A recent windstorm had caused some damage to my back fence which required some repair. I had reinforced some of the posts previously with the Fence Mender product and had a spare I had planned to put in when the weather improved. See previous post here.
Since the big box stores typically don’t carry cedar fencing materials, I headed out to my local lumber yard, Sunbury Cedar. They carry short lengths of cedar wood (which are much cheaper than long pieces) and bulk exterior nails. I would need 4′ 1×3’s to reinforce the panels and pressure-treated 2×4’s for the base. I also needed to repair some lattice and they use that dimension of wood as scrap spacers in bundles.
My fence panels are relatively thin and stapled and nailed together. A well constructed panel should used 2×4’s mounted vertically (to prevent sagging) for the top and bottom rails. The bottom rail should be pressure-treated to prevent rot and insect damage. You can use Simpson hangers to attach the rails if you are building a fence from scratch.
My fence only had a 1×5 at the base which rotted from the neighbour piling dirt against it on the other side.
To reinforce the panels where they were weak, I used 1×3’s screwed with 1-1/2″ exterior brown screws on both the top and bottom parts of the panel. I made sure the bottom pieces were level.
To repair the rotted bottoms, I pulled out any remaining wood at the bottom and borrowed an oscillating saw to even out the bottom of the fence boards and the edge of the panels where it connected to the post. I could then fit a pressure treated 2×4 at the bottom. Screwing from the panel into the top of the 2×4 first made fitting the piece a bit easier.
When working with pressure treated lumber, you need to use green ACQ screws that prevent corrosion when in contact with the chemicals in the wood. If you need to cut the ends, you need to recoat it with “End Cut” preservative.
Here’s the almost finished job since I still need another Fence Mender on one remaining post and was short a 2×4 for one panel.
