Post and Rail

[leveled]

I would like some tips for erecting Post and rail fence , in a straight line, bit the site drops about four feet over sixty yards, should I start at the lowest or highest point? Are there any sites with detailed instructions Thank You E

[Nick]

site looks good. They suggest putting in a post at each end first, so you can run a stringline to get the other posts correct. I always sight along the stringline and put nails in on the intermediate posts until the string is dead straight. I'd make the top rail of the fence dead straight unless the slope varies a large amount. They don't say to use concrete, and I never have done so. Just put some gravel in the hole and put 1/3rd of the post in the ground and tamper the soil in well. Of course the "experts" will disagree! My fences have been up for 30 years with no problems. The posts should be treated for use in the ground, unless you have some fancy expensive hardwood.

[Tim Lamb]

Ah. Slopes:-)

Posts vertical, rails follow the contour but, what do you do with the gate?

Tips. Use galvanized 4" nails, dip the ground engaging part of the post in creosote or whatever you can get as a substitute, 22" depth is adequate unless you enjoy digging holes (6' post top rail at 4'), alternate the rails so the joints don't all occur on the same post, blunt the nail point by tapping with your hammer to reduce splitting when you are nailing close to the rail end, use two nails/rail/post: spaced across the rail, make up a *rail gauge* for accuracy or single handed work, leave a small gap (6mm) between rail ends for expansion, try to smooth out geographical humps and hollows, don't get too far ahead with digging holes: cumulative errors can mean the rail not reaching the next post.

Rail gauge. Something you can hang on the side of the next post with a nail sticking out to rest each new rail on. Hardly worth it for 60m but I made up a Shepherds crook out of 2" box section steel to align each post parallel with the fence run.

I use a tractor mounted post borer and clean out the loose soil with a

*shoveholer* one of those double shovel things. Coarse gravel or small rubble intermixed with soil is better than just soil for securing the posts. Three rail fences are a nuisance as stock put their heads through to graze the greener grass.

good luck.

[Nick]

The gate posts should be vertical, and you make a nice out-of-square gate that has rails parallel to the ground. You need to think about the contour of the land where the gate will swing, but probably the hinges will be on the lower post.

[usenet]

Ours are all screwed together with (mostly) 6mm x 100mm screws, with a good cordless driver it's just about as quick as nails and you don't have to bang away at the posts to do it. It also makes it easier to take apart if/when necessary.

[other good advice snipped]

An *excellent* idea, saves lots of measuring with tapes and other such things.

My posts are hammered in but we are lucky in having very sandy soil in which they seem to stay pretty secure in the long term.

[usenet]

In general what we have done is to mount a standard rectangular gate on a vertical post and remove soil as necessary to allow it to open. This is only on fairly gentle slopes though.

[Tony Williams]

In article , wrote: [snip]

On the clay soil around here the best way seems to be to do a guiding hole first, with an iron bar then sledge the post down. The iron bar also clears away any stones that might deflect the post.

[Rob Morley]

Whether this approach is successful depends very much on the type of soil and drainage.