Things You'll Need
- Wooden corner, gate, brace and line posts
- T posts
- T post driver
- Fence staples
- T post tie wires
- Fence pliers
- Claw hammer
- Post hole digger
- Shovel
- Sacked concrete mix
- Source of water
- Barbed wire
- Carpenter's level
- 6-foot-long stakes
- Three-foot stakes
- 4-by-4-inch timbers
- 20d nails
- Hand saw
- Wood chisel
- 9- to 12-gauge smooth wire
- Two-foot lengths of 1/4-inch pipe
- Wire stretcher
Instructions
Building the Braces
Locate your property lines using an official plat if you are building perimeter fences. Hire a surveyor to relocate property boundaries when unsure of their exact location. Prepare the site by leveling the ground as much as possible and removing all brush, trees, old fence posts and other debris.
Drive 6-foot-long stakes at each corner and at every 330 to 660 feet in the fence line for braces. There is 330 feet in a roll of barbed wire, so distances between braces can be the length of one roll of wire. Align the brace stakes with the corner stakes either by sighting or with a transit.
Dig approximately 3-foot-deep holes for each corner post and for one post in the line braces. Set a 6-inch-diameter or larger post in each hole and hold it vertically straight with the aid of a level while someone fills the hole with concrete mix and then adds water. Give the concrete time to set before continuing fence construction.
Place the end of a 4-by-4-inch timber at each post that has been set in the ground. Drive a 3-foot-long stake at the other end of the timber. Repeat this procedure on the other side of the post.The length of this cross member should be at least twice the height of the fence.
Dig holes and set posts in concrete where you drove the 3-foot stakes. When measuring the distance between the brace posts, allow for a 1-inch notch in each post for attaching the cross member. Line braces will consist of three vertical posts aligned in the fence row. On corners, braces should be installed in each fence direction from the corner post.
Notch the brace posts by sawing two lines an inch deep approximately 4 inches apart. Remove the wood between the two lines with a hammer and wood chisel. The notches should be placed between future locations of the second and third line wire counting from the top of the fence.
Insert the horizontal cross members into the notches and fasten to the posts with 20d nails. The middle posts within a brace are called brace posts and the other two are called end posts.
Drive a fence staple about an inch above the ground on one of the end posts. Drive another staple on the brace post even with the top of the horizontal cross member but on the opposite side of the cross member from the other staple.
Wrap the end of a 9- to 12-gauge wire around the end post under the staple and around the brace post over the staple. Repeat this procedure two or three times and then securely fasten the wire to the posts with staples. Twist all the wires together in the middle of the brace, using a short piece of pipe. Tighten the wire until the brace post moves approximately 1/4 inch. Leave the pipe in the wire if it is not easy to remove.
Measure gate openings to accommodate the length of the gate, hinges and latch. Build a brace on each side of the gate opening.
Completing the Fence
Stretch a guide wire between end posts on two different braces about two inches above the ground. This wire can be barbed or 12.5-gauge high tensile. Attach each end of the guide wire to an end post.
Drive T posts into the ground at every 10 to 12 feet along the guide wire. After every five T posts, install a wooden post. Keep the posts no more than four inches above the top wire. After all posts are in place, remove the guide wire.
Stretch wire between the braces using a come-along or wire stretcher. If net wire is to be used, install it first and then put one or two strands of barbed wire above it. Use a stretch bar when stretching net wire. You may have to use a dummy post from which to pull the wire.
Drive two staples into the end post across each stretched wire. Carefully cut one wire at a time, wrap it around the end post once or twice and twist the end around the stretched part of the wire.
Attach wire to wooden posts by hammering staples in at a diagonal and in a zigzag line down the post to prevent splitting. Attache wire to T posts with tie wires.