How To Install Fence Pickets Level

Installing fence posts how to mark a fence line and the post locations before building a fence.

How to install fence pickets level.

These pieces will connect the fence posts and create a base for the pickets once they are installed. Picket fence posts typically are 2 to 3 inches shorter than the tops of the pickets which vary in height. Step 5 install the remaining pickets in the same manner frequently using a carpenter s level to check for plumb. Set one cut post in each hole.

Attach the outside slats or pickets. Nail or screw them into the rails using 2 or similar screws or nails using a spacer between each board to ensure that they are even and that the space between them is slightly less than their width. Figure the post length by subtracting 3 inches from your picket height and then adding 24 inches for the hole. For a decorative 36 inch picket fence cut a spacer to ensure equal spacing between pickets.

Dig the post holes 10 to 12 inches across and 24 inches deep. Start at the lowest part of the fence line and move up the slope for a stair step fence. Installing pickets to a fence is easy to do yourself. Find out how to install pickets for a picket fence with this instructional guide from bunnings.

Install the first picket at one side of the gate and work around the fence to the other side. Install the pickets by screwing them to the top and bottom rails with 1 1 2 inch exterior wood screws. Layout enough pickets at each bay standing the pickets up against the fence. Cut the posts to length.

After digging the post holes the posts should be braced and set in concrete before attaching the rails and pickets. Install the wooden runners by installing one horizontally 3 inches above the ground and one horizontally 3 inches below the top of the posts. The measured rails should be nailed to the middle of the premeasured fence posts before attaching the planks and top and bottom rails. Prepare two 8 foot long 2 by 4 wooden pieces called runners for each space between the posts.

We ll show you how to mark out and install posts for a picket fence so you get them plumb and level. At each change in grade temporarily nail one picket. A measuring wheel can help you to discern where the posts should be placed before you begin.