A wooden fence mounted at the dacha with your own hands looks great, especially if the construction technology is followed and all the important nuances are taken into account. Wood can be called a classic material that has passed centuries and has not lost its popularity. Despite the wide variety of building materials for fences, wood does not lose its leadership. However, installing a beautiful and cheap wooden fence with your own hands requires certain skills and compliance with the rules below.
Beautiful fencing - decoration of the site
Material used
To build a fence, you first need to purchase the necessary materials. The most commonly used lumber is softwood (pine, cedar). The fact is that these types of wood have increased resistance to rot and impressive moisture resistance. Building a fence with your own hands from these lumber is completely worth it.
A picket fence is considered an environmentally friendly and safe material; moreover, such a fence will fit perfectly into the natural landscape and even add originality to it.
Features of lumber fences
Beautiful wooden fences are quite easy to install. But to build them, you need to have certain skills and knowledge. As a rule, a fence erected at a dacha with your own hands does not involve the construction of a foundation.
The picket fences are mounted on pre-dug poles, which makes installation much easier.
Combinations of picket fence and wicker fencing
Advantages of this solution
Due to the existing advantages of timber fences, the demand for them is still high. For a summer cottage or for a home, this is the best option. A wooden picket fence has the following advantages:
- Naturalness and originality. Wood has a unique texture and structure, which makes such barriers look simply magnificent.
- Aesthetics. In addition to the fact that a beautiful wooden fence fulfills its direct functions, this solution will decorate the area.
- A fence made of lumber is quite cheap, which cannot be said about metal or brick barriers. Lumber is relatively inexpensive, and with proper care it will last a long time.
- Simple construction. As a rule, subsequent installation does not require any specific knowledge and skills. It is enough just to follow the exact work plan and follow important rules.
- Variety of existing options. There are many fencing designs that you can build yourself. For example, a herringbone fence or the construction of a lattice fence, etc. There are hundreds of known variations of hedges.
In some types, the frame is sheathed with lumber in a horizontal position (blind fence), in others - in a vertical position. Also, the pattern is based on a herringbone pattern or the picket fences are arranged in the form of blinds. In general, the design of an existing board fence is quite varied.
Picket fence with forging elements
You can find out how to install a checkerboard fence with your own hands by following the link.
Existing disadvantages
Unfortunately, there are also some negative nuances associated with this issue. These include the fragility of wood, in comparison with metal, brick or concrete. The service life of fences is on average up to 10 years.
However, proper care of the fence will extend its lifespan, and this is worth considering. If you periodically treat the structure, it becomes protected from external adverse factors, such as sun, moisture, etc.
It is also worth considering that, unlike the same metal, wood tends to collapse from mechanical stress and is quite easily flammable.
Beautiful fence
Advantages and disadvantages of plank fencing
The excellent properties of wood as a building material have been known for a long time. On the other hand, it also has its weaknesses. The advantages of fencing made from edged lumber include:
- Relatively low cost of material.
- High speed and ease of installation.
- With proper care, a board fence lasts quite a long time.
- The undeniable aesthetic properties of properly processed wood.
- An abundance of possible fence configurations, both from a functional and decorative point of view.
At the same time, the tree is susceptible to the influence of the external environment. Excessive moisture, parasites and ultraviolet light can damage it. On the other hand, all of these shortcomings are easily eliminated with the help of special impregnations and coatings. In addition, even regular treatment will not make the boards non-flammable.
In general, the advantages of plank fences more than outweigh their disadvantages. Even taking into account periodic processing (when using high-quality materials, it is required once every 8 years), boards are cheaper than stone and other materials.
Types of wood fencing
Before wondering how to make a wooden fence, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the existing types, of which, by the way, there are not so few. The most common options are:
- Classical. You can assemble a wooden fence on metal posts or from wood. In the classic version of the fence, the picket fences are arranged vertically. The standard dimensions of wooden blocks are 50x100 mm. The bars are fixed on horizontal logs. Also, this type of fencing is often erected for flower beds in order to decorate the landscape and emphasize its original design.
- Herringbone. In this case, the fence resembles a classic one, but there are slanting gaps reminiscent of a herringbone. This decoration looks original and unusual. To achieve this effect, special calibrated gaskets are installed between the pickets. The result is a double-sided facial structure. The fence is assembled from transversely placed pickets, which are laid overlapping. Many people like this design because it looks beautiful.
- Palisade Such a fence has been known since ancient times. For a private home, this solution is very original. A decorative palisade fence consists of round and pointed logs that are securely driven into the ground. Wooden fence posts are not at all difficult to make, the main thing is to act according to the drawing and adhere to important rules. This design looks impregnable and majestic. By the way, in the same spirit you can make gates for the general decoration of the fence and the integrity of the picture.
- Do-it-yourself wooden lattice fence. To create a lattice pattern, the boards can be placed horizontally, vertically or even at an angle. It is also necessary to combine boards to achieve a pattern. Some people use bendable slats to obtain a lattice texture so that they can be intertwined with each other. This design attracts attention.
- Decorative ranch fence. What makes such fencing unusual is the fact that the boards in this case are not positioned vertically, but horizontally. This design also has another name – “blind fence”.
The photo shows a wooden picket fence.
Classic
How to install a temporary fence on your property cheaply, read the link.
Preparation of material
Before you start assembling the picket fence with your own hands, you need to prepare the necessary material. It is enough to simply make a fence from a board or picket fence. Before starting work, the lumber must be thoroughly sanded. It will also not be superfluous to treat the boards with special means. To erect a picket fence you will need the following material:
- extended beams or logs;
- fence;
- pillars serving as support;
- cement, bitumen and sand;
- drill, screws.
Lumber processing
It is worth remembering that even high-quality wood needs appropriate processing. Before you begin any manipulations with wood, it is recommended to treat it with special chemicals.
To begin with, the workpieces are treated with an antiseptic, which will protect the product from harmful parasites. Moreover, the antiseptic coating prevents rot and mold and rot on the fences.
The video explains how to make wood antiseptic with your own hands.
DIY installation
Construction stages:
- Buy lumber . There can be from 13 to 83 boards in 1 cubic meter. This number depends on the thickness and width of the edged board (the higher the value, the fewer pieces per cube).
- Buy pillars . For wooden fencing, metal strips or beams/logs (section 50x50 or 75x75) are perfect.
- Mark the area using pegs (every 1.5 - 2 meters) and a well-taut rope . The frequency of driving in pegs depends on the type of fence.
- Process the boards (plane, sand, make a profile, etc.).
- Drill holes for the posts . The pegs must be removed and a hole (50-90 cm) must be drilled in their place. Lower the fence post into the hole and cover it with crushed stone, construction waste and earth. For greater strength, concrete is sometimes used. You can level the supports using a plumb line and level.
- The pillars are fastened together with ties (metal or wood). An edged board can be easily attached to such a frame using bolts, nails and self-tapping screws.
Painting the fence
The new fence looks great even without painting. The wood itself has an attractive texture. However, it is worth considering that if you do not paint the boards or do not varnish them, the light wood will soon change color and begin to deteriorate faster under the influence of moisture, cold or heat. So painting a wooden fence is necessary in a sense.
To properly treat the barrier, you will need not only paint, but also other means. First of all, you need to prepare the product for painting to ensure optimal adhesion of the paint to the surface to be painted.
So, before painting you will need to carry out the following work:
- First of all, the surface of the fence is washed, removing dust and other contaminants from the surface. This procedure is carried out using a garden hose and brush. To achieve the best effect, it is recommended to use special alkaline-based detergents during the washing process, which perfectly remove fat, dirt and wax from the surface.
- If the fence is made of coniferous wood, there will definitely be resin knots on the surface of the board. To remove them, you can use a metal spatula or brush.
- Metal heads of screws or nails are treated with an anti-corrosion primer. This will protect them from moisture and destruction.
- If you subsequently plan to varnish the structure, then the nail heads do not need to be treated with a primer.
Palisade
Before painting, the structure needs to sit for approximately 14 days. The main condition that must be met is that the wood must be completely dry before painting. Only in this case the paint will not peel off over time.
To protect the building from precipitation, it can be covered with plastic film, not forgetting to make holes for ventilation first, so that a greenhouse effect does not form. The paint must be chosen for exterior work and must be of high quality. It is recommended to purchase acrylate or oil-based paints for these purposes. It is recommended to paint the surface in several layers.
Calculation of the number of boards
There are edged and unedged boards. The first type of material is processed from four sides, the second - only from the ends. Unedged boards are cheaper and are sold wet, so it should be taken into account that they may become deformed when drying. Edged has a better look. It is smooth, which makes it easier to process.
On sale you can find boards specially prepared for fence construction. It is already pre-processed and sold cut.
The amount of material needed depends on the length of the fenced area, the type of fence and its height. In one case, a fence is built with wide gaps between the boards, in the other - closely or overlapping. All this affects the final number of boards needed.
To roughly calculate them, use a tape measure to measure the length of the future fence, and then determine the height. The optimal height is two meters, which is why two-meter and four-meter boards are popular.
Once the dimensions are known, further calculations are quite simple. For example, the length was 50 meters or 5000 centimeters, and the width of the purchased board was 10 centimeters. Dividing 5000 by 10, we get 500. That is, for 50 meters of fence you will need 500 two-meter boards. If there is a gap between them, then its width is added to the width of the board, and when they are installed overlapping, it is subtracted.
This calculation is correct for vertically standing boards, but if you plan to have a horizontal fence made of boards, the calculations are done differently. You will need the same initial data - the length and height of the fence. Then, taking into account the length of the purchased board, the required quantity for one section is calculated. To do this, use the expression K1 = H1/h2, where:
- K1 - number of boards, pcs.;
- H1—fence height, cm;
- h2 - board width, cm.
For example, for a fence 2 meters or 200 centimeters high, you will need 5 boards 40 cm wide. To calculate the number of sections, divide the length of the fence by the length of the board. If the board size is 4 meters and the fence is 50, then 50/4 = 12.5 sections. The result is rounded up, after which the final quantity is calculated using the formula K = K1 x K2, where:
- K1 - number of boards per section, pcs.;
- K2 — number of sections, pcs.
For the example under consideration, K = 13 x 5 = 65 pieces. Corrections for overlaps or gaps are made in the same way as for vertical boards.
Ensuring durability
In order for a lumber fence to last as long as possible, it must be properly cared for, namely:
- periodically clean from dirt;
- renew the paint layer several times every 2 years;
- remove grass and weeds growing at the bottom of the picket fence;
- Once a year, treat with protective agents against parasites.
In addition, it is necessary to periodically inspect the condition of the logs for the presence of mechanical damage and the presence of harmful parasites on them. You should make it a rule to carry out this procedure at least once every few months.
Taking good care of the structure also plays a huge role in extending its service life. Damaged areas and dents in the wood must be painted over with paint.
