Lay the fence out with a string line, space the posts evenly, and drive galvanized steel posts straight into the ground. Fasten the wood rails to the posts, screw the boards to the rails with the bottoms kept off the ground, and hang the gates on posts tied into the fence. It’s the method behind our SteelRoots hybrid wood fence: the look of wood, on posts that don’t rot or lean.
Most wood fences fail at the post. Wood posts rot at the soil line, and once a few go, the fence leans. Swapping wood posts for galvanized steel fixes that, and the rest of the fence goes up the way a wood fence always has. Here’s how we build our SteelRoots hybrid wood fence.
1. Lay It Out
Mark the property pins, gate locations and any buried lines or sprinklers. Run a string line along the fence to see how the top will look across the yard before anything goes in the ground.
2. Space the Posts Evenly
Measure each run and divide it into equal sections, instead of setting posts at a fixed spacing and ending with a short leftover piece. Even sections look better and keep the rails and boards lined up.
3. Drive the Steel Posts
Galvanized steel posts are driven straight into the ground with a post driver, right on the string line. A slim steel post gives frost very little to grab, so it doesn’t jack out of the ground in spring. We use posts made for wood fences, like PostMaster, that the wood rails screw to directly.
4. Fasten the Rails
Wood rails are screwed to the steel posts along each section. Keep them level with the string line, or follow the grade if the yard slopes.
5. Hang the Boards
Screw the boards to the rails — screws hold as the wood swells and shrinks, where nails back out. Keep the bottoms of the boards up off the ground so they don’t sit in the dirt and rot. Go board-on-board for full privacy, or spaced for airflow.
6. Hang the Gates
Hang gates on a post that’s tied into a fence section, never on a lone post that can lean. Gates swing toward the lower side of the yard so the bottom clears the ground.
7. Finish It
Stain on day one, or let cedar weather to silver. When the boards wear out years from now, you replace boards — the steel posts stay.
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