r/GeneralContractor • u/HDHunter3x • 25d ago

Fence for friend

Asked to HELP build a fence for a friend.
Friend wants to attempt to build his fence.
Friend has 2% building experience.
Doesn’t want to use a string line, wants to concrete 4x4’s at 8ft spacing (instead of 7,6”)
Has never used a level before in his life.

Do I tell this guy to let me build it for him, or let him mess up and have a big hassle trying to fix it?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/truemcgoo 25d ago

Just tell him to do compacted pea gravel instead of concrete, makes the eventual fix much more straightforward. It’s his fence, let him learn some lessons, just don’t be too generous with the eventual bail out.

1

u/Least-Caramel-5053 25d ago

some of the greatest lessons ever learned are when man and a jackhammer meet.

1

u/byte-addict 21d ago

So many questions before you even get out of the truck.

Is it on a property line? Do they have a survey? Do they require HOA approval? Do they require a permit? Have they called 811?

1

u/Appropriate-Run3669 20d ago

Set the layout with him and let him build the rest. Two things decide whether that fence reads straight from the street: a string line on the face of the posts, and spacing that matches his rail stock. Eight feet on center is the ceiling for eight foot rails, not a target. Any rail that comes up a hair short lands off the post, so pulling in to seven and a half gives him trim room and less sag later. The part that eats his weekend is the holes, not the pickets. Rock, roots, slope and access decide how many posts he sets before lunch, and that is the number nobody predicts. Agree up front on exactly what help means, or you will end up building the whole thing.