DIY Stockade Fence
- 1). Lay out the horizontal rails on a pair of sawhorses or other steady work surface spaced evenly, with the top and bottom rails 6 inches from the top and bottom ends of the pickets, respectively. Center the middle rail between the others.
- 2). Attach the first picket to the three horizontal rails with 1 5/8-inch treated deck screws, two in each rail. For this tutorial, we will assume one-by-four pickets 6 feet long, which are actually 3 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick.
- 3). Line up the first picket at the left end of the horizontal rails, flush with the end. Use a piece of 1/2-inch plywood to space the pickets apart. You will need 24 pickets per panel, leaving a 1/2-inch space at the end of the panel. Attach each picket as the first. Repeat this process for each panel needed.
- 4). Dig a post hole every 8 feet along the line of the proposed fence. Post holes should be 10 to 12 inches across and 24 inches deep. Set an 8-foot post and 1/2 bag of concrete in each hole.
- 5). Stand up the first panel and line it up with the first pole so that the ends of the horizontal rails line up with the outside edge of the post. Anchor the panel to the post with 3-inch treated deck screws. Drive the screws through the fence pickets and rails into the face of the post. Use two screws through each horizontal rail.
- 6). Add water to the concrete, and mix it with a scrap of lumber. Check the post for level front to back. Fill the remainder of the hole with dirt and pack it tightly to hold the post upright until the concrete hardens.
- 7). Stand the second post upright and line it up with the ends of the panel rails in the center of the post face. Attach the panel to the post with treated deck screws as the first post. Add water and mix the concrete at the base of the second post. Level the post front to back and pack dirt into the remainder of the hole as for the first post.
- 8). Add the second panel butted to the first in the center of the second post. Continue attaching panels to posts and adding new panels to the end of the fence.
