How To Build A 6' Wooden Privacy Fence

We have been wanting a privacy fence here at our homestead since we moved in so it is time to get to work! We are building a 6' wooden privacy fence from Home Depot supplies but you can get these same pickets and lumber from Lowes or any home supply or lumber yard. I have build a couple of these in the past and this is the method that I have found to be easiest and look the nicest in the end.

4' Metal Level - B071DP54G8
Countersink Drill Bit Set - B07SCXGHJG

FAQ
- You do not need to space the pickets apart for expansion and contraction. They come pretty wet from the treatment and will shrink over the first year so there will be a gap of about 1/4" anyway.
- I would recommend staining it within the first 3 months as it starts to turn grey after that. You can also just let it turn grey and it will be fine like that as well.
- Pickets are treated and do not need to be off the ground for any reason.
- I would recommend 3" star bit deck screws to attach the 2X4 stringers.
- I would recommend 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" star bit deck screws to attach the pickets.

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[Natural-Causes]

Great job on the fence, but I think I’m more impressed that you got the kids to help all day..😳

[darthgumby]

I didn't have a fancy auger, so I decided to dig my fence posts by hand with a post hole digger. Let's just say I am very sore and hate roots, but I got it done.

[allengeorge]

This was the exact fence I had in mind to build. Only difference we used cedar pickets. But my wife and I followed every step in this video and the fence came out great. All 59’ feet of it. Great suggestion on going with the contour of the ground. Could not have done without your guidance. Thank you so much for sharing this video. We did it!

[leonardomaldonado]

Dude its nice to see the fam working with u ... 👍

[starckmad]

SSL Family: You NAILED it!! I built a fence like this several years ago and came to the same conclusions/process you did. Screws are the way to go. When a picket goes bad/rotten it's easy to replace. We spaced our pickets with double thickness of corrugated card to allow some wind relief. Rented gas powered post hole digger from tool rental place. Stained it using 2 gal insecticide sprayer and deck spray from HD. After 5 years, pressure washed and stained again. Still looks great. Used 4" pickets. Wish I had used 6". 👍👍 Neighbor built his fence with panels and they were falling down after about 2 years!

[EastRiverHomestead]

Great video. Have two fences, here in Florida, and they just do not last. Between the humidity and severe weather, they just break, fall over, and get destroyed. I do appreciate the noise reduction and privacy. I, however, decided to go with trees/shrubs that not only do the same thing as a fence, but look better and last longer. I planted Podocarpus trees and man does it look great. I am not hating on fencing at all and am glad that it is an option. I have built many, "I hate my neighbor" fences in Atlanta. Sometimes, wood fencing is the best choice, but for me and my location, trees ended up being the better choice. I still love watching your videos after all of these years.

[artrutherford]

Important to note that if you set your posts exactly 8ft on center, you'll have to cut the 2x4x8 stringers to exactly 8 ft long. Yes they are sold as 8ft boards but my experience is that they are always slightly longer, sometimes even as much as an inch and a half.

[jamescole]

i did posts the same way 24 years ago and about 10 years ago some of the posts rotted away right at the concrete so i replaced some of the posts but for the ones that were salvagable i dug out to the concrete and put the yellow concrete cardboard tubes and added concrete to top of it and a few inches above ground...also good idea to clear silicone around the base of the wood or water could get in there and still rot the post

[kclaptraffic]

A 90 degree post level helped me out alot. It rubber bands to the post and gives you a level on 2 sides for I man operation.

[melissamangini]

Love seeing the girls helping. I have a sister and this video brings back some good memories of our helping Dad with his construction projects. He always bragged upon completion, "Who needs boys? I've got girls...and they're as handy as a pocket on a shirt!"

[clint]

Best fence installation video so far. I am about to install my very first privacy fence with the family. Thanks again

[fightzoid]

I had a 6 foot chain link in the back of my house when I bought it. I found some brackets at Home Depot that slide over the posts that have holes in them to bolt the stringers on to. That fence is about 80 feet and not having to put new posts in saved me a ton of time and money.

[condor]

Nice job and nice tractor! Only suggestion is you have dirt surrounding the pole at the ground interface. Big issue which will reduce your fence life many years. Should have concrete coming out of ground an inch or two. That dirt will rot that interface much sooner. Use small cardboard tube form (2-3 inches at top) to get a nice concrete top that you can slope water away from post. I am replacing my fence after 23 years and the reason it lasted so long was that. Great job and great family!

[joseHx]

Always recommend going with a 2x6 treated wood along the bottom keeps pickets from ground contact weathering and the 2x6 is more resistant to the weed eater damage.

[dannymlinar]

Yes! Cordless drills are great, string line is key, and rent a post hole digger. Manual digging is fine, but after a couple of holes it’s time upgrade. A thing or two to keep in mind: for those that trim/weed eat, you could create a rock bed (or something similar) under the fence to prevent chipping the fence when trimming; and be sure to plan, plan, plan! Write down what materials you need, mark your holes, mark utility lines, etc and double check before you start. Nice video!

[linden]

Yes, this is a great video. Just what I was looking for. I need a privacy fence going 25 feet from the corner of my house where it meets on the corner of my other fence that runs down the property. It’s on a little slope so it’s going to be tricky. I think I’m better off seeing that one one and it’s gonna be quite a bit as much as maybe 6 inches 4 inches difference from one corner to the other corner. I think rather than follow the ground. I’m going to follow the top and make sure all or even at the top and line up in a row at the top of the fence rather than the bottom of the fence. In between that 25.ft, I’m going to need a 10 foot gate or 2-5 foot sections because it’s going over a driveway, a second gravel driveway.

So being a 62-year-old woman that doesn’t have a lot of building skills, I purchased one of these levels that has like three side you attach it to your 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 post. And I also purchased one of those cat laser pointers where I can set a small piece of post in the ground attach my level and use the laser pointer to guide me to where I want to be and when I hit dirt I’ll know how far I’m of, Yes, I’m going slightly up the hill on the other side of the driveway section. I can throw gravel in there to cover that up a little bit no big deal! I see your neighbor a couple houses down put one up and he’s had a dip down also but he leveled up the top, so it’s there is a pretty good size a little gap along the bottom he could always run a stringer at the bottom if you wanted or do anything at the bottom plant some bushes.😂

My challenge is going to be when the side of the 6 foot wood panel, not panel pickets that I build fence, reach the corner of my house, keeping the squirrels off the fence from jumping up onto my roof of my porch! So I’ll have to put up some kind of a metal pole or shepherds hook or something and get one of those cone shape do hickeys and attach that so the squirrels can’t get up there😂😵‍💫

I put up a privacy fence in the back but I used panels instead of building with pickets like I’m going to do this time. It worked out pretty good. It did start to tilt a little bit. I probably didn’t get the 4 x 4 posts in the middle all the way enough in the ground but that’s OK I’m going to twine that 4 x 4 post on my back fence up to a tree and pull it tighter and then I’ll fill it in steak it in whatever I’ve got to do so some extra concrete down in there whatever I’ll get it fixed up and it’ll be all good to go for another five years!😂

I live in the city and I have a 30 year old son that lives with me he has he is not a builder. He needs a musician. He doesn’t put up fences. He doesn’t use hammers nothing out of it, but he can carry things and hold things up while I get up and do stuff I’m gonna be 62 years old in two months. I’m a little scared to get up on my roof again, but I gotta get up there and take care of a few things. 🤞

My husband passed away from pancreatic cancer a few years ago unexpectedly😢 So I’m trying to finish off the projects that we started without his guidance and try to remember everything that he taught me through the last 35 years😊


❤ Great channel I’m sure I’ll come back to this channel many times for your videos and maybe even advice😊

[MidwestGirl]

Love it! That is one great-looking fence! I can't believe you guys did that in one day! It looks fantastic!

[billfischer]

It's an early comment but just for a FYI, UFPO or any marking agency usually they tell you a 3' radius . from the mark should be hand dug with safety . You probably knew that but wanted to add it. The fence looks awesome and I love the fact that the whole family was involved. You are teaching your kids a wonderful life lesson. This truly is a wonderful channel for any and everybody to watch!

[djorig]

Watching your family help to build the fence is very loving.

[DeeInTheHouse]

...when you have measured your desired depth and put in place the first and last post...run a level string line from the tops of those two posts...this way you don't care about your lawn (which is not level)...just make sure each post top reaches the string line.