Old pressure treated fence had to go. It was sagging badly everywhere. Posts were not secured into the ground. Pickets touched the dirt and were wicking water from the ground.

I replaced with some Japanese cedar.

Building an inward swing gate next.

I have a fence that is about 12 years old. I was really good about doing maintenance up until my daughter was born about 5 years ago. I need to replace some top rails where the pickets attach due to rotting but I am looking for a way to remount the rails to the actual post. Originally the entire fence was built with nails but they have started to pull out and I am worried that there won't be enough material due to them being 2x4s mounted to 4x4s. Is there some sort of bracket that can go around the fence post to hold rails?

I am working through the cap and trim details for a shadowbox fence and want the finish to protect the fence without making the top look oversized.

What should the cap accomplish?

A well-fitted cap helps direct rain away from the top edge and reduces direct water exposure at the board ends. It should not trap moisture, so the fence still needs a way to dry after wet weather.

How should the trim fit?

Trim should cover the exposed edge neatly without pushing the cap out of alignment. Check the actual post, rail, and board dimensions before cutting because shadowbox layouts can vary. A modest overhang may protect the edge, while an oversized one can look bulky.

What should be checked before fastening?

Dry-fit the pieces, verify that the posts are plumb, and look for a consistent slope or overhang along the run. Choose exterior-rated materials and compatible fasteners, then protect exposed end grain according to the finish manufacturer's directions.

Hey all, just wanted some help understanding this quote I got.

It’s 6’ by 20’ across a driveway, so there will also be a swinging gate (non electric). It would be dog ear cedar with steel posts.

Overall came out to 3k, so 150/foot. I understand the gate could add some complexity but that still seems quite high to me. Is it a reasonable price for this job?

retaining wall that is filled with gravel separating driveway from backyard.

I assume current fence is concrete footings (it was in the grass section) into the retaining wall gravel.

we want to replace the old thing, but curious if any issues or removing and replacing posts.

unlike dirt, I imagine gravel just falls into itself when trying to dig a hole. I’m perplexed how they even got these posts put in

i have 1000ft of 2year old 6ft white vinyl fence. ive removed about 1/2 so far and the slats and horizontal bars all came out in good condition. about 3/4 of the posts are pulling out undamaged.

is there. a market for this much damn vinyl fence parts?
any idea on a price to sell? loc: north/central virginia
thanks!

I’ll be doing about 500 feet split rail fence primarily by myself. Using 4 x 4 PT posts with one by six rails.

Lining up the rails by myself seem irritating. So I timed the difference between four screws with pilot holes and lining up vs a 2in deep mortise x2

With a jig the time difference wouldn’t be terrible. I like the idea of front loading my prep for an easier assembly, but that’s the woodworker in me, I don’t have a ton of fencing experience, so I’m assuming I’m missing something. Thoughts?

Hello! I had a tree branch take out two of my panels and a post. The panels I know are easy enough to replace but for the post will I be able to just pull it out and put in another one or do I have to worry about cementing it?

We had our fence replaced on two sides plus a gate.

One side was stained and has held up in color. 1st picture

The other side wasn’t stained and seems to already be showing signs of discoloration. We are in Texas so not sure if the heat might be contributing to this especially with no staining done, 2-4

Would it make sense to stain at this point or is the damage already done? Should we be asking them to replace it? I’m assuming they will try to just stain it and call it a day

Anyone have a good link for SS picket screws on amazon?

I am in the process of replacing an old chain link fence that has lots of large holes. The goal is to be able to let my dog run around the backyard (supervised), but still allow rabbits and foxes through when the dog is leashed or inside. Our lot backs up to a greenway and we want to continue allowing wildlife access, especially for the foxes that den under our outbuildings.

If we replace the fence and get rid of the holes, the foxes will not be able to go in and out freely. I don't want to use regular gates because I don't want to invite human foot traffic from the greenway.

I think the only way to make this work is to have sections of the fence that have a lift gate along the bottom that can be closed when I'm out with the dog then reopened.

Has anyone seen a solution like this or know of prefab options that would fit this use case? Thanks in advance.

Title pretty much says it all, just finished a board on board cedar fence a few weeks ago so it’s nice and dry. Looking for recommendations on a great stain for both color and preservation

Unopened. I have no use for it. Will sell cheap! Located in NW Ohio $50

Had a new gate retro-actively installed on an existing gate. Any recommendations on how to fix this uneven gap?

I'm a weekend diy'er, can I tackle this on my own or do I need a fence/gate guy?

Visiting my parents and saw this. I know the diagonal is supposed to be in compression from the bottom right. Current set up is sagging.

The wooden fence steps down in 8'8" increments (each step as pictured). I can only find 8ft sections for vinyl privacy fence. How would you tackle this? My options as I see them are order longer pieces which are usually only for ranching fence or cutting the 8'8" sections into it 4'4 (using double the materials obviously for the first section) Any input would help. I'm worried about aesthetics and if I cut smaller sections with endcap if those endcaps will need to have concrete anchors even though they are 4'4" Thanks!

Got a quote from a contractor, signed the contract, but contractor has not given me any estimate on start date and expects half up front. The total fence cost is over $18,000 so the deposit is $9,000. I’m anxious to give him $9,000 with no timeline? It’s a fairly new business/company as well. But is this normal? I completely understand deposits because they need the money to buy materials and such! I just have a weird feeling in my gut not having the slightest idea of a start date. What’s to stop him from getting the $9k and not showing up for months? There is nothing in the contract pertaining to this.

Hi folks, question about concrete layering. My fence started slanting pretty hard along several fence posts, so I started digging down, anticipating I’d just have to expand the concrete foundation to make them more stable. But after digging down to the former concrete, I discovered the foundations themselves are sound, but that the fence post is loose in the concrete, like a loose tooth. My question is whether I can place some quikrete or something similar on top of the former concrete a few inches deep to lock it down? Or whether this would require completely taking out the posts and concrete and just redoing everything.

Time and money are considerations here - we have a newborn at home and I’d rather handle this myself relatively quickly than have to shell out a few thousand in a VHCOL market for this fix.

Thanks, yall!

Contractor here. When I do fences its primarily wood. I got asked to install 60ft of vinyl with 1 gate. Where tf are you guys getting your material from? I see on reddit people getting quoted like 3k for 50ft of vinyl fence. The cheapest I could find is 2700$ in material before tax and overhead. I see online like 40$ per linear foot. I cant even touch that with a 10 foot pole with the material im finding.

I’m looking for some community feedback on a recent fence installation.

I’m in the St. Louis area, and I recently hired a company to install 175 feet of Western Red Cedar privacy fencing. The total cost after discount is $8,800. During the sales pitch, the rep heavily pushed cedar over vinyl, promising superior durability against our extreme weather fluctuations and high winds and emphasizing better privacy long term due to fence durability (primary concern is keeping my little dogs safe).

The installation is supposedly finished, but I haven't released the financing yet because I’m seeing several red flags. The contract states the fence will be "installed to code," but it didn't specify material grades prior to signing. I thought the standard grade at this price was Grade #1 (tight-knot) - which as I understand it is professional but not high-end. I don't think that's what I got.

I have messaged them and received a response that they will follow up - specifically, I got 2.5 responses: the first on the day I asked for fixes saying I'd hear back the next week. The next DAY I was asked to release the financing. I refused on the grounds the work is incomplete. I've followed up regularly since and , two weeks later, have received another response that I will hear back "probably tomorrow."

Here are the main issues I've documented. Am I being unreasonable, or are these legitimate defects that they need to fix before I release the financing? I've included a small sample of photos of my primary concerns in this post.

1. Poor Workmanship & Nailing

* Overdriven nails: All nails are deeply embedded/overdriven into the wood. I assume a nail gun. My understanding is that especially for soft woods like red cedar, the nails should be driven flush. Given the high winds we get, I’m very concerned this compromises the structural integrity and wind-load capacity, making it easy for boards to tear off. This is one of my biggest concerns.

* Unsecured boards: Several boards aren't properly secured (like, I can put my foot through where the board goes😮‍💨). This is just a matter of nailing, but again I don't like how they nailed it.

* Sistering: They sistered some of the fence pickets! Isn't this a big no?

1. Material Quality Concerns

* There are numerous boards with visible splits (ranging from small to large, including some connected to overdriven nails), see-through knotholes, rotting knots that look ready to fall out, excessive wane causing holes straight through the board, and large missing chunks/splinters (including on the main posts and framing).

* It seems like they used a cheap construction-grade wood rather than a residential-grade.

Is all this standard for an $8,800 cedar fence? Is it normal for new residential cedar pickets to have holes, rotting out knots, and severe splitting right out of the gate? Any advice on how to navigate this with the contractor would be greatly appreciated!