fence spacing question

[jonnyc1999]

hey guys, tomorrow I'm going to be repairing the section of my fence along the driveway that was destroyed by a falling tree. I'm having trouble deciding what spacing I want for the boards. The fence boards that I have are 16' long, and the total run is 52'.

For perfect spacing every post would be 6.5' apart. However, this would entail cutting 3 feet off of every board! To me I would hate to waste all that lumber! But, if it will look lousy otherwise I'll do it.


The other option would be to keep full length boards with one short 4' section. If all of the posts are 8' and one section has an extra post in the middle will it drive me nuts? I'm hoping somebody has done this and report if its noticable.

Once again this section of fence is right along the parking area of the driveway and is the first thing you see coming onto the property. Please help!!!

 

[bcp]

For perfect spacing every post would be 6.5' apart. However, this would entail cutting 3 feet off of every board! To me I would hate to waste all that lumber! But, if it will look lousy otherwise I'll do it.

Buy some forks if you don't have any. Use the 3ft pieces to build heavy duty pallets for firewood, etc.

i have some from about 32 inches square to 48 inches square, and various sizes in between. Almost all built with leftover 2x4 and 2x6.

Bruce

 

[DT86]

Personally I would space the posts on 7 1/2" centers. Hide one spaced 7' in the middle some where and you'll be the only one who ever notices the difference.

What is at the starting/ending point that stipulates the 52' distance?


Check out the "board fence pictures" thread in my signature to see how we prefer to build. It's not the ONLY way but may give you some ideas.

 

[Western]

You may also be able to space the "short" section in the dead center and add a feature, such as a wagon wheel, trellis with roses or something else. You can make the "deference" appear to be intentional.

 

[DT86]

You may also be able to space the "short" section in the dead center and add a feature, such as a wagon wheel, trellis with roses or something else. You can make the "deference" appear to be intentional.

Hey! Grand idea! How about a 4' walk through gate, dead center!

 

[Western]

Hey! Grand idea! How about a 4' walk through gate, dead center!

With a rose or border too, done this many times with "irregular" measurements. Even a gate like you mention, that is never used would look great and "welcoming"

 

[jonnyc1999]

Oh man am I annoyed. This will be attempt number 3 to reply. Apparently adding pics keeps kicking it back on my phone. Anyways, I decided to run the posts at 8' spacing and get rid of the 4' section completely. After sketching out quite a few drawings and measuring a bunch of times, it worked out that the new corner post actually ends perfectly at the end of the retaining wall. The retaining wall is why a gate wouldn't work. It looks really nice so far, and as soon as I can upload pics from my computer I'll post them for your amusement!

 

[CliffordK]

I would put in 6 middle posts (and 2 end posts?) (7 sections).

Spacing would be about 7'5"

On the ends, alternate between boards that connect 1 post, and boards that connect 2 posts.

 

[DT86]

On the ends, alternate between boards that connect 1 post, and boards that connect 2 posts.

You mean stagger the joints? It makes the fence much stronger. :thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

i'd keep the lumber native length and one short at an edge.. or if you want a gate.. put the gate int he short section. remember a gate inthe middle will need a brace post on either side if there is wire. if no wire.. then jus thte extra post/ hinge and whatnot..

 

[robbyr]

I just built an entrance with 4 x 4's and 1 x 6's. Bought 16' lumber and spaced the posts a little under 7 feet apart. This left waste about 3 feet long which I used to make 1 x 6 boxes for plants in the yard so I could put mulch around them. Worked out pretty good.

 

[jonnyc1999]

So here are the pictures of what I ended up with. I think it looks really good! I still have a few more areas to finish up (the end closest to the house and the gate) but it is definitely a huge improvement over the last fence I built. I guess with every project you learn a little more and improve a little bit. The spacing is 8' between posts along the length of the driveway, and then drops to 7.5' spacing as it drops down the hill. By taking out the 4' section that I was originally planning on, everything matched up beautifully and the final result looks great!

 

[CliffordK]

Nice Job!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Western]

Looks good. Seeing the photos, it make more sense with the small wall there. If you dont plan on a stain or other water proofing, you might want to at least put something on the top or the post to keep water out.

 

[jonnyc1999]

Thanks for the complements guys, I'm very happy with how it is turning out! We were talking about either black or white stain/paint, but it'll be a LOT of work to paint the other 1300' of fence. Plus, it always seems like paint looks like crap after a few years. I'll have to look into waterproofing the tops of the posts, thanks for the tip.

Next up I need to stretch the goat wire along the fence and rehang the side gate in its new location. Does anyone have any tips for straightening mangled goatwire (tree fell on it) or does everyone just replace it with new wire?

 

[Soundguy]

looks great!

 

[robbyr]

Just replace it