Four Easy Steps to the Perfect Privacy Fence
Step One: Find the Property Lines
You can easily find your property boundaries by taking a trip to the local courthouse (or go online in some municipalities) and ask for a plot map of your address. You’ll get a detailed description of property boundaries in relation to the home, the road and other markers in the area. Once you’ve found the property boundaries, mark the location with a stake. Use a string line between the two to ensure that your fence is straight and true.
Step Two: Install the Corner Post
Begin by setting the posts of your first corner one foot back from the property line. Dig a hole at least four feet deep. You can mark the post hole digger and post with a four foot mark to help gauge each hole to the correct depth. Throw in the pole and tamp it in place. A tamp can be made from a loose slat of fence. Compact the posts with dirt (or mortar) and set the post level on two sides.
Step Three: Attach a Fence Panel
Now you can attach a fence panel. Attach it to the pole so that the ends of the panels are in the center of the post. Use an outdoor decking screw or galvanized 8d nail to secure each of the three slats to the post. Allow the other end to hang free and continue to the next step.
Step Four: Set the Next Post
Measure over one foot from the string line and align the next hole with the center of the next panels end slats. Dig the hole to four feet and set the pole in place. Level the post as best you can so the fence remains straight up and down, but remember that side to side isn’t as important as long as the three slats break even on the center of the post. Dig the hole down the sides as necessary to level the post. Adjust the wood panel so that it fits snug against the ground. Attach the panel using three galvanized nails or screws. Tamp the post in place and attach the next panel. Repeat the process until you reach the end panels.
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