Establishing a barrier between your yard and the street is important. Without it, folks may park on your lawn, whether they mean to or not. When a homeowner realized his neighbors all had stylish barriers across their yard, he knew he needed one. Carpenter Nathan Gilbert and landscape contractor Lee Gilliam helped him install a split-rail fence and all the landscaping he could imagine.
How to Install a Split Rail Fence
- Start with a rough layout using marking paint and a tape measure to create a straight line across the yard for the garden bed.
- Using the hoe, shovel, and wheelbarrow, remove the grass from the garden bed area. Dig just below the grass to remove the roots.
- Install a stringline that travels through the middle of the garden bed, driving spikes into the ground on either end and pulling the string tight. This line will represent the fence line.
- Determine where your fence will start and mark the soil with the marking paint. Using a rail slat as a guide, mark the soil every 8 or so feet (again, using the rail as a guide). Make sure to account for about two inches of the rail sliding into the post.
- Use the post hole digger to remove the soil, rocks, and other debris from the soil. Dig slightly more than 2 feet down to allow for plenty of post depth and stone dust.
- Install the first post. Use a level to ensure it’s plumb and pack it into place by backfilling it with stone dust (stone dust drains better than concrete but will still lock the post in place). Use a scrap piece of wood to tightly pack the stone dust.
- Install the second post, but before securing it with stone dust, install a rail slat to ensure it’s in the right position. With the rail slat attached, place a level on top of the rail and adjust the post height by either adding stone dust or digging deeper.
- Continue installing the posts and rails as you go, adjusting their heights for level and ensuring they’re plumb as you go.
- Drive nails through the posts and into the slats’ tenons to secure them in place.
- Water the soil deeply until a puddle forms. The water will soak into the soil, locking the stone dust in place.
- Use the roto tiller to turn the garden over and remove the rocks, roots, and compacted soil before planting.
- Plant classic curb-appeal perennials like cat mint, spiraea, and black-eyed susans along the front of the fence and rose bushes along the back.
- Spread mulch around the garden bed, keeping it a few inches back from the base of the plants. Keep the mulch fluffy and natural-looking.
- Water the garden bed 15 to 20 minutes each day until the plants are able to establish their roots (about two weeks).
Resources
- Cedar split rail fence: Check with your local fence supplier
- Marking spray paint
- Shovel
- Wheelbarrow: For rent. To buy.
- Garden hoe
- Garden bow rake
- Pick mattock
- Rototiller
Plants (check local plant nurseries)
- Black Eyed Susans
- Cat Mint
- Rose Bushes
- Spiraea
Materials
Tools
You might want to rent a wheelbarrow if you don’t have frequent landscaping projects.
