In the process of remodelling my back garden, I decided to change up the garden doggy area. Our old doggy area was gravelled and fenced off from the rest of the garden. This was really good but the boys absolutely love going on grass so I thought I’d let them have a bigger area that is grassed. This meant I needed a new fence to put around their new area. I don’t want them pooping all over my veggie beds!
THE PLAN
I struggled to decide what kind of fence to make but it needed to be cheap and easy to build. This is hard criterion to meet because the area to be fenced off is quite big. I did have a bunch of short wooden posts lying about in the garage that my husband brought home from work for free. Perks of the job! The problem was deciding on a fence design that used only this wood.
I finally settled on a very simple design that you see all over the English countryside. It’s easy to build and only required the wood I already had. The catch is that I did have to use the table saw to cut the wood in half to thin it. If you’re planning on buying new wood for your fence, buy the right size, it’s much easier!
MATERIALS & TOOLS REQUIRED
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Materials
The quantity and sizes of everything will depend on the size of your fence.
Tools
- Hand saw
- Table saw (only if cutting wood in half like me)
- Pen/ pencil
- Ruler
- Long level
- Tape measure
- Drill & drill bits for pre-drilling screw holes/ drilling holes in slabs (if relevant)
- Shovel
- Electric sander/ sandpaper
- Paint brush
STEP 1: MAKING THE THINNER PANELS
The first step for me was to thin a whole lot of planks that will be used as the panels between posts. If you’re buying your wood new or already have thinner pieces, you don’t need to do this.
I had to use a table saw for this process, there’s no way I could cut this many posts in half by hand. I lined up the guide on the table saw so that it would be cut in half when I pass the plank through. Then I passed through A LOT of planks to make sure I had enough to cover the area.
Once I had a whole load of these planks, I made sure they were all exactly the same length – 120cm. I marked them all at that length and freehand cut them on the table saw.
STEP 2: BUILDING THE FIRST FULL PANEL
Placing the first full panel in the right place is important because the rest of the fence will be built up from it. My fence starts at a gazebo post but as the gazebo is cemented into the ground, I couldn’t bury the post. This meant I needed to screw it to the gazebo after I cut it down to the required height.
I first laid the panel pieces in place to see where I needed to dig a hole for the second post. I dug the hole and placed the post into it. I decided not to cement these posts in because this fence may not be a permanent fixture. As it isn’t load-bearing, burying it would hold it sturdy enough for me.
Now that I knew how high above ground the fence would be, I cut and attached the first post to the gazebo.
The next step was to attach the 3 planks to act as a fence panel.
I positioned the bottom one low enough for my dogs to not be able to squirm underneath and used the level to make sure it was straight. I then pre-drilled diagonal holes and put screws in to hold it in place. At this stage, I also levelled and buried the second post in the ground.
The next step was to position the top plank. I found a pack of screws and thought the size of the box was perfect to measure the distance from the top of the posts to place this plank. I had a helper hold the plank in place while I screwed it. A second person makes these things much easier to do!
Once this one was on, I measured the exact centre between them and screwed the third plank there. The first full panel was now built!
STEP 3: METHOD TO BUILD OTHER PANELS
I then developed a method for building all the other fence panels, always measuring off the previous one built.
The first stage is to mark up where the post hole needs to be dug by measuring how far the horizontal plank will run. Then the hole needs to be dug deep enough to make sure the post is level with the posts of the previous panel. The best way I found to do this was to lay a long plank of wood across the top of the posts and place a level on top of this to check if the posts are level. Of course, if your level is long enough, you don’t need to use the long piece of wood.
The easiest way to make sure the horizontal planks are in line with the previous panel is to mark where the bottom panel has to go and put this one in. When the bottom plank is in, bury the post. Then, using that same box of screws, measure where the top one has to go and screw this one. Then measure the centre between them and screw the middle panel in.
STEP 4: BUILDING OUT THE FENCE
I then built out the fence up to where I knew I wanted to put gates using the above method. In certain places, I shortened my 120cm horizontal planks to make smaller fence panels.
STEP 5: ATTACHING FENCE POSTS TO CONCRETE SLABS
After I built the fence this far, I ran into a problem. I have a slabbed area right outside our back door. Originally, I was going to lift the slabs and grass over that area. However, I found that underneath the slabs is a thick layer of cement that I didn’t feel like breaking out. I decided instead to leave the slabs in place and screw the fence posts down instead.
To start with, I marked where the post will be on the slabs and cut it down to be the right length given it isn’t being buried. I then screwed the bottom plank as before without securing the post down.
I got a couple of angle brackets from my local DIY store and marked using a permanent marker where the bracket would sit on the slab if I attach it to the post. I also marked the holes where I would need to screw it down. I moved the post out of the way (which was possible because it was only the one horizontal plank attached to it at this stage) and used a masonry drill bit to drill holes in the concrete slab. Then I inserted some wall plugs into the holes, moved the post back and screwed the bracket. I also attached another bracket to the other side of the post completely securing it in place. After this, I attached the rest of the horizontal planks and completed the fence by building a few more panels.
Once all the panels were done, I used a sander all over the fence to tidy it up. Then I applied some stain to keep it protected and match the rest of the wooden structures in the garden.
THE RESULT
The result is great! The dogs can’t get through the panels, although at this point, they can just walk around the fence as I haven’t yet added any gates. Once those are on, they will have a patch of grass for pooping and my plants will be safe! The grass currently there will be replaced with new turf shortly which I’m sure they will be very happy about.
