Hello All, first time building a fence and I’m at the gate. Happy with how the fence came out, but this gate is killing me. I would really like to avoid doing the double gates again. I understand this may be the true best answer, but I would like to at least ask for alternatives.

Few quick notes. The double gate swings in, and in the photo both are slightly opened so that’s the angle you see. Each gate is connected to a pair of 4x4 posts that are lag bolted and sit in a rather large trench of cement. Wanted these super strong.

Here’s my main question. I have to do a few pickers to the left of the gates, and about 10-12 on the right. Starting with the right, if I attach directly to the horizontal 2x4s, as I did for the main fence line, they’ll sit proud by the 2x4 width, plus 2/3rds the 4x4 width, minus about half the gate metal frame’s width. All together about 2.5” different.

On the left it’s similar, but currently no 2x4. However, that last picket I haven’t cut, as I wasn’t sure what’s best to do. As you can see, it extends past the 4x4 pair by about 3”.

What’re your thoughts?

So I am building a new fence. Here’s the old fence — gate swings “toward” you on the “nice” side… but new fence it makes more sense for the nice side to swing away from you… anyone ever seen that setup? I can’t quite imagine how it would work looking at the current hinge setup.

Hi everyone. First time poster here. Just bought our first home and the builders didn’t add a gate on the side of the house where there obviously should be one. Other side of the house has a ~3foot wide gate, which I have to think skinny thoughts just to fit through… this other side of the house I think I can make into about a 6-foot wide gate, which I’ll need in order to get equipment in and out of the backyard, or just to wheel my trash cans in and out of.

My struggle is there are steel uniposts used as the main gate supports, not standard 4x4s. My first problem is that the unipost on the hinge side of the gate is facing east/west and the post on the latch side in north/south. Second issue is that I’m not entirely sure the unipost on the hinge side will support this large gate dream of mine. I’m trying to avoid having to dig and install 4x4s posts, as the unipost on the hinge side is set in concrete where I would need the space to properly dig and set a 4x4. So I feel like if I can’t use the unipost as a support, I will have to remove it entirely, and replace it with a 4x4, which isnt impossible, just trying to work smarter not harder here.

I drew up how I have imagined putting this thing together. Any input on if this will work or not or what I need to do to make
It work, would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Hi all! Anyone have examples of a pine fence with cedar or pecan color ESS? We can’t decide what would look best with our black house. In some examples they look very similar, some they look quite different. Worried that if we pick cedar it might be too orange or if we pick pecan it might be too brown. Appreciate any advice!

I have a 10 foot section of fence that I would like to add a gate to. To the right of this panel is my house and to the left is a detention pond. My issue is that 4 feet off the house there is buried electrical conduit that runs under the fence. Is there a way to add a 36 or 48 inch gate without hitting the conduit.

I will be hiring a local fence builder but want to get advice before starting the process.

How would you secure this top bar to this fence post? I can't use a standard band because the holes don't line up. And I can't push the bar any further away from the pot because the other end of the bar is in place on another post. I'd prefer not to drill a hole into the fence post. (I don't even think I own a drill bit that could do that).

Is it supposed to wrap around the corner post? Or should it have tension bars. (Second photo to show a corner done with tension bars)

I got my fence done today by a company and one post is done with tension bars but two are done with it wrapped around.

Previous owner special. Rotten to bits. What kind of bracket do I use with the anchor bolt so that I wont need to cut my posts? The single bolt seems like even with adapters it wouldnt be the best for structural integrity... am I better off sinking posts traditionally?

Just never seen something like this lol

Finally got around to staining my 1st fence build - wrapped up construction in late June, wanted to give the lumber enough time to dry out so it would take the stain well and had a perfect week of clear sunny weather leading up to Saturday this past weekend.

I have never built a fence before so pls be gentle

I got my holes for 42 in deep with 10 ft post and the holes are about 2/3 full of concrete. I'm going to pack some clay around them now. I was wondering if maybe I should spray them with Flex Seal to help protect them.

The old offense posts I pulled out we're in pretty great shape but they were from 2000 and I've heard they stopped treating Lumber the way they did in 2003 because it was toxic and it lasted longer cuz it was a better treatment for gum contact.

I am just about done building my first fence, and man, I love this thing. Posts are green treated pine, rails are treated pine with cedar tone from home depot. Pickets are all cedar. I wish I had gotten the cedar toned 4x4s, but I didn't know about them when installing posts. I built the 6 to 4ft transition cap and trim with bent lamination. Couple questions:

1. I am using pyramidal shaped fence post caps, is there a standard height to cut my posts above the pickets? Was thinking 4"...

2. Staining - my goal is to preserve the color for as long as possible. Should I stain it this fall before our cold winter hits or wait until next spring?

3. I am planning to use Australian Timber Oil, because I've used their honey teak on cedar before, and I like how it looks. Would you spray or roll/brush on? I intended to spray, but I'm reading that you need to push it in with a brush or roller anyway? So would it just be faster to brush/roll initially?

4. If you recommend spraying, is there a spray gun you would suggest for the timber oil?

I was in a rush to use concrete bags before a rainy week threatened to turn a pallet of bags into landfill. I mixed and poured the concrete, then set metal posts into it which filled the interior of the posts.

I should have done the research ahead of time, but I quickly found out that isn't ideal for very obvious drainage reasons. How bad is it though? Should I make sure there is no hardware penetrating the post walls to reduce potential water from entering the cavity? I have to live with my decision, but I'm curious what options I have and what I can expect the damage to be in the long run.

I'm replacing this fence with 6ft heigh metal 26ga panels (thinking of making the panels 5ft 7in, with a 5in gap at the bottom) with 9ft 2 3/8 12ga corner posts and 9ft postmaster sunk 3ft in concrete. I'm slightly concerned about this corner post placement. Total height of the retaining wall and fence is about ten feet. Is a 9ft post in 3ft of concrete enough for this corner post?

I'm standing on an electrical box or some city thing. I sure, as hell hope 9ft is enough

Lots of companies use catalyst and homeland. Which is the best, everstrong, illusions, catalyst or homeland?
I am trying to find fence companies that use or sell either everstrong profiles or illusions. It seems that out of the popular brands used here in NJ that those 2 may be the best of them. Some companies use Catalyst but not the XL line so it feels cheap. Located in Monmouth county NJ. Open to other suggestions for good quality fences extruded in the USE. Tired of hearing companies saying they manufacture their own fencing when it’s know that they are only routing and making the gates.

I built this gate 6 years ago, but took these photos as a "before" because I was about to stain it again. Thought I would share this in case anyone was looking for ideas on a gate.
We bought a home that was it total disrepair on the outside because it had been unkept by a single lady for the last 25 years. I took two 40yard dumpsters of debris out of the yard before I tackled a fence. Leading up to a new fence, I decided to enclose the entire back yard and have a gate opening up to the driveway. While I have built a few fences, I had never built a gate this size.
I looked into so many options, all of which were crazy expensive, so I said I can do this myself. The only thing I was 100% certain on was that it was going to be 12 ft. wide. I started with 4"x 6" 1/4" steel posts buried 4 ft. in to the ground. These were placed when I poured a new driveway. For the next month, I worked on the 250 linear ft. of perimeter fencing, mostly by myself. I couldn't find a budget friendly solution for a gate until I went to a stock show. There were all kinds of vendors there, but the ones selling livestock gates caught my eye. I didn't want a gate you could see through, so I had explored fabricating a metal gate and attaching cedar to it. The steel was so expensive though. When I saw the livestock gates, I thought one of them could work. In addition, a 12' gate was only like $200.
I stood on the end of a gate they had set up and my 240lbs the full 12ft. from the hinge didn't make the gate flex at all. The next week I went to a Murdoch's and bought one. It came with some silly hinge, so I upgraded to a beefy pair rate for 1000lbs. Next I had to find a way to attach cedar to it. I didn't want a hundred little holes in the metal from attaching pickets individually, so I attached some 2x4 cedar rails to the horizontal tubes, and made them flush with each other on the exterior side of the fence. The metal gate was only like 4' tall, so I also made some sort of "extension" on the bottom to make the whole gate taller. After that, it was just like picketing a normal fence.
The opener is a simple Ghost controls opener that is entirely powered by a small solar panel it comes with. Cost for that was perhaps $850 total.
I was worried about the opener because it was likely going to be subject to some strong forces if the wind ever went crazy. The gate opens toward the inside of the property, so I added a couple small stops to keep the wind from pushing the gate outwards. If it is a stormy night, there is a small slide lock I use to keep it from swaying and possibly damaging the opener.
That was 6 years ago, and I have not had a major problem with the gate at all. Perhaps 2 years after building it, I noticed a little sag, so I added some wire and turnbuckle to the corners that allowed me to shore that up.
When building it, I thought I would do some better wood work on it down the road, but I have been content.......and perhaps a little lazy.

Hi all! This is our first home, and we put a fence in upon move in. Our back line picket was installed by the builder, hence the two styles. My question is — when we stain, what’s the normal etiquette for staining neighbor sides? We’ve made sure the fence was constructed within our property line, so it’s all ours. Is it worth the cost to stain neighbors side or not worth the hassle? We plan to do entire interior and fronts of the gates by our house already. I’m just not sure what’s normal in a new build development with houses right next to each other.

Is it normal to put a fence up to a neighbor’s even if on their property or have I messed up?

We bought our house five years ago and it was part of a large property that was subdivided when we purchased, and a bunch of new builds went up behind us. The developer did a survey, and the fence that went up between our house and the new build next door is squarely, like probably 18 inches, on their property.

I recently put up a length of fence of my own perpendicular to theirs. I made sure to match it exactly so it would look cohesive. I talked to my neighbor before breaking ground and he said initially said I could tie into theirs, which I wasn’t even expecting but did appreciate. He mentioned how their neighbor on the other side did the same and he saw border fences as though shared. For what it’s worth, I do indeed treat our side of their fence as if it were mine by keeping it clean, don’t put anything on or against it, and don’t let my kids kick balls near it, etc.

So the day I actually started installing, neighbor came over and said he’d rather we not tie into theirs, and said ya know just in case we ever move and it creates an issue with the new owners. I can respect that, of course. So I placed my first post just as close as I could get to their fence.

The whole point of the fence is to help us keep our child with autism safe so an 18 inch gap would have defeated the purpose, but ever since putting it up I have this nagging worry I’ve overstepped by doing this. They haven’t complained so maybe I’m just being extra, but being a good neighbor is extremely important to me ahhhh

We’re on the manufacturing side of aluminum fence and gates, and one question comes up a lot here: why does a powder coat start peeling or chalking after a few years?

Usually the cause is the prep, not the powder. Before the powder goes on, the aluminum should go through a pretreatment process like this:

1. Alkaline degreasing
2. Water rinse
3. Acid etch / deoxidizing
4. Second water rinse
5. Conversion coating (chromate or zirconium)
6. Final DI water rinse
7. Oven dry-off

Stage 5 is the big one. The conversion coating is what bonds the powder to the metal and resists corrosion. When it’s skipped or rushed, you’ll see failures early, especially near salt air, sprinklers, or pool water.

If you’re buying aluminum fence or comparing suppliers, it’s worth asking how many pretreatment stages they run and whether they use a conversion coating. “Powder coated” by itself doesn’t tell you much.

For the installers here: what finish failures have you seen in the field, and what do you think caused them?

This is the current fence plus metal mesh "chicken wire" that does a good job containing our small dog who could easily slip through the fence otherwise however we are moving to a new house that has a similar fence minus the mesh. Is there any other real alternative for containing a small dog? Also unfortunately one side fence is shared with a neighbor. I think this is ridiculous but there isn't anything I can do about it and have to work with it. I don't want to attach mesh to a shared fence. Anyone have any ideas?