Good Fences

I grew up building fences. Pounding steel posts into the ground and stringing wire fencing was one of the better jobs on the farm.
This fall I decided to fence in my small city lot, but my wife wanted something a little nicer than barbwire. I flat out refused a white picket, so we compromised on a scallop top picket board fence.

I opted to use 4x4 green-treated posts, five quarter decking boards ripped in half to 3" wide for stringers, and 1x4's for the pickets.

Some online research and conversations with friends indicated that recommended post spacing was 4 to 8 feet. I opted for 8 ft spacing, which seems sufficient for my 4 foot high fence.

Tools Needed

Gas-Powered Auger
Manual Post hole diggers
Spud Bar
Circular saw
Drill
Router (optional)
Level

Step 1: Design your fence

Decide:
How far to space your posts
How wide to make your pickets and how far to space them
Where your gates will go, so you can set hinge posts

Step 2: Plan your fence

This step is key. Use stakes and mark every post location. This will allow you to plan how much material you will need and the exact path of the fence.
Use surveyor's twine to make sure you have straight lines.

Take the time to get the post spacing exactly right. If they are even an inch too far apart, the stringers won't reach between posts.

Call your utilities companies to mark the location of gas lines, electrical, cable, water mains, etc. before digging.

Step 3. Dig the post holes

This is by far the hardest step, and when you're done the yard should look like an army of giant ants has invaded. The fastest way to get this done is to rent an auger. I used a two-man model with an 8" bit rented from my local hardware store. We finished 14 holes in about 3 hours. The last hour was spent on one hole fighting through tree roots, a giant rock, and trying to avoid cutting my cable TV.

Although a one man model is available, my advice is to avoid it. Handling the 8" auger with two men was a workout; there's no way I would try it alone. Although I'd been warned about getting flung if the auger hit a rock, our 5.5hp Honda two stroke must have had a slip clutch somewhere, because it stopped turning before stalling or flinging anyone.
Dig your holes deep enough to get below the frost line (4ft up here in the snow belt).

Step 4. Setting the posts

Use the post hole diggers to clean the loose dirt out of the holes. There are several schools of thought on the best way to secure the posts.

Option 1. Mix concrete and pour it down the hole.
Option 2. Pour dry concrete around the post. The moisture from the rain and the soil will set it eventually.
Option 3. Just tamp the dirt back around the post, adding it back a couple inches at a time and tamping it with the spud bar. The thought is that not only is concrete unnecessary, it causes the posts to rot faster.

I used option 2 for most of my posts, and option 3 for a few at one end that will eventually get moved when I add a deck. At this point the ones without concrete seem at least as sturdy as the others, so the concrete may be a waste of time and money. Time will tell.

Step 5. The stringers

Use surveyors twine to get nice straight lines and mark the tops of your posts and the stringer locations.

I used a circular saw and chisel to inset the stringers into the posts. It didn't seem to weaken posts too much and makes the fence look just as good on the inside as on the outside.

Step 6: The pickets

This is the fun part, since its easy and you can see the progress you made. Just mark the spacing on the stringers and the height on the pickets.

After setting the first screw, use a level to set the final position. This is an advantage over premade panels because you can keep the pickets vertical, even when building on a hill.

Step 7: The Scallops

To make the scallops at the top of the fence I hung a slack line and marked each picket. I used the circular saw to cut each one at the correct height and angle.