Installing a Split Rail Fencing – Tips and Tricks
If you want to beautify your house by installing Split Rail Fencing around the house, here are a few tips. Split Rail Fencing is a fence that has an open area in the center. It can be installed on top of a fence, wall, or privacy hedge.
Split Rail Fencing’s design allows for easy access to one side of the fence. The posts are staggered in order to avoid sudden changes in height at the point where the posts are joined together. This creates an open area that enables you to see what is on the other side of your property without having to climb over any obstructions.
Whenever the topic of wooden fencing comes up, I go back to the rustic world of Thomas hardy who wrote classics like Far from the Madding Crowd, The Taming of the shrew, and the Return of the Native. It immediately compels me to imagine the herd of sheep returning in the evening twilight towards their wood-fenced habitats where they would sleep in the night and the shepherd would think about his beloved.
Forgive me this flight of imagination, which resulted in the digression. Here in this article, we would discuss Split-rail fences. Yes, the same ones that you can see in the countryside.
Tips to Install a Split Rail Fence
- The first step that has to be taken is to decide where the fence is to be built. Not only this the gas lines and the power lines have to be identified because they can be buried right under the surface and might just pop up while you are digging through and that might be very dangerous.
- Once the basic identification and location of the fence are done you can start piling the materials required without which the fence is not possible to make. For trouble-free installation, firstly the listing has to be done of essential items that have to be made which would include how much fence we need.
- The next thing that can be done is putting small stakes in the ground and stretching a string around the property you want to put the fence around so that you get a rough idea of how it has to be done. Ensure that the string is straight and is kept taut so that there is no mistake when you are trying to gauge the length, rather than the distance. It would also help otherwise since we all know that straight fences are easy to work with but then when it comes to curves and angles, it requires a little patience and research.
- Next, use a measuring wheel if possible to take the measurements of the fence line. Then divide the measurements by the number of posts that you have, which would accurately give you the distance that has to be between each post.
- Start the installation by locating and installing the first end post and the corners so that you can follow these locations to further help your work. Make sure that the holes in the posts are big enough to accommodate the rails and keep the posts and the line along which you are installing them, straight. The holes to be dug should be ideally 2 feet deep just to put the post; below it is the gravel part. Once the post is put, backfill with more soil for the post to have a better hold. This backfilling would also help you to get rid of the excess water near the fence.
- Continue installing all the posts in a similar way but keep in mind that they approximately maintain the same level, though not accurately. If the post you are using is too tall, you can dig deeper and tam it down.
So this is how you can install a split rail fence around your house which will keep your property secure as well as make it look beautiful.
