Contents
In recent years, more and more often you can see not only new wooden houses, but also fences. The people take such a step consciously: the products are very beautiful. They even agree to tint them regularly, and how long it stays, it stays so long. If you are one of those wood lovers, you may find photo reports of how people built a wooden fence with their own hands useful. As a rule, interesting solutions are used. Perhaps not always 100% correct, but working.
Photo report 1: a regular fence made of boards (fence)
This fence was put up with periodic help – sometimes hired, sometimes voluntary assistants, but most of the fence was assembled by the owner with his own hands. The boards were first processed, then brought to the site ready for use.
The main work was done before winter – pits were dug with a rented motor drill. The main thing is to make sure that the drill is not sharpened. Then the process is difficult even on normal soil. This is how it was for us: the first day we drilled only 6 holes and became discouraged: how much is everything else to do? Well, the neighbor suggested to replace the blade. With the new cutting part, all the rest were done in daylight hours. Drilled a little below the freezing depth of the soil. It freezes by 1,2 meters, the depth of the holes is 1,3 meters (reinsurance “just in case”), the distance between the holes is 3 m. They pulled the cord between the corner marks, marked 3 m sections (they threw the board). The result was smooth.
After that, a bucket of rubble was poured into the holes, a sleeve was inserted from a roofing material rolled up in two layers. Pillars 60 * 60 mm with a wall of 3 mm were inserted into this sleeve. Sections of reinforcement were previously welded to them below – so that they would hold better, and also a “magpie” corner for fastening future logs. The pillars before installation, or rather long before it, are sanded and covered first with anti-rust, then with two layers of paint.
The most important thing is to correctly set the pillars. They also did this with a cord. We set the corner posts strictly according to the level. First, one was set up so that it stuck out 1,8 meters, then it was transferred using a laser level to the second, which stands at the same level. This operation was repeated with all “steps”. The braces and stops helped to hold the key pillars for the time being, concrete of the M 200 grade was poured. After the mortar had set, threads were pulled between the pillars – one at the top, marked the tops of the pillars, the second in the middle of the height – they were guided by it when setting the remaining pillars.
After all the pillars were poured with concrete (in a few days), they started pouring the basement. We made a portable formwork from pine boards. Rearranging it, gradually filled the basement. They didn’t dig deep – they only removed the sod. As a result, we got pillars, between which a concrete tape was poured.
Read more about how to make a foundation for a fence here.
The wood was dry, painted with an antiseptic composition, which lightened the color a little. Light boards. Support bars – logs – with a section of 50 * 100 mm were attached to the installed pillars. They deliberately set the bar on the top. Firstly, it looks more like it, and secondly, the ends of open-pore boards are protected. This bar was attached to the first leveled board and an auxiliary one, which was installed three meters later. Therefore, boards were attached to it one by one.
When installing the picket fence, it is important to install the first board strictly vertically. They checked it with a plumb line (I deceived the level a couple of times, so now we check it with a plumb line wherever the vertical is important). Next is the matter of technology. The boards were not mounted closely, but with a gap of 1,2 cm. In order for the gap to be maintained stably, a board (lining) of such thickness was found and a piece of the same length as the fence was cut off – 1,8 m. The work goes like this: we take the finished picket and lining strip. We apply the lining to the already nailed one, support it with a picket fence, level the top, then fasten it with two self-tapping screws to each log. As a result, the gap is the same. But such a trick is possible if the board has an ideal geometry.
Regarding the gap. The size (1,2 mm) turned out to be perfect. If you look from the outside, you can’t see anything, but from the inside, the street is clearly visible.
As for the advantages of a wooden fence: the neighbors, who had a fence made of corrugated board, were envious: in the summer it was cool in my yard, in them – like in an oven, all the flowers burned under the fence. We have a riot of colors until late autumn.
Photo report 2: horizontal fence made of unedged checkerboard board
This fence is like from a fairy tale. It was partially assembled independently by the owner of the site. The hired workers dug holes, put posts. Metal work – cutting poles and welding tops – the merit of a friend. Everything else, including the processing of the board and the assembly of the fence sections, was done by the hands of the owner and his wife (painting).
The unedged board was used with a thickness of 20 mm, smooth edges were polished on a fox mill (by agreement), the wane was removed independently and then polished with a machine, after which it was coated with a water-based Dufa antiseptic, teak color. Applied with a wide brush in two layers. Here is the result of the work.
Metal profiled pipes of square section were used for the poles: 60 * 60 mm, wall thickness 3 mm. Edged boards 150 * 30 mm are attached to it on both sides. They fastened at a distance of 10 cm from the top, then at 100 cm and 190 cm. A “sandwich of two boards” was folded, drilled through, everything was fastened with a bolt with a self-centering washer.
Pillars with a total height of 3 m by 1 m are concreted into the ground. Exposed on a cord stretched between pre-installed control posts. The procedure is standard, the only unusual thing is that the top (2 meters that remain above the ground) is wrapped with a film. The decision turned out to be correct: after transportation and concreting, the film was dirty, and the wood underneath was clean. The film was removed after the concrete had dried.
The build order is:
- Choose the first board with a flat bottom edge.
- We measure the distance between the posts, saw off a piece from the board 1 cm shorter than the measured distance (so that they become normal).
- We coat the sawn off end with an antiseptic.
- We install the first board 5 cm above the ground, fix it with clamps. We twist two self-tapping screws (45 mm) into each edge from the inside.
- Vertical setting. We find the middle, insert the bar, do not rest on the ground, the edge hangs. We fix with two screws in the upper part of the installed board.
- Installing a new bar. It should overlap even the largest protrusion of the bottom. It also covers the screws that hold the middle bar.
This sequence is preserved until the very top. So the run is gradually gaining. Please note that the former wagons have beveled edges, they all look “outside”: so that raindrops roll out.
To get a smooth upper edge, they were selected, cut off, stained with an antiseptic, and fixed later – under the final, aligning all the tops in one line.
Photo report 3: wooden braided fence
Another option is made almost “solo”. A do-it-yourself wicker wooden fence was assembled almost without outside participation. Sometimes the wife worked as assistants – painting the poles, the second assistant – the dog.
For a horizontal fence made of bent boards, which is also called wickerwork, sometimes Austrian wickerwork, the following materials were used:
- for pillars profile pipe 60 * 60 mm, installation step 2,7 m;
- edged board, planed 100 * 20 mm, 6 m long;
- intermediate beam 50 * 50 mm, but it is better to take less – it is more convenient to bend;
It was decided to paint the boards with an antiseptic with a dark pigment, the poles – light gray. From a distance on a dark background like stitches. Who does not like it – paint in tone with the boards.
Most of the time is spent painting and drying the boards. If they are ready, everything is assembled quite quickly: the fasteners are minimal, only the first board is attached to the level, the rest are put on it. Six-meter boards are braided around three pillars. Between the pillars, the distance is about 5,4 -5,5 m, the rest sticks out, but the result looks original.
The main focus is to weave the first three boards. Without intermediate bars, they simply fit: two on one side on the edge, one on the other. Then they need to be arranged so that they are one above the other. If there are two assistants, they hold the boards at the two nearest posts, and the third person bends the boards and inserts an intermediate beam. After the first three boards are installed, the bottom one is leveled and screwed to the posts (light the hole, then screw in the self-tapping screw).
If you are making a wicker wooden fence from boards with your own hands, it is more convenient during assembly not to fold in spans, but to go horizontally. First, the bottom three boards were braided to the full length, set the level and secured. Then they collected the rest – as the paint dried.
A simpler option – only three poles and shorter boards – is shown in the video. Here the pillars are made of wood, the technology of their installation is shown. Good video – the whole installation process is clear.
Conclusions
All three examples clearly show two stages, which, if you make a wooden fence with your own hands, take a lot of time. The first is the installation of pillars and pouring the foundation or basement. The second is the work of preparing wood. If the site is new, not inhabited, there are problems with preservation, and the process of painting, and, moreover, grinding, is lengthy. It makes sense to buy wood in advance and prepare and process it in a workshop or garage. When the time comes to put up a wooden fence, take the finished material to the site immediately before installation.
If all the materials are ready, you can make a wooden fence with your own hands quite quickly. The installation of wood itself does not take very much time. Of the entire construction time, 40% of the time is spent on preparing the boards, another 20% on preparing the pillars if they are metal and 10% if they are wooden, another 20% on their installation (pillars). Accordingly, the assembly does not take much time.