# Cedar Fence PICS!



## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

After purchasing my house back in march of 2009 I knew one of the first things that need to be done was a fence around the back yard. Not only would this give my 80lb boxer some room to run but it would also match the neighborhood and almost everyone have some sort of fence whether it be chainlink or wood. 
Keep in mind this neighborhood was built in 1979-1990. I kept this and the value of my house in mind with calculating each project. I love my home but would like to build in a few years so I try to keep a budget for myself and the neighborhoods value (when it comes time for resale).
Back to the fence… I decided to go with a 6ft cedar planked fence that matched my neighbor’s style (my fence would butt up to his on one side) however I ended up choosing a different stain. Off to Menards I went. 
I chose to go with 4x4x10 posts to enable me to put 48” of that post in the ground. When walking around the neighborhood I noticed some fences bowing and leaning and I wanted to avoid that for at least 15 years J. I decided to put two gates. One 4ft gate on the side of the house and one 3ft gate at the back property line (our sidewalks go between the property lines at the rear of the houses)
I have a post hole digger however after having Julie come out at graffiti my lawn I only ended up using it for a few of the posts. I also found out that the previous owner had a chain link fence installed at one point and instead of digging up the post cement stumps; they just broke the metal post off in the ground. Grrr, me being me had to dig them out by hand making three huge holes in my yard.. Those three holes took an extra bag of concrete each.
























































More to come...


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

After that it was pretty smooth sailing (no lines were hit!). Posts set for a good week and then it was time to put the rails on. I live on an elevated lot so those premade fence panels would not have worked and feel kind of cheap anyway. In these pictures the rails may look wrong but in fact are the exact angle of the yard’s slope. 



I tied a string 4 inches above the 6ft mark from the ground on the posts and ran that string to the next post and attached it the same way. Reason: Now I can just take the cedar planks, line the top outer edge to the bottom of the string and go paslode happy on it. (This saved me a lot of time). I chose to place the rails 4 inches from the top and bottom in order to reduce bowing or warping and then one in the middle of course.
Next were the doors which I used a pre made kit for which I will not do again simply because since I calculated for the property slope and the kits use right angle brackets, even though the doors are correct, they look wrong (see pictures). For now though, I am okay with it!












































I used natural color stain to finish it off (probably something I’ll be doing every two years or so but worth it)! Sorry the only pictures I have of it stained are from last week in the snow. lol 
From start to finish, a few hours per night, it took about 3 weeks from start to finish. A timeline that could have been 1 week had I had more free time.






















Onto the next project... :thumbup:


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## jlhaslip (Dec 31, 2009)

looks great


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanx, obviously i will move to interior projects for the time being!


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Very nice, so a gate to the neighbors backyard ?
Good idea with kids etc, easier to get to the neighbors houses
I prefer fences built in place for sloped yards
I hate the staggered look of pre-built staying level as they step down the slope


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## FlyingChampCar (Aug 24, 2009)

Very nice. I have a much smaller yard that I need to fence in with a slight slope.

What was the harder part of the project?


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

Scuba_Dave said:


> Very nice, so a gate to the neighbors backyard ?
> Good idea with kids etc, easier to get to the neighbors houses
> I prefer fences built in place for sloped yards
> I hate the staggered look of pre-built staying level as they step down the slope


Actually a sidewalk runs behind the propery line. It leads to the neighborhood park. I think thats a great idea to keep the kids away from the streets. Every neighborhood has their speed racer! :whistling2:

I prefer them built in as well, no bottom gaps.

Thanx for the compliment.


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

FlyingChampCar said:


> Very nice. I have a much smaller yard that I need to fence in with a slight slope.
> 
> What was the harder part of the project?


lol, depending on your skillset. For me it was Staining . I didn't want to use my sprayer as i would have probably oversprayed on the neighbors siding and windows.

But other than that, probably the measuring,leveling, triple checking the posts. Putting the rails and pickets up was easy after the posts were set. (reccomend a paslode gun for the pickets even if you have to rent one) 

Good luck on your fence. Can't wait to see your thread :thumbsup:


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## FlyingChampCar (Aug 24, 2009)

gmhammes said:


> lol, depending on your skillset. For me it was Staining . I didn't want to use my sprayer as i would have probably oversprayed on the neighbors siding and windows.
> 
> But other than that, probably the measuring,leveling, triple checking the posts. Putting the rails and pickets up was easy after the posts were set. (reccomend a paslode gun for the pickets even if you have to rent one)
> 
> Good luck on your fence. Can't wait to see your thread :thumbsup:


Ahh staining, yeah anything in the "painting" category I don't like. 

Had you done this before? Did you use a book or website to help you out. The slope and the posts worries me the most.


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

I have basic stills but had only read a few things on types of fences and materials used, ect... Menards has a computer to design your fence which i used but also made some changes like 10ft posts, and all treated (they had the rails not treated) things like that. The string method i used worked great and would reccomend that for anyone with a sloped perimeter. What worried me the most was hitting a line in the ground which is why i dug most of them by hand. It took me about a day or two to come up with the slope solution so it wasn't like i just knew. lol 

I also saved a ton of money. The local fence company, which did most of my neighbors fences wanted $5,500 to build this fence unstained. I think i spent $1,500 stained!

I don't like painting or staining very much either but i like the finished project and the feeling of a job well done!


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

That is fascinating. I don't believe I have ever seen sidewalks that ran through backyards. A neat idea. Sure helps keep your kids away from traffic.


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## Gemini8511 (Mar 25, 2010)

The fence looks great!!! 

Thoughts on using Metal poles instead of wooden? I have a termite problem in my area and i live in a wooded area on top of that, i want to try and make the fences posts last longer by using metal ones...


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

Gemini8511 said:


> The fence looks great!!!
> 
> Thoughts on using Metal poles instead of wooden? I have a termite problem in my area and i live in a wooded area on top of that, i want to try and make the fences posts last longer by using metal ones...


Never thought about using metal posts. I know they make nice composite posts however they are quite expensive! Maybe i'm wrong however i wasn't aware termites really attacked cedar? If this is true you could use solid cedar posts.

If you decide to go with metal ones, please posts some pics and costs!!


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## Gemini8511 (Mar 25, 2010)

gmhammes said:


> Never thought about using metal posts. I know they make nice composite posts however they are quite expensive! Maybe i'm wrong however i wasn't aware termites really attacked cedar? If this is true you could use solid cedar posts.
> 
> If you decide to go with metal ones, please posts some pics and costs!!


I know termites don't like cedar but they will eat throught it eventually. Same goes for PT wood. It's weird how those little buggers work! 

I really do like your fence, it came out nicely. Never thought about composite posts..but i have heard that they are pricey...Thanks for the suggestions


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## crownroyalfan (Apr 24, 2010)

Your fence looks great! I have a few questions:
1. When using the computer to design your fence at Menard's, was their estimate close to what you paid?

2. Did you use PT or Cedar posts?

3. For the cedar pickets, did you pick them out individually or order them in a large quantity? I've looked at the local big 3 stores and all of the pickets seem hit or miss.

Thanks,


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## gmhammes (Jan 10, 2010)

crownroyalfan said:


> Your fence looks great! I have a few questions:
> 1. When using the computer to design your fence at Menard's, was their estimate close to what you paid?
> 
> 2. Did you use PT or Cedar posts?
> ...


Good questions.

1) The estimator at menards was spot on, however i needed a little more quickcrete and didn't use the nails they had on there. Looking back, i would have removed the gate hardware and made my own simply because i am on an elevated lot. Stain was not included in the estimate however and that got a little pricey.

2) i used PT posts and rails. Since i was staing it cedar tone, the PT and cedar look fine together.

3) I ordered 15% more pickets than the estimator had and yes in bulk. The reason is becasue i ended up actually taking 30% back due to damaged or warping. So i had to tak 30% back and pick up 15% to finish.

Do you have a menards near you?


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