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Privacy FencesBy Jim Sulski Summary: Privacy fences can help you make the most of a small lot size and define your property line. Removing an old fence and installing a wooden fence is simple with these tips. With lot sizes shrinking in many areas, many homeowners are searching for more solitude in their backyards. That has started a trend in which do-it-yourselfers are removing their open chain link fences and replacing them with wooden privacy fences.
In addition to offering privacy, these fences offer security. Fences also define property lines and add a nice aesthetic touch to a home's exterior. The first step in constructing a new fence is to determine a style of fencing - dog ear, stockade, Gothic, picket, ranch, etc. Next, measure the yard space where the fence will be located and plot out the fence on a piece of paper. Finally, check with your town's building department to see what type of fences are permitted. OLD FENCE REMOVAL Before you install the new fence, you'll need to take down the old fence. Chain link fence can be dismantled by snipping the metal bands or tie wires that hold the chain mesh to the posts. Bolt cutters can help here. The mesh can be rolled up and discarded. Then, dismantle the post caps and eye tops from end posts and rails. Remove the horizontal rails and what you should have left are the posts protruding from the ground. Dig around the posts until you expose the concrete in which they are anchored. Then rock the posts until you can yank them out of the ground, concrete attached. You can also cut the posts at the ground level and cover the hole with concrete. Wood fences can be easily disassembled by pulling them apart with a pry bar. The fence posts can be dug out in the manner described above. NEW FENCE INSTALLATION Most wooden fences come in sections, usually about eight-feet wide. These are also known as prefabricated fences and include the boards, footings and even a gate. Depending on the size of the sections, the home improvement store from which you buy the fence will recommend either 4-by-4, 4-by-6 or 6-by-6-inch posts. The two larger sizes are especially recommended for gates. The length of the post depends on the height of the fence: A seven-foot post for a five-foot tall fence, and a nine-foot post for a six-foot tall fence. The ends of two sections will meet and be anchored to the posts. Gates will also be attached to the posts. Start the installation by marking the spots in the ground where you'll erect the posts. If you've picked a fence with a pattern, you'll need to choose an inconspicuous spot - such as a corner in the yard - where the pattern may not match up. Next, you'll need to sink the posts into the ground. Use a posthole digger or clamshell digger, available at most tool rental outlets. For fences that are five or six feet high, dig the hole at least 32 to 36 inches deep, and not too much wider than the post itself. Then place a large flat rock at the bottom of the hole and cover the rock with about five inches of gravel. Next, pound a 1-by-2 into the ground a few feet from the hole so that it protrudes up about a foot or so. Do the same with a second 1-by-2 on the other side of the posthole. Then place the post in the hole and have a second person hold the post while you make it plumb with a level. Take another 1-by-2 and screw it to first piece protruding from the ground. Then screw it to the post to keep the post in place. Do the same with the second 1-by-2 you pounded into the ground. Then fill the hole around the post with a little more gravel and pour premixed concrete in the hole. Use about one 80 pound bag of concrete for each post. Next, check the post to make sure it's still plumb and then move on to the next post. Let the concrete set about a week before removing the 1-by-2 braces. Then, you'll need to attach the sections of fence to the posts. Depending on the style of the fence, the top rail of the fence section may be attached to the top of the post. Or it can be attached below the top, which you can later saw off. You can nail the fence section to the post, or use galvanized screws to make the connection. There are also fence brackets and T-plates for attaching the sections to the posts. To keep the sections steady while you attach them, a second set of hands will be handy. Also, support blocks below the sections will help raise them off of the ground and keep them steady while you fasten them to the posts. You may also need to cut a section to make it fit. This will entail cutting the two or more support rails that run horizontally along the section.
© by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. April 1, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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