Plumbing a residential privacy fence

[Nolacycling 893]

Start w/4 corners?

Use level to make sure straight?

How do I know their sides are aligned w/other corner posts? Stakes with string across faces?

I'm not good at this stuff.

 

[deadshank 24,653]

Plumbing, squaring and leveling are three different things.

Set posts at corners and elsewhere and plumb them. Use an angled 2x4 from the top portion of the posts down to the ground to keep them plumb (straight up and down) as a temporary hold while they set in concrete  

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

Level your cap rails and pickets with string lines. 

Assuming treated lumber,  use coarse thread screws good for treated lumber to install your rot boards, cross rails and cap rails. Nails, especially if you use treated pine, tend to pull out.  Screws hold much better. 

If cedar pickets use stainless nails.  Galvanized bleed on cedar. 

[Nolacycling 893]

Tell me like I'm the dumbass I am.

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

[Nolacycling 893]

Do you mean on the 8' runs? Should I worry about 70 ft runs corner to corner?

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

12 minutes ago, Nolacycling said:

Tell me like I'm the dumbass I am.

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

Yep they both should be the same dimension. That tells you you're square.  

[Post Oak 20,350]

22 minutes ago, Nolacycling said:

Tell me like I'm the dumbass I am.

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

We are the same

[luke duke 6,420]

This sounds like a great opportunity for you to help the local economy by paying someone to build the fence for you.

[Nolacycling 893]

Laughing at myself yesterday that this is the kind of stuff I should have learned as a young adult and now be paying to have done as a 60+, but life doesn't always work that way. 

[deadshank 24,653]

9 hours ago, Nolacycling said:

Tell me like I'm the dumbass I am.

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

Correct.   Pythagoras knew what he was doing. 

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

Square your corner posts by taking diagonal measurements from front left to back right and then front right to back left. Make sure the measurements are the same.

Deadshank said: Correct.   Pythagoras knew what he was doing. 

 

That assumes you have an even starting point at the front right and front left posts or rear right and rear left posts.  You can create a parallelogram instead of a square or rectangle that will have equal diagonal dimensions if you don't start with one 90 degree corner.

The Line across the back wall of your house can be used to create an even plane to begin your layout (if the fence is in your backyard of course). You need to create one 90 degree corner to begin working from.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Onboard 2.0

[Nolacycling 893]

I'm liking g your post and grateful for the advice, but when parallelogram,  even plane and diagonal dimensions become part of the equation...

My ex fil never understood how people could walk around without a basic sense of  geometry and physics. Loved him.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Nolacycling

[deadshank 24,653]

https://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/home-improvements/installing-deck-fencing-posts

[SquishMitten 10,466]

Man that link is a lot. I've never thought squaring them perfectly was nearly as important as plumbing them perfectly. I just dig my corner holes, drop the posts, plumb/brace, run a string to the other corner posts on the outer edge, pour concrete, and jimmy the posts/braces until the strings sit flush. Not perfect, but a hell of a lot easier than building all those batter boards.

Then again, I won't build another fence in Austin. Digging deep holes in our "soil" ain't fuckin worth it to me. Mentioned on the other recent thread about someone replacing a run of fence for me last year. Bout a hundred feet. It took 3 guys with jackhammers a full two days just to remove the old posts and dig new holes. To their credit, they stuck with the original bid, but I'm almost certain they didn't make much, if any, money on the job. You just never know what you're going to find once you start digging, and with a fence, you don't have any leeway on where the posts have to go. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by SquishMitten

[deadshank 24,653]

Assuming you're replacing a fence, a good idea would be treat the job like a ranch fence replacement and don't remove all the old posts.  If you feel they are properly placed and you're square, leave some key posts and remove the others.  Use the the ones left in place as your guides for new post placement   After the new posts are placed, remove the balance to complete the circuit.  

Ranchers do it this way, removing a mesquite torn fence with a dozer but leaving every 10th to 15th post as their guide and then removing and replacing those after they set up with the new.  

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,980]

I wouldn't bother trying to get perfect 90 degree corners (which assumes your lot has perfect 90 degree corners), but if I did I would just use a 3, 4, 5 triangle. Measure three feet from the corner and put a flag down. Measure four feet the other direction and put a flag down. The distance between the flags should be five feet if it is 90 degrees. Double or triple the measurements to give more accuracy. So a six foot side and a eight foot side should have a ten foot hypotenuse. Tie a piece of string up so you have a 22 foot loop. Mark a spot on the string with a sharpie. Mark a spot on one side of your original mark eight feet from it. Mark a spot on the other side of the original mark ten feet from it. Nail the string to your corner post with the original spot right on the corner. Have one person hold the string at one mark while you hold the other. Stretch the string tight so it forms a triangle between the marks. Drive a steak into the ground at each corner to hold the string. Now you have a nice right triangle at your corner to guide you.

[Spur08 382]

This thread is getting really square

[RollLeft 5,051]

Did you ask your husband?

[horn4life 3,819]

1) you got a survey when you bought the property.  Look at that and see if existing fencing is in the right place.  A LOT of the time they are off by a few inches or even a foot on one of the corners.  You LOT also may not be Square.  

2) DO THE MATH!!!!  Determine the size of the pickets (fence) you are going to need.  You are going to want to put a gap between each picket so that when you do get high winds, your fence will not blow down.  This is most important on the portion where you have your gate.  Gates look a LOT better if they have full pickets and not partial pickets you have to rip (cut long ways). I usually make some sort of jig out of paint stirs, thin plywood or similar material that I can hang on the horizontal rails to keep the space even.  IF they spaces are even, and you put in first picket plumb, you have won half the battle. Placing the posts the correct length from each other can save you from making a lot of cuts on the rails. most folks use 8 foot rails (horizontal 2x4) so you want your posts to be 8 feet or less apart.  You don't want to need to go buy a ten foot 2x4 because your post is 8'1/2" apart.

3) Your corner posts are key as they determine if the fence is square.  They need to be plumb and I usually NOT securing them after you find plumb is where folks screw up, so you need to secure them.

4) Screws NOT nails. It takes a little longer but will last and look a lot better for a LOT longer if you use screws.  I like tan outdoor screws that blend into cedar. 

5) The string level is your best friend!  Once you have plumb posts in place the key is keeping the top of the fence level for a professional appearance.  I HATE a wavy looking top edge, looks like shit.  You ground likely will not be level.  So you will likely end up trimming at least a few boards.  The string level will keep the top straight and square.  Put a screw or nail into the top of the corner posts, tie a string TIGHTLY between them and make sure the string is level.  Make sure the string is tied securely so it does not slide up and down and fall out of level.  This is your guide, stick to it and the fence will look great!  When you need to make cuts (assuming regular pickets with notched corners) flip the board over, and mark the bottom of the board against the level line.  Presto!  Nice level fencing!

6) It's a two person job for a first timer, especially.  

7) It's a lot easier to cut the tops of the fence posts off before you start putting on pickets.  All you need to do is make sure the fence posts will be hidden by the pickets.

😎 Nothing is better then a cold beverage looking at a new, straight fence!

Edited August 1, 2019 by horn4life

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

Love those little string level thingees......

[deadshank 24,653]

1 hour ago, horn4life said:

1) you got a survey when you bought the property.  Look at that and see if existing fencing is in the right place.  A LOT of the time they are off by a few inches or even a foot on one of the corners.  You LOT also may not be Square.  

2) DO THE MATH!!!!  Determine the size of the pickets (fence) you are going to need.  You are going to want to put a gap between each picket so that when you do get high winds, your fence will not blow down.  This is most important on the portion where you have your gate.  Gates look a LOT better if they have full pickets and not partial pickets you have to rip (cut long ways). I usually make some sort of jig out of paint stirs, thin plywood or similar material that I can hang on the horizontal rails to keep the space even.  IF they spaces are even, and you put in first picket plumb, you have won half the battle. Placing the posts the correct length from each other can save you from making a lot of cuts on the rails. most folks use 8 foot rails (horizontal 2x4) so you want your posts to be 8 feet or less apart.  You don't want to need to go buy a ten foot 2x4 because your post is 8'1/2" apart.

3) Your corner posts are key as they determine if the fence is square.  They need to be plumb and I usually NOT securing them after you find plumb is where folks screw up, so you need to secure them.

4) Screws NOT nails. It takes a little longer but will last and look a lot better for a LOT longer if you use screws.  I like tan outdoor screws that blend into cedar. 

5) The string level is your best friend!  Once you have plumb posts in place the key is keeping the top of the fence level for a professional appearance.  I HATE a wavy looking top edge, looks like shit.  You ground likely will not be level.  So you will likely end up trimming at least a few boards.  The string level will keep the top straight and square.  Put a screw or nail into the top of the corner posts, tie a string TIGHTLY between them and make sure the string is level.  Make sure the string is tied securely so it does not slide up and down and fall out of level.  This is your guide, stick to it and the fence will look great!  When you need to make cuts (assuming regular pickets with notched corners) flip the board over, and mark the bottom of the board against the level line.  Presto!  Nice level fencing!

6) It's a two person job for a first timer, especially.  

7) It's a lot easier to cut the tops of the fence posts off before you start putting on pickets.  All you need to do is make sure the fence posts will be hidden by the pickets.

😎 Nothing is better then a cold beverage looking at a new, straight fence!

Also, make sure to CAPITALIZE  certain WORDS for EFFECT and  get  you POINT across  to  the READER.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

17 minutes ago, deadshank said:

Also, make sure to CAPITALIZE  certain WORDS for EFFECT and  get  you POINT across  to  the READER.

Colors and bolding helps too.

[deadshank 24,653]

1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Colors and bolding helps too.

agreed.

[Asithappens 974]

5 hours ago, horn4life said:

 

😎 Nothing is better then a cold beverage looking at a new, straight fence!

I tell ya what, this guy knows how to fence.

Hank HIll would be proud of you.

[Nolacycling 893]

On 8/1/2019 at 7:55 AM, RollLeft said:

Did you ask your husband?

No, I asked yours, but he had a hard time answering with my dick in his mouth. 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Nolacycling
I'm not ghey, but my boyfriend is.

[Nolacycling 893]

It has rained once for 10 minutes in Corpus this summer. I'm soaking post hole mark. Digging about 9 inches and filling hole w/water and completing next day. Brutal hot.

[Kennythetiger 9,500]

I have to soak corner post holes and then finish them later quite often.  When you do that, try and drive a small metal rod into your started hole, as far down as you can get and still pull out the rod.  It'll help the dirt soak up the water at a deeper depth than just filling a 8" deep hole with water. 

[deadshank 24,653]

1 hour ago, Kennythetiger said:

I have to soak corner post holes and then finish them later quite often.  When you do that, try and drive a small metal rod into your started hole, as far down as you can get and still pull out the rod.  It'll help the dirt soak up the water at a deeper depth than just filling a 8" deep hole with water. 

Or just get a tractor with an auger. 

[Kennythetiger 9,500]

Makes for expensive post holes.

[deadshank 24,653]

Not  if  you already have the tractor and auger.

[Kennythetiger 9,500]

Yes.  Just being argumentative and a dipshit.  The water trick works good when I'm just setting a new corner post somewhere, and it's much quicker and more feasible to get a 5-gallon bucket out of the stock tank than road my tractor 30 miles round-trip.  

[deadshank 24,653]

8 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

Yes.  Just being argumentative and a dipshit.  The water trick works good when I'm just setting a new corner post somewhere, and it's much quicker and more feasible to get a 5-gallon bucket out of the stock tank than road my tractor 30 miles round-trip.  

The water trick does work.

I’ve gone into earth so dry and hard we had to do the rebar and water trick just to get the auger in and then keep pumping water in while the auger threads worked their way down.

Only to hit a big rock and then get a rock breaker out after it.  

Fence building pretty much sucks. 

[Nolacycling 893]

Thanks to everyone  who offered ideas and suggestions. I'm pretty sure I would not have passed Pythagoras' class, but whomever said the beer at job's end tastes awesome was spot on. 

Other side of backyard and 70 ft. more to completion , but it will go so much more quickly and efficiently. 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Nolacycling

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,038]

Wi still don’t understand why you need plumbing in your fence.  If you need to pee while you’re outside just do it on a bush

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

11 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Wi still don’t understand why you need plumbing in your fence.  If you need to pee while you’re outside just do it on a bush

Yep, Vaudeville is making a comeback....

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,038]

Speaking of fence posts, i was reading about this product called Secure Set for setting fence posts instead of concrete.  It looks a lot easier.  Has anyone used this stuff?

[Jkwellborn 6,894]

Speaking of fence posts, i was reading about this product called Secure Set for setting fence posts instead of concrete.  It looks a lot easier.  Has anyone used this stuff?

Is that the stuff that looks kinda like foam after you pour it? Sets in about 5 minutes or something?

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,038]

Yes it has two liquids and you mix them together and shake it up for about 30 seconds. You pour it in the home and it foams up around the post and sets in just a few minutes. My concern is that since the foam doesn’t have the weight of concrete will it really hold the post securely. Just wondering if anyone one here had tried it.