How to Build a Wood Fence

Shopping & prep checklist

Required tools

Post-hole digger or auger · Digging bar · 4-ft level & string line · Circular saw & drill/driver · Speed square & tape measure · Wheelbarrow (concrete) · Mason line & stakes

The steps

1. 1. Check rules, then call 811

   Confirm your property line (survey pins or a plat map), your local height and setback rules, and any HOA requirements — fences commonly need a permit above certain heights. Then call 811 at least a few days before digging so utilities get marked. Both are free; hitting a gas line is not.

   Tip: Set the fence 6 inches inside your property line unless you have a signed agreement with the neighbor.

2. 2. Calculate and order materials

   Run the fence calculator above with your total length, style, post spacing, and gates. Order posts rated for ground contact (pressure-treated, marked UC4A or better), and have everything delivered — 150 feet of fencing does not fit in a pickup in one trip.

3. 3. Lay out the fence line

   Drive stakes at the corners and ends, and pull mason line taut between them. Mark every post location along the line with paint at your chosen spacing — measure center to center, and position gate posts first so gate openings land exactly where you want them.

4. 4. Dig the post holes

   Dig each hole to one-third of the post's exposed height, minimum 24 inches, below the frost line, and about 10–12 inches wide. Add 3–4 inches of gravel to each hole for drainage — posts rot from standing water at the base, and gravel is the cheap insurance.

   Tip: Rent a two-person auger for more than ten holes. It turns the worst day of the project into a morning.

5. 5. Set the corner and gate posts first

   Set the two ends of each run and the gate posts in concrete first, braced plumb both directions with scrap lumber. Pour fast-setting concrete dry into the hole around the post and add water per the bag, sloping the top away from the wood. Let these anchors cure, then string a line between them at top-of-post height.

6. 6. Set the line posts to the string

   Set each remaining post so it just kisses the string line and is plumb both ways. The string guarantees a straight run and consistent height. Check plumb again after pouring — concrete shifts posts as it settles. Let everything cure 24–48 hours before hanging any weight.

7. 7. Install the rails

   Run rails between posts: two for a 4-foot fence, three for a 6-foot privacy fence (bottom rail 6–8 inches above grade, top rail near the top, third centered). Attach with exterior structural screws or rail brackets, keeping each rail level — or parallel to the slope if you're racking the fence.

8. 8. Hang the pickets

   Start at one end with a picket checked plumb, then work along, keeping tops to a string line. Privacy fences butt pickets tight (they'll shrink slight gaps as they dry); picket fences use a spacer block for even gaps. Two exterior screws or ring-shank nails per rail. Every tenth picket, check plumb again — drift compounds.

   Tip: Keep pickets 2 inches off the ground. Ground contact is where pickets rot first.

9. 9. Build and hang the gate

   A gate is a picket panel on a Z-frame (two horizontal braces plus a diagonal running from the bottom hinge corner up to the top latch corner — that direction matters; it puts the brace in compression). Hang with heavy-duty hinges on the gate post, leaving a 1/2" gap on the latch side, and fit the latch at a height everyone in the house can reach.

10. 10. Finish and protect

    Trim post tops with a slight bevel or add post caps so water sheds instead of soaking end grain. Let pressure-treated lumber dry 4–8 weeks, then apply a penetrating exterior stain/sealer. A sealed fence lasts 20+ years; a bare one starts graying and checking in two.

Budget lines