Sharing all the tips & tricks about how to make a fence yourself, a beautiful cedar post and rail fence on a budget to keep our kids & dog safe on our acre property with pictures.
Soon after we moved into our old farmhouse we put up a cedar privacy fence along the front of our property on our very busy street & now it is finally time to share how to make a fence for the back of the house.
Table of Contents
How to Make a Fence – Cedar Post and Rail Fence
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We had hoped to some day have the whole property fenced in but because our house backs up to a col de sac & a park so it wasn’t a big priority until now.
Moose our newest four legged furry family member is the most outgoing guy in our house. He insists on greeting everyone he sees regardless of whether they are in our yard or not.
So after Moose crashed the neighbors teenage girls pool party Thursday night we decided to move the fence back to the top of the to do list.
Why We Chose to Make a Cedar Post and Rail Fence
While we have an amazingly large front & side yard we have a very funky back yard where in some spots we only own about 5 -6 feet behind the house so we also didn’t want to completely destroy our view with a big fence.
Since we used cedar in the front we wanted to stay consistent but we didn’t want to spend the money to make privacy fence panels again or completely close off the back… plus there was already a ton of privacy bushes that I definitely need to trim 🙂 from our neighbors so we decided to try & share how to make a fence, a cedar post and rail fence.
So… we chose to make a cedar post & rail fence because we didn’t want to ruin our view, it is more cost effective than privacy panels & the cedar still matches our privacy fence.
Supplies & Tools Needed for How to Make a Fence – Cedar Post and Rail Fence
- String for Property Line
- Post Hole Digger
- Fence Post (Cedar or Pressure Treated)
- Concrete Mix
- Miter or Circular Saw to Cut Cedar Boards
- 5/4″ thick x 6″ wide 8 foot long cedar decking for fence boards
- Exterior Screws
- Cordless Drill
- Green Wire Fencing
- Galvanized U Shaped Nails
- Hammer
Instructions for How to Make a Fence – Cedar Post and Rail Fence – Step by Step
Step ONE – String a Line across your Property Markers
After finding the property markers we strung a line from one side to another.
Step TWO – Dig & Place your Fence Posts
Jason hand dug the holes for the posts & cemented all of them in.
How to Make a Fence Post Tip…Cedar Verses Pressure Treated Fence Posts
There is a lot of controversy over what kind of posts to use… cedar or pressure treated. I wanted to use pressure treated because it’s cheaper but we stayed with cedar because Jason really likes the look & the pressure treated ones available at Home Depot were very green.
Some people say pressure treated will last longer in the dirt so we cemented each post in to keep the moisture away from the wood.
*4/2020 update, we have had 2 posts rot after almost 7 years & switched them for pressure treated*
We dug down as far below the frost line as we could. I have never had such rocky soil in my life!!! Every shovel full of dirt is equally full of rocks.
Step THREE – Cutting & Attaching Cedar Fence Boards
We had the older two boys help with measuring the posts & pre-drilling the boards.
Even Moose tried to help…little did he know he would soon be losing his freedom, ha!
Tip for Spacing for How to Make a Fence, a Post and Rail Fence with 3 Rails
We placed the posts 8 feet apart.
We then ran (3) 8 foot cedar boards across each post every 16″ & screwed the boards in with exterior screws.
Tip for How to Make a Fence on Uneven Ground
We went back & straightened out a few of the boards so they didn’t look so up & down with our yard being so uneven.
Step FOUR – Cutting Down the Tops to the Fence Posts
Jason went back & trim down the posts to 3 inches above the top cedar board so they looked better & were more even.
We still have to fence in the other side of our yard next but for now it is nice to have almost a whole acre fenced.
I can’t wait to tackle landscaping the back of our house too.
We want to put a door in, take our a few of the overgrown bushes so they are not covering the windows and add some trees & a stone path back there.
What do you guys think of the cedar post & rail fence?
Moose isn’t so sure he likes it yet.
It’s definitely hurting his social calendar but for now anyway it’s keeping him contained!
Step FIVE – Adding Green Wire Fencing to Make the Post and Rail Fence Dog Proof
As you can see from this picture, we added green wire fencing to help keep Moose in.
We attached the green wire to the cedar post and rail fence with galvanized U shaped Nails,
I hope this inspires you & answers all your questions about how to make a fence, a cedar post and rail one.
by Tara Lehman
*Our Cedar Post & Rail Fence is Finished! To read all about how we built it & added a Lattice Privacy panel & gate, see it out ALL here
Some More DIY Fence Ideas you Might Enjoy
The fence looks great! Moose doesn’t look to disheveled yet! He’s not a digger, is he? LOL!!! Beautiful yard!
Thanks Susan!!! He has just started to dig but so far he has kept that to hiding stuffed animals, gardening gloves and the occasional bone:). We are praying that he doesn’t figure that out as an escape plan!!! Hope you have a great week and take care, Tara
I love it, Tara – it is a nice balance between form and function and really goes nicely with your farmhouse! Pinning for the future. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at our Tuesday Garden Party, too!
Hi Jami! Thanks so much for your sweet comments about our new fence:). I enjoy your garden party so much thank you for hosting it! Have a great rest of your week and take care, Tara
LOL! You had me at “Moose Containment”! So funny!
I cant belive y’all put in that fencing yourselves! Amazing!
I just love your beautiful big house and yard!
Thanks for sharing at Something to Talk About.
Pinning
Karen
Hi Karen! Thanks so much for your sweet comments about the fence! We were definitely in a hurry to keep our crazy puppy contained:). Thanks so much for your great link party! Have a great rest of your week and take care, Tara
What a great job and a big one. Whew, I’m exhausted….you guys did a great job. Poor Moose, no more parties for him….
Moose looks like a great dog…..
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
Hi Nancy Thank so much for taking the time to read and for your sweet comments about our new cedar fence! Yes Moose is a great dog…he just loves to get into trouble:). Have a great rest of your week and take care, Tara
LOL I am new to your blog so initially I thought you lived where real moose were and I was thinking ” geez, here we just have to worry about deer! ” 🙂
I see you are from PA! Me too…south of Pittsburgh.
You have a lovely property there! I am going to look around a bit more.
Ha! Hi Deb! So fun to meet another PA blogger! Thanks so much for your sweet comments about our home! Take care and have a great weekend, Tara
At first I thought you were containing a real moose, Hahaha! I love the fence and wish you’d come build one around our property. It looks fabulous!
Hi Lani, Sometimes our new puppy seems like he would be as much work as a real Moose, lol:). Thanks so much for your sweet comments about our fence and for stopping by! Have a great weekend and take care, Tara
Wow! It is so impressive that you have almost an acre fenced in! What a feeling of accomplishment, and a sense of relief that Moose won’t crash any more parties. :). Thanks for linking up at our new Dream. Create. Inspire. link party. Hope to see you back this Tuesday night!!
Hi Jenny, Thanks so much for your sweet comments and for coming to see our new cedar fence! I was so excited to link up to your first party! I will definitely be back this week:). Take care, Tara
Tara, I love this fence!! Wanting to build one similar. Do you recall the board sizes? (4×4 posts, 2×6 boards?)
Thanks so much for stopping by to check out our cedar post and rail fence Nathan! We used 4 by 4 posts and 1 by 6 cedar boards.
Beautiful fence! I am curious why you put the wire fence on the outside of the rails as opposed to between the rails and posts? Was that on purpose?
Thank you for stopping by to check out our cedar post & rail fence Scott! We put the wire on the outside because it was easier to unroll with the prickly holly bushes we have running along the fence in the back of our farmhouse.
How many feet apart are the cedar post away from each other?
Thanks for stopping by to check out our cedar post and rail fence Shay! The posts are 8 feet apart/