| Redwood is often the material of choice for fences | | | | critical part of the job. They must be straight and |
| because it is durable, looks good, and resists warping, | | | | evenly spaced, which requires patience and lots of |
| splitting and checking. | | | | measuring. Construction Heart grade redwood is the |
| Many homeowners save money by building their own | | | | right choice for fence posts because it resists decay |
| redwood fence. Fence building isn't difficult. Here are | | | | and insects. |
| some tips for successful fence building from the | | | | 4. Attaching redwood railings: Two or three horizontal |
| California Redwood Association: | | | | rails run between the posts, depending on the fence |
| 1. Designing the fence: Most redwood fences are | | | | height. Upper rails should rest on the tops of the |
| variations of a simple post, rail and board design. The | | | | posts for support. Bottom rails can be toenailed into |
| post and rail support structure is made of standard | | | | place, but the preferred method is to place a block |
| dimension lumber, while fence boards of different | | | | underneath the joint for extra support. Use metal |
| shapes and sizes give a fence its individual style. | | | | hardware, such as "L" brackets, to secure rails to |
| 2. Choosing quality materials: Most redwood fences | | | | posts. |
| are built with knot-textured "garden grades" of | | | | 5. Nailing redwood fence boards: Nailing the fence |
| redwood. These rugged grades are economical and | | | | boards in place is the easiest and most satisfying part |
| provide the best combination of performance and | | | | of building a fence. Near the ends of the board, |
| value. It is important to use noncorrosive nails and | | | | predrill holes before nailing to avoid splitting. For fence |
| hardware to avoid unsightly stains. | | | | boards four inches wide or less, use one nail per |
| 3. Setting redwood posts: Setting posts is the most | | | | bearing. For wider fence boards, use two nails. |