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Installing Vinyl Fence
How To Install Your Vinyl Fence
Vinyl fencing is a popular alternative to traditional wooden fence. Although initial costs may be slightly higher than wood fencing, vinyl fence will actually cost less over time than wooden fencing products because of its durability, low-maintenance, and lasting beauty.
If you’re a DIY type and you plan to install your vinyl fence yourself, there are a few things you’ll need to know to make your vinyl fence last and look beautiful for decades.
Installing Your Vinyl Fence Takes Time
Installing a vinyl fence is not a job that you can tackle over a short weekend. To do it properly, fence installation is a two-person job and requires several days to allow for site planning, positioning of fence posts, hardening of concrete, and fence section installation. Carefully planning your fence location, dimensions, and distances at the beginning of the project will help you avoid costly mistakes that may not easily be undone.
Tools and Materials For Installing Your Vinyl Fence
To install your vinyl fence, you will need the following: A posthole digger or power auger, level, stakes, hammer, drill, screwdriver and screws, tape measure, vinyl adhesive, mallet, trowel, string, fencing materials (fence sections, fence posts, fence hardware and other fence accessories), 2x4s to brace fence posts, concrete, and gravel.
Planning Your Vinyl Fence Installation Project
If you’re thinking of starting a vinyl fence installation project, consider the following questions:
What purpose will the fence serve? Will it be used as a privacy fence? Or to deter animals? Or to protect property? Or just to add a beautiful design element to the property? What style of fence is best suited to serve the purpose for installing the fence? And what style of fence will blend the best with the landscaping and architectural features of the home and property?
Vinyl fencing is an excellent alternative to wooden fencing for any of the uses described above. Unlike wooden fence, vinyl fence is virtually maintenance free, it is available in many styles, and it will not rot, fade, or warp like wood fence.
During your fence planning process, you’ll want to make sure that you follow local ordinances and requirements for installation of structures on your property. Discuss your plans with adjacent property owners, make sure your fence is within the bounds of your property lines, check for easements on your property and be sure your fence plan does not infringe upon those easements, check zoning laws for size and placement regulations, obtain proper building permits, and confirm the location of underground utilities (800-ONECALL) before you begin digging.
Deciding What Style of Vinyl Fence To Use
Vinyl fencing comes in a variety of styles and preassembled panels with matching fence gates and fence posts.
Privacy fence provides a solid barrier and is usually used for swimming pool fencing and property boundary fencing. Privacy fence is also used to block views of roads and other unsightly views. A privacy fence will generally be four- to six-feet tall and modified styles with decorative lattice are often used to add visual appeal to the fence.
Picket fences provide a more open, inviting visual appearance to the property than privacy fence. Made of individually spaces “pickets,” these vinyl fences come in many different designs and are ideal for keeping children and pets safe while at the same time adding visual appeal to the property. Picket fencing is usually four-feet high or less, and it’s spaced pickets add visual appeal without blocking the surrounding landscape.
Both the privacy fence and picket fence styles of FencePlace vinyl fencing offer superb beauty and durability. Ultimately, the final decision between privacy fence and picket fencing is a matter of personal taste and determination of the desired function of the fence.
Speaking of Fences
In order to tackle a vinyl fence installation project, you’ll need to know the various terms used for the different parts of a fence.
A fence post is the vertical part of the fence that is sunk deep into the ground to provide support and stability for the fence. Corner posts are positioned at the corners of a fence. Corner posts provide the most stabilizing anchor for the rest of the fence. If a fence installation requires an open end, an end post is utilized. Gate end posts are installed on both sides of the gate. And line posts are installed between the main posts to provide stability and attachment points for fence sections. Fence post caps may be added to the fence posts to provide additional visual appeal to your fence.
A fence rail is the horizontal support that runs between fence posts. With vinyl fence, rails are attached near the top and bottom of each preassembled fence section.
A fence gate is the door that provides entry into and out of the fenced-in area. FencePlace offers a number of design styles to match our vinyl fence sections.
Additional fence accessories include fence hinges, fence lock latches, fence post stiffeners, and drop rods. Some or all of these additional fence accessories may be required for your vinyl fence installation project. Consult a FencePlace customer service rep today to help you determine what materials you’ll need to successfully install your vinyl fence.
Planning the Fence Site
One of the most critical steps in the vinyl fence installation process is planning the fence site. Time spent determining accurate measurements during this stage will help eliminate fence installation problems later. Graph paper makes drawing a site plan a simple task. Be sure to consider the width of your fence sections and fence gates to ensure a smooth and consistent appearance to your fence.
Here are the basic steps required to successfully plan a vinyl fence installation:
Stake out your fence line. Tie string tightly between corner post locations to visually depict the line that your fence will follow.
Measure the length of your vinyl fence sections and use this measurement to stake out the location of your line posts. Use the center of the post as your measurement point.
Be sure to include fence gate locations during this step. The opening between two fence gate posts should be 1 1/4" wider than the gate itself. Allow 5/8" of space on each side between gate and posts to allow room for hardware. The bottom of the gate should be in alignment with the bottom of the fence.
If the property where you want to install your vinyl fence is located on a slope, your vinyl fence must be gradually “stepped” up the slope so that each fence rail is level rather than parallel to the slope.
Digging Postholes
Before digging your postholes, it’s a good idea to “dry fit” your fence by laying it out along the string line. This will prevent major adjustments to your fence later on.
Using a posthole digger or power auger, dig 10” diameter holes. Fence post depth will depend on local climate and soil type. In general 1/3 of the fence post should be below ground level. You local building inspector may be able to provide more specific posthole depth recommendations based on your local climate and soil conditions.
Postholes should be dug an additional six inches deep and backfilled with several inches of gravel to allow for drainage. And corner posts should be set an additional six inches deeper to add extra strength. Be sure to account for this when planning the height of your fence.
Installing Fence Posts
Once you’ve added the gravel to your postholes, you are ready to pour your concrete. Be sure to follow directions for concrete mixing and setting times.
Place the fence post into the concrete so the post touches the top of the gravel. Fill the rest of the posthole with concrete and use a trowel to slope the concrete away from the post to prevent water from collecting.
Install your main end posts and corner fence posts first. Once the end posts and corner posts are installed, tie a string between these posts to establish the position of your line posts. Make sure each fence post is plumb and level before proceeding to the next fence post.
It is important to allow sufficient time for the concrete to set before installing your vinyl fence sections.
Installing Fence Sections
Once the fence post concrete is completely set, you can install your vinyl fence sections.
Attach the fence sections to the fence posts using recommended screws and rail brackets. Once all the rail brackets are attached to the fence posts, slide the fence section panels into the brackets and use screws to fasten the fence sections to the brackets.
Use vinyl adhesive to glue the fence post caps to the top of the fence posts. Apply vinyl adhesive to the inside of the fence cap where it will make contact with the fence post. Hold the fence post cap securely for several seconds to ensure adhesion. Then remove any excess vinyl adhesive immediately with a damp cloth.
Enjoy Your Installed Vinyl Fence for Many Years
The tips above are basic guidelines provided to assist DIY homeowners in installing a beautiful FencePlace vinyl fence. Every fence installation is unique, so please feel free to contact FencePlace customer service for personalized assistance with your vinyl fence installation.