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Like all DIY Projects building your own fence starts by using the correct materials - listed below are the items you would need :
1. Postcaps - protect your posts from weathering
2. Capping - a strip fitted on top of the uprights for protection.
3. Feather Edge Board
4. Posts - there are a choice of sizes to suit and would normally be ‘dug in’ and secured with Postfix.
5. Gate - adding a gate is often a good idea - we have a wide selection in stock.
6. Hinges, Bolts & Handles - if you plan to add a gate make sure it is secure by fitting the right galvanised hinges, bolts and handles.
7. Arris Rail - these form the horizontal frame for attaching the uprights they fit into pre-cut notched posts.
8. Gravel Board - these fit across the bottom of the fence - again they protect against the weather but also add that finishing touch.
This is probably the most difficult of the fences to construct well; you will need reasonable D.I.Y. skills; it is also designed for flat ground; a slope is a job for the professional. The fence shown in the illustration is 1.8m high, the posts are 2.4m high, the pales 1.65m long sat on 150mm gravel board, the arris rails are 3.6m long.
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Construction
1) Clear the line of any old fence or undergrowth.
2) Peg out the line, post approximately every 1.8m; you will be digging down 600mm, are there any drains or services in the way.
3) Check the length of the fence is reasonably level.
4) Keep the hole as small as possible, dig the depth just over 600mm and put some small stones in the bottom, use struts to hold the post in place, remember to check the post is upright, notches on the correct side and the post face is in line with the fence.
5) Fill with post-fix, ideally the concrete should slope slightly away from the post and be slightly below ground level.
6) The arris rails are 3.6m, cut the first one to 1.8m, this is to stagger the joints. The arris rail will be flush on the outside of the first and last post but centre of the intermediate posts to allow the join.
7) You may need to shape the arris rail slightly to get a good fit, use 75mm galvanised nails.
8) Next fit the gravel board, this must be level for the length of the fence, even if you have to drop the bottom slightly below ground one end and slightly above the other it must be level, use 75mm galvanised nails.
9) The pales sit on top of the gravel board, overlap them by 25mm to allow for expansion and contraction.
10) Use 50mm galvanised nails, it is important you only use one nail per pale per rail (i.e. 3 nails) do not nail two pales together, the single fixing is to allow the pales to expand and contract with the weather.
11) As the top of the fence is continuous capping can be any length.
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