How to Build a Wooden Fence the Easy Way

Place the corner post by digging a hole equal to 1/3 of the post's length with a pair of post hole diggers. Add two shovel fulls of gravel to the bottom of the hole to provide drainage. Place the post in the hole and fill in around it with the dirt, packing it tightly.

Pull a string line from the first corner post to the location of the next corner and place a wooden stake there. Pulling a string line will ensure that you are working in a straight line when placing the wooden stakes. Any stakes that are out of line will compromise the appearance of your fence. Wrap the string around the stake and move to the next corner post location, repeating the process until you have arrived back at the first corner post. This will keep your posts in alignment with one another.

Hammer a wooden stake into the ground at the location of each post, which should be spaced six to eight foot apart. Continue this process all around the boundary of your property, then set each post as described in Step 1.

Attach slats to the fence using the lap joint method. Place the top edge of a 1-by-4 (or 1-by-6) piece of lumber even with the top edge of the first fence post, with the short end of the "rail" at the center of the upright post. Secure the rail to the fence posts at either end with heavy gauge wood nails. When looking directly at the fence post, the two rails that are attached to it should meet, end to end, in the center of the post. Each rail needs to be placed in the same manner.

Measure down from the bottom of the top rail to determine where the next rail should be. Slatted fences can have two, three or four rails, so decide how many rails you want. Mark the fence post six inches up from the ground, and secure the bottom edge of a 1-by-4 at the mark with wood nails. For a three-rail fence, place the third rail at the center mark between the top and bottom; for a four-rail fence, split the distance between the top and bottom and place the rails equally.

Continue on in this manner until all the posts have been placed and the rails have been secured. The fence can now be stained or painted according to your preference.