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First Posted: 4/10/2014 If you plan to build a fence, it&#8217;s no surprise you will need materials, but the one thing you should have before you even think of buying lumber or pulling out a hammer is a notepad.
&#8220;Put your thoughts on paper before you even do anything else,&#8221; Ron Knorr told customers at a fence-building workshop at The Home Depot in Wilkes-Barre on a recent spring weekend. &#8220;You don&#8217;t have to be an artist. You just need to do a rough sketch of the type of fence you think you need and you think you like.&#8221;
Function is critical to fence selection, he said. Do you want a fence for privacy, pet containment or to protect your swimming pool, for example?
After determining key role, he said, homeowners should contact their zoning officer to determine restrictions regarding height or type of fence.
&#8220;Know where your property line is,&#8221; Knorr said. &#8220;Once you put up a fence, it can be tough and expensive to take it down.&#8221;
Also contact the utility company to check for buried water or gas lines so a fence post won&#8217;t hit them.
Once you&#8217;ve decided on a fence type, decide on the material: chain link, vinyl, redwood, cedar, ornamental iron or pressure-treated wood.
Location, dimensions, build time, budget, available help and climate all factor into selection.
You can build almost any kind of fence with wood, then paint it and stain it.
Emily Murphy Walsh of Wilkes-Barre considered cedar for a wood fence after Knorr told her it would be a safe choice to encase an organic garden.
&#8220;Layout is important,&#8221; Knorr said. &#8220;If the fence doesn&#8217;t start out straight, it won&#8217;t end up straight.&#8221;
Traditional pickets are 4 feet high, he said. They are typically 1-by-3s with the space between them equal to the width of each picket. Rails to hold the pickets are installed at the top and bottom; taller pickets need the support of a middle rail.
Install the fence at least two inches above the ground to prevent the boards from rotting.
Knorr and associate Eugene Van Lith demonstrated the four basic steps to installing a home fence:
Step 1: Build batten boards: The best way to lay out a fence is with batten boards, which are a bit fancier than stakes and string but let you reposition the string without moving the stake. If the fence has two or more sides, they need to be at right angles. Measure the diagonal between two points near the corner. Once you&#8217;ve run the lines, tape them to mark where the posts will go. Depending on the fencing, the posts will be either six or eight feet apart.
Step 2: Check for level: Hang a line level on the middle of the line. Drive one of the batten boards farther into the ground to level the line, if necessary. Measure from a fixed object, such as the house or patio, and slide the line along the crosspiece until it matches the exact path of the fence. Drive more batten boards and stretch line to lay out adjoining sides of the fence. Level the line as needed by driving one of the batten boards farther into the ground, then adjust so the line replicates the path of the fence.
Step 3: Check for square: Start at the corner where the lines cross; measure three feet along one line and tape. Then tape four feet from the intersection on the other piece of line. The lines are square if the distance between the tape is five feet. If they&#8217;re not square, slide one of the lines along the batten board until they are.
Step 4: Mark the corners and ends of the fence: Drop a plumb bob from the corners the mason&#8217;s line forms. Mark the spot below the plumb bob with chalk. If the fence ends without forming a corner, measure along the line to lay out the end point. Tape it, drop a plumb bob, then mark the ground with chalk. Measure and tape along the mason&#8217;s line to indicate the position of the posts. Drop a plumb bob from the tape and mark each spot with chalk or paper and a nail.

Fence them in, please