re: How difficult is it to build your own fence?

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And I would lightly stain the boards with a cedar stain - makes them last forever.

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Might be a dumb question but can you use cedar stain on pine? If we were to go the pine route.

Do it yourself, its very easy.

1.give your neighbors a heads up that you will be building a fence on your property
2. call your local planning/zoning to see if you need a permit
3. call 811 and have them mark utilities on your property
4. put down some stakes with string and layout your fence
5. once you like your layout, pull some measurements and get you a material list
6. pick a start date and go get your material
7. rent gas auger to dig post holes
8. dig/set posts in concrete, take your time, use your level and set a straight, tight string to keep your posts in line. Verify posts are level and in line as you go.
**make sure to add 2 additional fence posts for your gate..just space them out according to the size of your gate**
9. once posts are set up and verified they are all level and in line, you can layout, measure and cut your runners.
Take your time, use your level for each one.
10. pick a corner starting point and install a perfectly level picket. Pull a tight string marking the top of that picket to the next corner post, this you can use as a height guide for your pickets. If you hit a spot that is uneven, measure the distance on the op of the picket and cut it off the bottom. Take your time and use your level.
Gates can be a pain in the arse. What I found is the easiest way to build a gate is to build the frame on the ground install the hinges with a picket or 2 and hang the gate then finish installing the pickets and latch.
You will definately be able to build a nice fence if you take your time. There are tons of videos out there to watch and get some ideas

Yep.

You wanna hear a ripoff? We’re updating the house we bought a few months back and I need to close in a few sections of fence in the backyard...40 linear ft and 1 gate. I planned on doing it but wanted to see about just paying to get it off my to-do list.

This a-hole emails me last night...$1985

Yep I’ll be doing this myself

Nice looking fence. I'd like to do more than the standard dog eared wood privacy fence, but once you start adding it all up, it can become pricey.
I think a 6 foot privacy fence runs about $8+ per linear foot, and 8 foot privacy fence is about $12+ per LF. And that is for the "cheap" wood at the big box stores.
I bet your nice fence ran a bit more than this.

A little over $17 a linear foot (2 sides x 164' = 328') but I supplied most of the labor. It would have been cheaper to use Home Depot material, but the boards would have been really cheap in quality.

I used a company that mills their own wood and makes a full 1" thick board and purchased heavier pipe for the fence posts to support the added weight. And used screws and glue instead of nails added to the time and cost.

The satisfaction in building it myself, though, is immeasurable.

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HubbaBubba

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That’s a nice fence!

Post hole digger and string is all you need if you’re mechanically inclined at all. DIY.

It is really not that hard if you have a few people. Use the auger, and the holes are easy. Only had to another adult to help with auger. The rest was done with just the help of my then 8 year old. Took 2 days to do 120ish feet. 1 day for post and 1 day for runners and slats.