How to make a fence with your own hands

Owners of private buildings experience the greatest need for a fence. So far, as in Europe or the USA, we have not been able to overcome the desire to isolate ourselves from our neighbors. On the other hand, by building a fence, you can feel relatively safe. In addition, this is a way to delimit the territory and in the future to avoid land conflicts on the same street. Together with experts, we tell you how to make a fence with your own hands: we present step-by-step instructions for building.

Step by step instructions for building a fence

Define the boundaries of your site

– And there can be no talk to advance at least 100 mm beyond its limits. The fence line, namely its front side, must strictly correspond to the boundary of the site. What happens if you take an extra 100-300 mm? You can be visited by representatives of the fire department, the planning and development committee of urban and rural settlements, representatives of the land committee. The inspection will oblige you to remove the fence from the territory that does not belong to you. In addition, it will impose sanctions and fines on the fact of misappropriation,” says the author of the project for the construction of energy-efficient private houses using iHouse TermoPlus technology Oleg Kuzmichev.

There may also be problems with neighbors. Therefore, the first step for those who decide to make a fence with their own hands will be the need to clearly ascertain the boundaries of their site. This is easy to do: you need to call surveyors. If there are neighbors, it is advisable to carry out the procedure in their presence.

Talk to neighbors

We are for world peace, but when building a fence, the fragile parity of good neighborliness may collapse. So that later there are no resentments and mutual claims, discuss the future design of your fence.

– A fence adjacent to neighbors can be no more than 1500 mm high and with transparency from 50 to 100%. The material should not heat the area of ​​​​neighbors (this happens when using iron – прим. ред.), do not store excess moisture (concrete or brick are capable of this – прим. ред.) and not be toxic or hazardous to health. Also, your fence should not obscure the neighbors’ plot, – shares Oleg Kuzmichev.

Although you decide to build a fence with your own hands, try to negotiate with your neighbors and share part of the cost of the fence. After all, the adjacent fence is a common boundary between the plots.

Choosing a fence design and materials

We proceed from our financial capabilities. A rather expensive and most reliable option is using screw or bored piles. No less high-quality fences on a strip foundation, but the material is very capricious for soil heaving. In this case, it will not work out cheaply and it is better to hire specialists. In the future, brick pillars are placed on the foundation and inserts made of WPC (wood-polymer composites) are attached. All this, of course, is aesthetically pleasing and expensive.

But if you intend to get by with small financial losses, then you should turn to a profiled sheet, a chain-link mesh or a metal picket fence. Materials are attached to the metal frame of the fence.

Depending on the choice of material, it is necessary to take into account the blowing of the fence and the ability to withstand wind loads. Photo: shutterstock.com — Depending on the choice of material, it is necessary to take into account the blowing of the fence and the ability to withstand wind loads. If you take a fence from a chain-link mesh, then such a fence does not carry any wind load. In this case, the pitch of the pillars (supports) can be increased up to 3 m, the cross section of the pillar is sufficient 50 * 50 mm with a wall thickness of 2 mm. When using a profiled sheet on the fence, the section of the post is from 60 * 60 to 80 * 80 mm with a wall thickness of 2 to 3 mm, the distance between the posts is from 2 to 2,5 m. If the site is located in an open field, I recommend reducing the distance to 2 meters, – said the expert ” Healthy Food Near Me”.

In practice, it is not always possible to strictly maintain the distance between the pillars. After all, if you take the distance between the extreme points on one side of the fence, it is not always a multiple. To do this, you need to go with a tape measure, measure the distance and divide it multiplely in the direction of decreasing the distance between the posts. Then calculate how many columns you need.

We choose exactly the square section of the pillars for the fence frame – it is much more reliable than round ones. The weld site knot will be stronger and look more aesthetically pleasing.

Choosing the depth of the foundation for the fence according to the type of soil

For heavy clays, loams, quicksands, the position of the lower support point is selected below the freezing level by 200 … 300 mm. If we consider the example of Moscow and the Moscow region, then the depth of the pillar pit is 1500 mm. In your region, it is better to check with specialists who are engaged in construction.

For non-rocky soils (sandy, sandy-stony, stony, and also – at a low level of groundwater – light loams), the depth of the pit for the fence post is determined as 600-1200 mm. But you need to take into account the wind load. Experts recommend a pit (pit) depth of 1500 mm.

On swampy soils, fences on screw piles are mounted – only they will ensure a stable position of the structure with sufficient depth, which in such cases is calculated individually, based on geological survey data of the site.

Knowing the length of the recessed part of the column, add it to the top, we get the total length.

– Please note that the length of the whips (pillars between which the material is attached – Ed.), mostly 3-6 meters. In each case, cuts must be taken into account. From scraps, you can, of course, weld the desired length of the post, but this is additional labor. Example: we cut off 3500 mm from a six-meter whip, in the remainder – 2500 mm, – says Oleg Kuzmichev.

We define a profile connecting horizontally fence posts

The best option is a square profile 20 * 40 mm with a wall thickness of 1,5 mm. As a rule, two horizontal veins are installed, connecting the pillars with each other with a fence height of up to two meters.

— But I would recommend installing three horizontal veins. The lower and upper ones, as an example, are 50 mm from the lower and upper edges of the profiled sheet, the third vein is approximately in the center. Two extreme veins do not allow the profiled sheet to deform at the edges, while many often met broken upper and lower parts of the fence. The use of the third vein makes the fence more aesthetic, reliable, durable and resistant to wind loads,” says our expert.

If the height of the fence is more than two meters, then the third vein is required.

For those who have agreed with a neighbor to share the costs of the fence frame: horizontal veins are not installed on top of the walls of the pillars, but between the pillars, butt welded to them. You can attach a profiled sheet or picket fence to each for your part. Does the owner of the site have a fence facing the facade? In this case, you can easily make a beautiful fence both from the outside of the site and from the inside. Of course, the square profile must match the thickness of the section of the fence pipe or weld horizontal veins on both sides.

Going to buy building materials

Go to a construction yard or find a company that retails fencing materials in your area. Monitor several prices on the market – there is an opportunity to find a good deal.

We start construction with waterproofing pillars

The first step is waterproofing the pillars at the bottom. This is done with bituminous mastic, rubber-bitumen material or polymer insulation. All of them are sold in hardware stores. To decide on the option, read the instructions for use on the package and decide which product is more convenient for you to apply.

We outline the fence

The cord is pulled from the extreme points. Before proceeding with the installation, in the places of the planned location of the main load-bearing elements of the fence, holes are drilled with a depth exceeding the size of the recessed part – 1500 mm. To prevent subsidence to the bottom of the pit, a layer of gravel or crushed stone 50-70 mm thick is laid in them, which is carefully compacted. Next, the extreme pillars are set, using the level, the vertical is checked.

Concrete base

In recent years, pillars have been increasingly concreted. Although you can do without it. The technology, which involves concreting fence posts, allows you to make a more reliable foundation. Further, intermediate posts are installed along the cord or along the alignment. A laser level or a water level is also used to install pillars along the horizon.

After installing the pillars with concreting, you can pour a tape on top – a reinforced concrete fence with holes for the pillars. The tape prevents animals from digging under the fence, the service life of the fence increases, and aesthetically it looks much more pleasant.

A day or two after concreting the pillars, you can prime and paint the metal frame of the fence.

Fence installation

If we stopped on a profiled sheet, then we mount horizontal veins, on which we fasten the panels with roofing screws. In the case of other material, install them. For example, the chain-link is first unwound and then pulled near the poles. You can prevent its sagging by stretching the carrier wire. For high fences from two meters, the operation is performed in two places: above and below.

expert Tips

We have prepared detailed step-by-step instructions for building a fence with your own hands. In this section, we publish some more tips from experts that will help in construction.

Popular questions and answers