Leveling Fence Posts????

[hotiron01]

First a little background. I am putting in approximately 250' rail fencing across the front of our property. I am using 4x6 treated posts, and 4 rails of 1x6 treated corral boards. My question is, what is the best way to level the tops of the posts across that distance? My thought was to use a transit, but haven't located a friend that has one. Can I trust a tight string at this distance. My neighbor mentioned a string level, but I don't care for them, too much room for error. Am I overthinking this? Probably, but I am a perfectionist when it comes to things like this. Any help you guys can give me would be appreciated!

 

[Western]

As string level will work if you do 3-4 post at a time, just "eye" ball it each time and line it up with your last run , of course a transit or laser would work too!

 

[SSdoxie]

Transits are fast becoming a thing of the past. See you local rental store about renting a laser for 1/2 day. Set sending unit on a tripod mid-way down the fence line, a few feet out from the fence. The just walk along and hold the receiver on each post and mark the spot at level. From there you can measure up or down to whereever you want cut posts off. Can also measure exactly where each rail will be. Laser is one man operation. Transit takes two.

 

[RobertBrown]

Your going to be looking at this fence for a long time, If it's going to bother you, the cost of a laser level rental is small on compared to the years of asking yourself or your spouse:"Does that look like it's running up hill?"
You can always cut the tops of the posts level with the fence boards afterwards. Remember, those boards can have a tendency to curve or bow, so even the best installation can be insulted with a top board that goes wavy.
I just built 150 ft and used a line level and it looks fine. I used round posts and I think those are more difficult. I used 2 strings at 18 and 40 inches. I made sure they were runing perfectly parrallel and congruent or plumb (one was directly over the other) and used these 2 to make sure the posts were straight and in line, using a plumb bob the other direction. Its really key to make sure these posts are spaced properly if you want the joints to wind up in the center of the post and you don't want to cut any boards. The fence boards I got were 16'-03/4" or 16'-1. That extra length will screw things up if you assume the boards are an even 16'.

 

[hotiron01]

Laser level is sounding great. Never thought of one, course I'm old school and never have used one. Keep the ideas coming..................:thumbsup:

 

[MMagis]

Laser level is the way to go, assuming the ground is level. If the ground has any ups or downs to it, the tops of the posts all being the same may not look so good.

 

[beppington]

Stretch a nylon string extremely tight between the two ends posts.

Nail one little brad on each post at the height where you "think" you want the fence, as a first step.

Stand back, down-line from the rising & dipping string-line, & see if it looks good to you. If it does, you're done!

If it's herky-jerky, rising & falling extremely from one post to the next, adjust the locations of your brads until you're happy with the curve.

You might want to use a marked 5' stick as a guide. Put a mark on it for the absolute lowest you're will to go (closest to the ground that is; i.e. you don't want the bottom board going under ground do you?). Put a 2nd mark on it for the optimum height that you'd like. And put a 3rd mark for the absolute highest you're will to go (i.e. the biggest gap between the bottom rail & the ground that you're willing to live with).

Take that stick & mark all 3 of those marks on every one of your posts.

This will provide you with max & min heights, within which every brad should fall, & keeping your fence boards within a reasonable distance from the ground while allowing you some leeway to raise or lower the boards on each post to achieve a smooth curve.

Warning: Don't cut off your posts until you're sure you're happy with the boards! It's kinda too late once you've cut off the posts, unless you're willing to dig up any that are too short to replace in order to raise your fence in any section(s).

I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of fencing myself, & I think my earlier fencing follows the terrain too closely & looks too herky-jerky; I'm using wire mesh, & I was trying to make it stay close to the ground too much. I figured out the min-max thing later, & my later fencing has smoother curves to it, while not allowing the mesh to get too far above the ground (& never under ground!). Live & learn.

 

[Soundguy]

harbor freight sells transits cheap.

PS.. I always use a chainsaw to level mine..


soundguy

 

[grsthegreat]

laser level or string level....would not matter.

the problem is, no ones property is entirely flat. you cant set the top of all the fence posts to the same height, otherwise if you have a 4 foot hill, the fence posts may only end up being 6" tall.

We had about 1200 feet of white vinyl fencing installed on the front of our property. Its all rolling hills (slight rolling). They kept most of the posts the same length, and made it so the tops of the fence posts followed the rolling hills. No sudden jumps or drops, just a smooth rolling like the land.

The guys did this with simple string lines.

 

[RobertBrown]

Stretch a nylon string extremely tight between the two ends posts.

Nail one little brad on each post at the height where you "think" you want the fence, as a first step.

Stand back, down-line from the rising & dipping string-line, & see if it looks good to you. If it does, you're done!

If it's herky-jerky, rising & falling extremely from one post to the next, adjust the locations of your brads until you're happy with the curve.

You might want to use a marked 5' stick as a guide. Put a mark on it for the absolute lowest you're will to go (closest to the ground that is; i.e. you don't want the bottom board going under ground do you?). Put a 2nd mark on it for the optimum height that you'd like. And put a 3rd mark for the absolute highest you're will to go (i.e. the biggest gap between the bottom rail & the ground that you're willing to live with).

Take that stick & mark all 3 of those marks on every one of your posts.

This will provide you with max & min heights, within which every brad should fall, & keeping your fence boards within a reasonable distance from the ground while allowing you some leeway to raise or lower the boards on each post to achieve a smooth curve.

Warning: Don't cut off your posts until you're sure you're happy with the boards! It's kinda too late once you've cut off the posts, unless you're willing to dig up any that are too short to replace in order to raise your fence in any section(s).

I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of fencing myself, & I think my earlier fencing follows the terrain too closely & looks too herky-jerky; I'm using wire mesh, & I was trying to make it stay close to the ground too much. I figured out the min-max thing later, & my later fencing has smoother curves to it, while not allowing the mesh to get too far above the ground (& never under ground!). Live & learn.

That's what I found, the more fence I built the better I got at building it. So I guess you should start someplace that is not real conspicuous and develope your technique or make your mistakes however you wnat to call it. We are going to insist on pictures to see how our advice worked out:confused2: