Fencing

[bopper4]

We are looking at enclosing a 60 by 60 area for our dogs as well as a little outdoor living space with the grill fire pit etc.any suggestions or pros and cons on wood,vinyl or chain link fencing? We want at least six foot high for privacy purposes as well as containing our shorthairs.

[croixflats]

Are you going to put it up yourself? What do you have for soil and do you have ledge rock in your area?

[bopper4]

We will be doing it ourself and we have sand, no rock to worry about.

[pureinsanity]

If you can afford it, do the vinyl. and not from menards or home depot. there is several companies that make these kits based off your measurements. easy to install, basically everything clicks in. I did one last summer for a client and I was impressed at how easy it was. the hardest part was making sure you were precise on your measurements, and also auguring out the wet clay. with your sandy soil it should be a breeze!

Vinyl is easy to clean, but shows dirt better.

wood will take a lot longer, lots of cutting and lots of man hours.

chain link isn't bad, but your dogs can see through it and probably would bark at people walking by. also chain link isn't much of a privacy fence

[Stringerless!]

I did the back yard in 6 foot green treated dogeared panels from Menards. One of the best investments I think I ever made. Did it myself. Soil is sand here too. Never found a pebble in over 400 feet of fence! Best soil you would ever want to dig in but I curse it all summer when I am trying to keep it green. The premade panels were a piece of cake. Center and plumb your posts and away you go. I did not consider myself a private person but after having it I would never be without one. At the time I did it the panels were on sale for $21 bucks each. Concrete around every other post. I can give you a tip on how to mix a bag in less than a minute too. I used 1 bag for every other post. Maintenence free if you don't mind the aged wood look.

[cavalierowner]

I went with wood when I put up a privacy fence. I've always liked the warmth of wood.

Regardless of what kind of fence you build, if you're enclosing for dogs like I was, you may want to consider burying some wire below the ground so if the dogs dig, they hit wire and can't dig out. What I did was go down about 6", then came in about 16" horizontally into the yard. That way if the dogs ever decide it's a good idea to dig a little way away from the fence, they still run into the buried wire.

[croixflats]

Chain link is going to be the easiest and cheapest to install but like pureinsanity said not much privacy.

The vinyl, if you go with commercial grade we use buftech, is strong stuff, though it scratches easy, but spendy about $20 for a lineal foot. Its easy to put in if you know what your doing. Measuring and leveling the post constantly is a must. personally I'm not a fan of how the stuff looks, to antiseptic for my taste. Though you could go with the brick or stone looking panels then again more cost.

I like the cedar wood, many different attractive looks and designs can be had. There is some labor involved but the end product turns out great.

[bopper4]

Thanks for all of the input, I appreciate it. I have narrowed it down to wood. Our driveway is dirt and we have big pines surrounding the house, I think that vinyl will get covered in tree sap and dirt in a hurry.

As I was looking around, I found some 6 foot wood fencing with the lattice on top. Anyone ever use this or know a good place to purchase it. I know the wife really liked the look of the lattice tops. I am just fine with the dog eared myself.

[delcecchi]

Thanks for all of the input, I appreciate it. I have narrowed it down to wood. Our driveway is dirt and we have big pines surrounding the house, I think that vinyl will get covered in tree sap and dirt in a hurry.

As I was looking around, I found some 6 foot wood fencing with the lattice on top. Anyone ever use this or know a good place to purchase it. I know the wife really liked the look of the lattice tops. I am just fine with the dog eared myself.

Last summer menards had it for sure, and maybe home depot. I forget whether fleet farm stocked that pattern or not.

[bopper4]

I will be putting it in sandy soil. How deep will I have to put the posts so the frost doesn't cause them to heave?

[croixflats]

Generally we set them in concrete at 40 inches. With a 8" 9" wide hole 1 1/2 bags of concrete should do .

[pureinsanity]

Generally we set them in concrete at 40 inches. With a 8" 9" wide hole 1 1/2 bags of concrete should do .

+1

I have also just poured the bag of concrete in there, and tamped and packed it around the post so it was solid, and mother nature and an irrigation system did the rest for setting up the concrete.

[bopper4]

I hate to keep asking questions but I want to make sure I get this right the first time. On a previous post I saw that I should only concrete in every other post. I thought a guy should have to do every post. My next question is about the concrete. A friend of mine said he used the stuff u just pour in the hole and add water to it, which I found in a fifty lb bag. On the other hand is the eighty pound bag of Quickcrete a guy needs to mix. Which one should I use and when u say a bag or bag and a half, is that a fifty or eighty pound bag. Thanks again for all your help, it will make this project a lot better in the long run.

[Down Deep]

A good source for information and quality fencing is Midwest Fence Co. in the St. Paul. I used them for a do-it-yourself project and got great advice. One thing you can do is put a chain link around your lot and then erect a few panels of a privacy fence where you need them. Midwest recommended that I not use concrete where I live because of clay soil and instead just drive the posts in. On the corners they recommended that I use a post hole digger to excavate holes then set the poles and use compacted limestone instead of concrete. Doing this would allow you to reset the posts if there were and heaving because freeze/thaw. It would also prevent the concrete from being heaved.

[Tom7227]

I think I've read that concrete and wooden posts don't mix together very well. The concrete keeps the posts damp and they rot out more quickly. Check with a pro and do what you're told there. The tamped compacted material may be your best bet but don't take my word for it.

[croixflats]

We have dry set post, using the dirt from the holes, and used gravel to set them in along with concrete. The gavel when packed acts as concrete when used in clay soil. Clay soil has great lateral strength this is why dry pack or gravel works. In sandy soils not so much lateral strength the added surface area of concrete gives you more lateral strength. Keep in mind in clay soil gravel set, dry set or concrete set when the soil gets saturated you fence is going to be weak no matter what you set the post in unless you set the post 4 ft in the ground. The potential problem with dry set or gravel set in clay soil is when the soil gets saturated the gravel or dirt around the soil most likely will to if not the wobbling of the fence will break the compaction seal around the fence post. Any way you look at it clay soil is not so friendly to fence post.

If one is worried about any ill effects of moisture between concrete and wood dome the top of the concrete to shed the water away from the post and a step further you can treat the post that sits in the concrete with an asphalt emulsion.

[pureinsanity]

Every post needs some. Just dump a 50# bag at minimum in each hole. find a stick or something to compact it in the whole. This is a two man job.

One levels the post and holds it steady while the other dumps the bag and compacts it the hole. double check your level and move on to the next.

[delcecchi]

I have clay soil you could make flower pots out of. My mailbox post is a treated 4x4 set in concrete in a hole maybe 2 feet deep. Lots of chunks of limestone in with the clay. It's been there for at least 10 years and hasn't moved. Old post got taken off by snowplow.

I also put up a section of fence panel with two posts, also down maybe 2 feet or a little more. I guess I will find out how they do this spring, since I put them in last fall.

I am not worried about treated wood rotting off, but I am older than you guys most likely.