Why do people build a fence on the posts?

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J

Jungle

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It seems so much easier to build panels on the ground and then attach them with brackets or some sort of hanger so you can take them out if you wanted too. Why try to nail them onto a post as i saw one local fence company do? It took forever to do it that way.

The other strange practice i notice is stairs with each panel going up and down. Isn't it much nicer to have the top of the fence all one level?

Also how close can i put a post to a big tree, will i kill the roots? Maybe find a hole that goes between...
 
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Jungle said:
It seems so much easier to build panels on the ground and then attach them with brackets or some sort of hanger so you can take them out if you wanted too. Why try to nail them onto a post as i saw one local fence company do? It took forever to do it that way.
Click to expand...

It depends on which part the errors are easier to correct. Move the posts or reshape the panels.

I put hangers on a nailed fence panel so I could lift it out so I could put a truck into my back yard.
At 160 lbs this panel was a bit much for one person.

http://www.arborilogical.com/tree-articles/dangers-of-root-disturbance/
 
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We just have the customer buy pre built panels. Out here a level top might mean a 30 ft high fence.
 
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Just thought I would drop off some tips on building a fence that is straight and stays straight for years.
If you are planting a fence where the soil has been disturbed, soak the crap out of it and let it dry out so it settles and compacts.
One third of the post must be in the ground or to the depth of the frost, if you are using concrete the hole should be straight or slightly larger at the bottom, never bring the concrete to the surface.
If concrete flairs at the top, the frost can get under that edge and lift the post.
We cut the post to height after the fence is built.
We plant the two end posts first and stake and brace them plumb.
We run a tight string between those about 5 inches above the height of the panel.
We screw a panel to the first post and then screw the next post to that, crown the post so it crowns toward the panel.
We stake and brace the top of the post so it line up with the string, brace at the same height as the string.
We adjust the bottom of the post so it is plumb add another brace and add concrete, remove the lower brace.
We only dig one or two holes ahead as the measurements always seem to get screwed up and the holes get bigger.
We cut the last panel to fit or if you are building your own you can do the math to make them all the same.

There were three contractors in our neighbourhood building some eyesores before we were asked to build one. As this is our hood we made sure they were straight and plumb and they still look great after a few years, other guys, not so much.
 
nealtw said:
We only dig one or two holes ahead as the measurements always seem to get screwed up and the holes get bigger.
Click to expand...

Yes.
The measurement and digging precision can only get worse - never getting better and never staying the same.
 
I was planning something like this. I figure: sandwich the planks with two other planks on the bottom and on top, do the little curve on one side. Then frame it with 2x3's into a panel form.

I thinking i will try the pole barn idea and just put the cement flat on the bottom. I was reading on ehow.com to use sand works as well as cement. I like it because if the someone breaks the post i can rebuild it easily enough. I figure 4-1/2' hole, then half bag of cement, 12' treat post. Pack it in with a bit of water as neil says. No worry of frost heave that way too.

The tree i think i can make frame and support the end of the fence with the tree. At that point, at the driveway, i'm think 6" dividing wall concrete to the existing tarmac out there. Some kind of patio stone i can make a car park and fill with pea gravel and some binder glue. The problem with cement near a tree that it can kill it. There some gravel binder and gravel structural grid, but i can't figure any place to buy it yet.
A small car park at the end of the drive i think is best for winter you don't want to shovel too much driveway and the tree provide shelter from the snow.

pressure-treated-privacy-fences2.jpg
 
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You can use lots of drywall screws, they are really cheap and may not react with pressure treated wood.
 
Looks strong enough, put a little putying over the head, nobody will notice.

/watch?v=lldPT_u5hwE
 
I kind of like the "putying" over the head idea. But I thought he was the president of Russia, the guy Obama is currently feuding with.

On the other hand, if you really meant applying putty over the head of the screws (puttying), nobody would notice until a year or so later on a windy day, when all the fence panels start blowing around the neighborhood (neighbourhood, for nealtw) after the drywall screws were eaten away by preservative.

Most fence owners would probably notice that.
 
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