How to Install a Welded Wire Fence With U-Posts

Tie one end of a string to the gate post. Pull the string taut, then tie the other end to the adjacent corner post. Mark the ground 6 to 8 feet apart, in line with the string, between the installed posts.

Install the U-posts by placing the bottom end of the post on the marked position. The sheet-metal anchors are at the lower end of the post. Orient the post so its widest side faces the direction where you will be attaching the wire infill. Place the post-driver cylinder on the top of the post. Lift the post driver by its two handles until the bottom of the cylinder is slightly lower than the top of the post. Drop the post driver. Repeat until the anchors are 3 or 4 inches above ground level.

Plumb the post with a carpenter's level. Continue driving the post into the ground with the post driver until the anchors are just below ground level. Repeat to install remaining steel posts.

Stand the roll of fencing wire against the first wooden post. Unroll 6 to 8 feet of infill wire. Use fencing staples to attach the end of the wire fencing material to the center of the first wooden post. The staples positioned diagonally across the welds in the fencing wire to prevent both lateral and vertical shifting of the infill material. Nail the staples in place using the hammer portion of the fencing multi-tool pliers.

Instruct an assistant to stretch the fencing material between the first and second steel post and to hold the infill against the first steel post. This is done by placing a vertical wire strand onto the hooks on the stretcher, then pulling the stretcher toward the second post.

Bend the tie wires so they are U-shaped. Work from the side of the fence opposite the infill and insert a tie wire through a hole on the post. Wrap the tie wire over a horizontal or vertical infill strand, then pass the tie wire through an adjacent hole in the post. Wrap the tie wire diagonally across a weld whenever possible.

Twist the wires together behind the post. Grasp the twisted wires with the fencing pliers and turn three or four more times, tightening the infill against the post. Trim excess tie wire with the cutting part of the fencing pliers. Repeat to attach the remaining strands that cross the post to the post.

Have your assistant unroll more fencing wire, then stretch the infill between the next two posts. Wire the infill to the second post. Continue stretching and attaching the fencing material until you reach the corner post. Stretch, then staple the infill to the corner post, then trim the infill using the wire-cutting portion of the multi-tool.