How to Install a Pre-Built Wood Panel Align Fence

Prepare Fence Posts

• 1

  Tie a string around the corner fence post at the level you intend to position the bottom edge of the top rail of the fencing panel. Extend the string past adjacent fence posts to the next corner post. Hang a line level on the string. Raise or lower the string until it is horizontal. Tie the string to the corner post. Mark each post with a pencil line where the string crosses it. Remove the string and line level.

• 2

  Count the number of fence posts in your fence. You will be cutting one 6-inch-long support block for each post. Measure and mark a 2-by-4-inch plank or scrap to cut a block that is 6 inches long. Place the plank on the chop-saw table so the 4-inch surfaces are horizontal. Hold the plank firmly against the guide fence. Cut the plank. Repeat to cut one block for each fence post.

• 3

  Lay the support blocks on a flat surface with their 4-inch surfaces horizontal. Drill pilot holes near the four corners of each block, about 1 inch from the corners of the blocks. Insert a wood screw in each pilot hole. Use a drill and driving bit to screw each wood screw about 1 inch into the block. Repeat to prepare each of the support blocks for quick installation.

• 4

  Position the first support block on the first fence post. Align the top edge of the support block to the reference line scribed on the post. Align the sides of the support block to the sides of the fence post. Use a drill and driving bit to securely attach the block to the post. Repeat to install a support block on the reference line scribed on each post.

Hang Fencing Panels

• 5

  Lift the fence panel, and place each end of the upper rail on top of corresponding support blocks on the fence posts. Position the panel so the ends of the rails are at the centers of the adjacent fence posts.

• 6

  Drill two pilot holes in a vertical line about 3/4 inch from the end of each rail of the hanging fence panel. Insert a wood screw in each pilot hole. Screw each rail to the corresponding post. Lean on the panel as you screw it in place so it doesn't separate from the post as you install it.

• 7

  Hang the upper rails of the adjacent fence panel on the corresponding support blocks. Screw the rails in place. Continue hanging the fence panels in this manner until all of the panels have been installed.