How to Plan a Fence Installation

A fence not only adds beauty to your yard, it also protects pets, children and the home’s exterior. Installing a fence takes time and careful planning. It’s essential to measure and mark your property lines, locate underground utility lines and take other precautions before you begin.

Before you begin any digging or construction on your yard, you need to determine where the fence will go. You may need to hire a surveyor or check your plat of survey to find out the boundaries of your property. Otherwise, you might put up a fence on your neighbor’s land or even on public property, which could result in exorbitant fines and legal fees.

Next, make sure you have the right materials for your fence installation project. It’s important to have the correct number of posts, rails and pickets. This will ensure that your fence looks its best and stands up to the test of time.

If you’re not sure how to determine the number of posts or rails you need, a fence calculator is an excellent tool. It will allow you to input the height of the fence, how many horizontal rails per section and the width of a single picket.

Begin by staking the fence corners with a wooden stake. Then run a string between the stakes so you can visually mark the boundary line of your property. If your lot is uneven or has unusual jogs, it’s best to have a professional surveyor come out and mark the boundary line for you.

This is an important step in the fence installation process, and it should be taken very seriously. It’s also important to check with your local municipality or homeowner association for codes, restrictions and permits before you start the project.

After marking the boundary lines, a crew will dig post holes for each fence. They’ll use a manual posthole digger or an auger-style posthole digger to bury the fence posts between 1/3 and 1/2 of their length in the ground. It’s important to check with your building authority before you dig, because some cities have minimum fence post depth requirements.

It’s a good idea to put gravel in the bottom of the postholes, to help with drainage. This will prevent water from accumulating around the base of the post and potentially causing problems with your fence. Pea-sized landscaping gravel is often the best and most affordable option for this purpose.

If the soil is rocky or hilly, you’ll need to have a crew level the area before they can dig any postholes. If there are any trees or other permanent obstructions in the area, they will need to be removed before a contractor can begin installing your fence.

Once the ground has been leveled, a crew will dig fence post holes that are about 6 feet deep. They’ll then set the fence posts about 8 feet apart, and secure two horizontal or rack rails between each post. If you need professional fence installer in Houston visit https://www.houstonfencesandgatescompany.com/.