Privacy fence

I was just wondering if anyone installs privacy fence? I am getting ready to work on mine and thought about staples instead of screws. I would like to use my nail/staple gun and compressor. It would be so much easier than driving screws in. Just wondering about the durability from weather.

 

You're talking about a wooden fence I'm guessing?

 

Yes

 

My experience in building my own and observing others, both 'professionally' installed and DIY............

1) Handbuilt will always last longer and stay looking nice longer than pre assembled panels.

2) more posts is better. I'm now up to using every 4 feet. If I use 8', the stringers are lapped, not butted. Butted doesn't bite enough on the post to last more than 10 yrs or so.

3) I screw the stringers to the 4x4 with 3" deck screws

4) I use dog eared fence boards, make a jig, and space the 1st course about 2" edge to edge, only nailing in the center, using galvanized spiral nails.

5) I then cover the gaps with another board, only nailing the edges, which of course catches the edges of the 1st course.

I've never seen stapled in a DIY fence like I described. But the mass produced panels are, and they seem to warp and fail pretty quick.

So for me, durability comes from extra post support, screws for framing and spiral nails for the boarding. Once you get in a rythmn it goes pretty quick.

 

I'll agree with above, my first house I went with the cheapest available fence panels from home depot. Did it all myself and while my fence posts and attachment points to the posts lasted a long time, the panels themselves needed repairs after a couple years because they warped and split. I'd definitely use deck screws for the panel to post attachments.

 

Ring Shank nails are your friend.

 

I agree with the general point Billy made... If you want it to last much beyond 5 years in top shape, staples aren't the way to go. Much depends on your climate, type of wood used, and stoutness of the staples, but good galvanized nails or screws will always be better as a general rule.

 

Not sure if you're just fixing or installing new but another thing to think about is vinyl fencing. It's more expensive and a little more technical to DIY install but it's a lot more maintenance free and will last much longer than wood fence of any sort.

 

My wife and I are looking to do a privacy fence to replace the old falling apart fence around our yard and we can't decide on building our own wood one or doing a vinyl one. There seem to be a lot of pros to vinyl over wood.

 

Stainless ring shank

 

This privacy fence is 10 Years old. We naught the prebuilt panels, sank the post and attached. It took 2 days and some change.

The lumber yard dropped the panels off around the perimeter so we didn't have to haul the panels very far.

There is no way you will save building your own panels. Time has value.