TAR, or FORTIFLASH membrane, 30 PD FELT PAPER, or the like, around the bottom of your post, where the concrete will touch. this will ensure your posts last longer than 3 winters.
some people mention the PREFAB PANELS from home depot. the only problem there is,
A. no frame holding the cedar boards TO your posts,
B. you better be PERFECT in your post layout, that means PLUMB, ON YOUR LINE, and the EXACT measurement your panel is. and then pour concrete. Otherwise, you're taking panels apart, and it's better to build them anyway, and more cost effective than dressing up the cheap ones. sometimes they are made of treated pine and NOT cedar.
General rule of thumb is, you get exactly what you pay for.
here's how I build fence...
First we set a stringline to where YOU want the fence to be.
then we lay out the "holes" every 6 feet (72 inches) and mark where any gates are going.
Dig the holes at LEAST 24 inches. 30 inches if you're digging in sand.
set your posts in your holes. this is where you want to create that barrier I was talking about, if you're using wood posts. Plumb your post both ways, and make sure you're on your line. do the line side first, then plumb the other way using LATH and STAKES to hold you to your line.
POUR CONCRETE. slope the concrete AWAY from your posts, so you have NO water "sitting" around the base of your post, this is for metal and wood.
Build "frames" between each post of 2x4. you can see in my pictures, when you look at the back side of the fence, how exactly I place the 2x4s. you would run them the opposite way if doing VERTICAL fence boards.
horizontal fence boards make the fence stronger. so does having posts every SIX feet instead of 8 or 10. the stronger the fence, the longer it will last.
I will attach some pictures to this blog post as reference of the instructions.
if you have specific questions, feel free to send an email to me, acowan1216@gmail.com
the type of fence I described, costs about 100 dollars a foot installed, 70/30 materials/labor
and a five year warranty. 7
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