Renovation guides

How to build a wood or vinyl privacy fence yourself: step by step

A fence is only as straight as its posts. Most of the work is the line, the holes and setting each post plumb in concrete; the rails and pickets after that go fast.

Difficulty 4 of 5 · 3 weekends · careful

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Step by step

1. Step 1 of 14

   Agree on the line and check the rules

   

   Confirm where the property line is (from the yard plan). On a shared line, agree with your neighbour on the fence, the style, the cost and which side faces whom — in writing. Confirm height, location and permit with your city and your HOA.

2. Step 2 of 14

   String the fence line

   

   Drive a stake past each end and each corner and pull a mason's line tight between them, at the face of the posts. If the line is not shared, keep the whole fence, footings included, on your side.

3. Step 3 of 14

   Mark every post

   

   Mark the corner and end posts, then a post every 8 ft on center along the string. Size the gate opening to the gate kit's instructions and mark a post on each side of it.

4. Step 4 of 14

   Dig the holes

   

   Dig each hole about three times as wide as the post and 2 ft deep — deeper where there is a frost line (per your city) — plus a few inches for gravel. If you hit anything that is not soil or rock — a pipe, a wire, a warning tape — stop, leave it and call.

   Before you dig a single hole

   • 811 marks are in and every utility on the ticket answered
   • No hole sits on a marked line or a private line (sprinklers, a line to a shed)
   • Your neighbour agreed in writing if the fence is on a shared line
   • Height, location and permit are checked with your city and your HOA

5. Step 5 of 14

   Gravel, then set the corner and end posts

   

   Put a few inches of gravel in the bottom of each hole and tamp it. Stand the corner and end posts first, at the height on the string, and brace each with two stakes and scrap boards so it stands plumb on two faces.

6. Step 6 of 14

   Pour the fast-setting concrete

   

   Follow the bag: most fast-setting mixes go in dry and get water poured on top, in the amounts the bag gives. Check plumb again right away, and crown the top so water runs away from the post.

   Before the concrete goes in

   • The post is plumb on two faces and at the right height on the string
   • It is braced so it cannot move while the concrete sets
   • You have the bag's chart for water and bags per hole

7. Step 7 of 14

   Set the line posts to a string

   

   Run strings between the corner posts at the top and near the bottom. Set every line post the same way — gravel, plumb, braced, concrete — just touching both strings.

8. Step 8 of 14

   Let the concrete set

   

   Wait the time on the bag before you hang anything on the posts. Keep the braces on until then.

9. Step 9 of 14

   Cut the posts to height and hang the rails

   

   Snap a line across the posts for the height and cut the tops level. Fasten three rails per section — top, middle, bottom — level, with screws or rail brackets rated for treated lumber.

10. Step 10 of 14

    Hang the pickets

    

    Set the first picket plumb and fasten it to each rail. Space the rest with a spacer block (or none, for full privacy) and check plumb every few pickets. Keep the bottoms off the soil.

    Before you fasten the pickets

    • The concrete set for the time on the bag and the rails are level
    • Picket bottoms clear the soil — wood must not touch it
    • The good face of the fence faces the side you and your neighbour agreed on

11. Step 11 of 14

    Keep the tops in a line

    

    Run a string along the top as a guide, or let the pickets run long and cut the tops to a snapped line at the end.

12. Step 12 of 14

    Build and hang the gate

    

    Build the gate frame square, with a diagonal brace from the bottom hinge corner up to the top latch corner, or use the anti-sag kit. Hang it on the heavier post, with the gap for the latch that the kit gives.

13. Step 13 of 14

    Caps and finish

    

    Put a cap on every post. Wood: let it dry for the time the stain or sealer can says, then finish it.

14. Step 14 of 14

    Clean up and walk the line

    

    Pick up the stakes and offcuts, backfill low spots at the posts, and walk the fence: pickets tight, gate swinging and latching.

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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