Help with Big Fence Project--Rookie!

[inveresk]

Around here the boards go on the outside of the post so the 90deg corners are no big deal. No bracing on the corners and gate post are usually cemented.

Put the rails on the outside and it's too easy for the horses to push them off.

 

[Gizmo2]

You need one more short 2x4. 1) Attach the fence boards on one side first (the red ones). 2) Cut a 2x4 the length from the top edge of the top red fence board to the bottom edge of the bottom red fence board. 3) Nail or screw the 2x4 on to the face of the red fence boards as shown, using nails or screw long enough to penetrate through the red fence boards into the corner post. 4) Attach the fence boards on the 2nd side (the blue ones), nailing or screwing them into the 2x4.

Top view:

View attachment 217760

That's the way we do it.:thumbsup: Never had an issue with it.
BTW, Nice post (as in writings).

 

[mstraebel]

Beppington. Thanks for the drawing. I think that is the solution. Very helpful advice, everyone! Posts are coming next week--over 300 of them, so we'll be busy!

 

[Rancher Ed]

Beppingtons drawing shows very well how to do the boards on the inside. Glad to hear you are puting then on the inside. Wire or boards on the outside of posts don't stand up nearly as well to the animals pushing and rubing on them.

Since you are doing a board fence I would not worry about bracing the corner posts. What I would do for the gate posts is set it (the one the gate hangs on) and the one before it in concrete and then run a brace wire from the top of the gate post to the bottom of the post before it, like what Beppington shows in post #15 but hang the gate from the post labeled brace post. I wouldn't worry about the horizontal brace because your boards will act as one.

The crushed gravel you found sounds like it should work well for setting all the other posts. Sounds like you are going to have a very nice fence when you are done.

Ed

 

[Gizmo2]

Leave enough room under the bottom board for mowing and such.
Also, IMO 8ft between post is a bit far as some boards will twist and bow, split the seams and use good nails that won't work out, I would not use screws.

 

[trailbuilder]

When you say Northern Michigan, do you mean northern southern Michigan (below the bridge)?

I asked about setting posts a few weeks ago and someone suggested setting the posts with pea gravel. I set about 40 posts last week in pea gravel with a bit of dry cement. They tamped in real well and are solid.

You may have a hard time getting 4 feet with a tractor auger.

 

[Gizmo2]

Not so sure a 4ft depth is necessary with board fence post. Frost pulling the post out is more troublesome than frost underneath pushing the post up. Once you get 6+ inches of snow cover you are probably good to good in both cases.

 

[mstraebel]

I guess I'm not in true northern Michigan! Below the bridge, northern lower peninsula in the Traverse City area.

I hope 8' spacing will suffice. I thought about going 7' but decided against it.

I think we can only get 3' with the auger, so we may have to manually dig the rest of the way if we want the gate posts at a 4' depth.

 

[BeezFun]

The post we are getting are square. We would need round posts to use the pounding method, correct?

You can pound any shape post. I've pounded round posts, square posts and cedar split rail posts, which is tricky because it requires the rails be in place while pounding the post. Of course square posts require you get the tractor aligned properly so the faces are aligned.