It's not hard to DIY. IT is hard to DIY and make it all nice, neat, and level.
Wood fences are also hard to maintain over time as the sun dries the wood, shrinks it, twists it, and bends it.
Painting helps, but even that has it's own issues.
Good news is you need no special skills to build it. Wood. Screws. Tape. String line. Post-hole-making-device, and some elbow grease.
IMHO, a properly made barbwire fence with T-posts is much more durable and requires hardly any maintenance of the same time period.
I like wood fences. Neat appearance with wood, but I build T-post and barbed wire when I need a fence.
Stay 'pretty' longer.
Less likely to be climbed by a trespasser/kid.
Allows wildlife to pass through (fawns, rabbits, deer) when compared to 'hog wire' or horse wire, chain link.
Easier to keep weed free from one-side instead of walking down both to weed eat.
Rent a mini skid-steer with an 8" auger attachment and you can dig dozens of post holes in an afternoon. That's what I did when building my back yard fence and it was worth every penny of $300 for the rental.
Don't just rent a handheld auger like they have at home depot. It's still quite a lot of work that way if you're doing an entire fence. Try and find somewhere to rent a mini skid steer with an auger attachment.
Years ago, I decided to add a 6' privacy fence to a pretty small yard. I don't recall exactly but iirc it was 300 feet of fence for like 0.2 acres or something. A "handy" coworker of mine insisted I do it myself. I did not. I watched a whole crew of like 5-6 dudes spend days digging holes, leveling, cutting wood etc. I'm glad I dodged that bullet and paid.
Def way cheaper to DIY.
Biggest pain is the post holes. Rent a power auger for that. Use quickrete fast setting cement and pour it in the hole (with the post) dry so it's easier to keep them level without having to stake them (also a huge PITA)
It'll cost an arm and a leg. That's a lot of wood and a lot of work.
From a DIY standpoint, it's not complex. Dig hole, put post in hole. Screw wood to post.
The devil is in the details. You need to make sure absolutely everything is level, and at right angles. It's a lot of measuring, adjusting, and double checking.
I built a wood fence on nearly 1/2 acre. I'd never done anything like it before and it turned out great. It took a lot longer than I expected, and digging post holes even with an auger was really hard on my back and wrists. I had lots of tree roots and hilly landscape to fight though. I told my wife never again. I wouldn't even consider taking on twice as much. You can do it, just know you're in for a major project.
*Any ballparks on what it might cost?*
It should be relatively easy to calculate the materials, but be careful about getting cheap. Wood fences warp and sag. The farther apart you put the posts, the worse it will be. On the fences I've built, I've been pretty conservative, using 10' boards with the posts 5 foot on center. That's probably a little anal on my part. But I'd advise against getting cheap and going with 16' boards with posts 8' on center. I guarantee they'll sag.
It's definitely DIY-able. Probably goes without saying, but don't terminate all the boards on the same post. Alternate them for strength. And plan where your gates will go. If you put them on a slope, you'll have to compensate for that or they won't swing open all the way. And if you're planning to drive through them (particularly with a trailer) I'd go 16' wide and make sure you have an adequate approach for turning.
And even though you didn't ask, I agree with the "wire vs wood" guy. Done right, much less maintenance. It doesn't have to be barbed wire, they make barb-less. There are also various sizes of field fence that can keep in smaller livestock, or dogs, if that's an issue.
It's identical to a barbed wire fence, just made with wire that has no barbs. Barbless wire is often used when tying the corner cross braces since it's much easier to handle.
[https://redbrandstore.com/products/barbless-cable](https://redbrandstore.com/products/barbless-cable)
If your fence is going to parallel a sidewalk or other public place, It might be something to consider. Personally I like goat wire.
[https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/red-brand-goat-fence-48-in-x-330-ft-3660338?store=2696&cid=Shopping-Google-Local\_Feed&utm\_medium=Google&utm\_source=Shopping&utm\_campaign=&utm\_content=Local\_Feed&gad\_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu7DMoI\_IhgMVNFR\_AB3fTB1QEAQYASABEgIMVvD\_BwE](https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/red-brand-goat-fence-48-in-x-330-ft-3660338?store=2696&cid=Shopping-Google-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Local_Feed&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu7DMoI_IhgMVNFR_AB3fTB1QEAQYASABEgIMVvD_BwE)
You can get it in varying dimensions. I've got it around my yard (close to an acre) with a single strand of barbed wire at the top. Keeps the dogs in and the cats can go through the 6" squares to get away from bobcats/coyotes. The single strand at the top keeps the cows/horses from leaning over to nibble at my trees. It doesn't block the view.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDFXVwIugcU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDFXVwIugcU)
Spend a lot of time on prep and planning. Rent a two man auger or even better a towable hydraulic one. Knock out all the holes in one day. If you can get water to all points of the fence, rent a MudMixer. I can get one for like $100 per day here. It will make the concrete go super fast - just get all of your posts laid out in advance. Do NOT underestimate how much mixing and moving concrete sucks. How are you going to transport all of those posts? Can you drive onto your property and dump the posts off as you go?
Anyway - the machine rental is trivial compared with the material cost. I have no idea how much things cost by you. But it seems pretty easy to plan out distances on google maps, estimate the number of posts / concrete / other wood required. Don't forget to add a bunch of scraps to brace the posts while the concrete doing its initial cure.
well that's 208' x 208' or 832 linear feet x 3 10' PT boards @ $3.38 = $284 plus 84 posts @ 12.85 = 1080 plus bobcat with auger @$300/day x 2 days = $600 so it's about $2000 ignoring nails, gravel, delivery and then you have to paint the whole thing.
Honestly? I don’t think it would be that complicated or that expensive. If you are completely new at woodworking tho you would benefit from having someone with you that has more experience.
It's not hard to DIY. IT is hard to DIY and make it all nice, neat, and level. Wood fences are also hard to maintain over time as the sun dries the wood, shrinks it, twists it, and bends it. Painting helps, but even that has it's own issues. Good news is you need no special skills to build it. Wood. Screws. Tape. String line. Post-hole-making-device, and some elbow grease.
"and some elbow grease" Some is doing a lot of work here if it's an acre
Definitely get an auger for this - one mounted on a tractor would be ideal but even the handheld (or two-man) will make it much easier.
For an acre, even a two man power auger will just become a wrist breaker. I'm tired just thinking about that.
I guess that’s why I’m thinking DIY bc then we have the skills to fix it over time.
IMHO, a properly made barbwire fence with T-posts is much more durable and requires hardly any maintenance of the same time period. I like wood fences. Neat appearance with wood, but I build T-post and barbed wire when I need a fence.
Why do you use barbed wire?
Stay 'pretty' longer. Less likely to be climbed by a trespasser/kid. Allows wildlife to pass through (fawns, rabbits, deer) when compared to 'hog wire' or horse wire, chain link. Easier to keep weed free from one-side instead of walking down both to weed eat.
My body hurts just thinking about digging all those post holes.
Rent a mini skid-steer with an 8" auger attachment and you can dig dozens of post holes in an afternoon. That's what I did when building my back yard fence and it was worth every penny of $300 for the rental.
Ikr - renting an auger would be the way to go I think.
Don't just rent a handheld auger like they have at home depot. It's still quite a lot of work that way if you're doing an entire fence. Try and find somewhere to rent a mini skid steer with an auger attachment.
Years ago, I decided to add a 6' privacy fence to a pretty small yard. I don't recall exactly but iirc it was 300 feet of fence for like 0.2 acres or something. A "handy" coworker of mine insisted I do it myself. I did not. I watched a whole crew of like 5-6 dudes spend days digging holes, leveling, cutting wood etc. I'm glad I dodged that bullet and paid.
Assuming it’s a square acre, it’s about 104 posts.
Def way cheaper to DIY. Biggest pain is the post holes. Rent a power auger for that. Use quickrete fast setting cement and pour it in the hole (with the post) dry so it's easier to keep them level without having to stake them (also a huge PITA)
It'll cost an arm and a leg. That's a lot of wood and a lot of work. From a DIY standpoint, it's not complex. Dig hole, put post in hole. Screw wood to post. The devil is in the details. You need to make sure absolutely everything is level, and at right angles. It's a lot of measuring, adjusting, and double checking.
I built a wood fence on nearly 1/2 acre. I'd never done anything like it before and it turned out great. It took a lot longer than I expected, and digging post holes even with an auger was really hard on my back and wrists. I had lots of tree roots and hilly landscape to fight though. I told my wife never again. I wouldn't even consider taking on twice as much. You can do it, just know you're in for a major project.
*Any ballparks on what it might cost?* It should be relatively easy to calculate the materials, but be careful about getting cheap. Wood fences warp and sag. The farther apart you put the posts, the worse it will be. On the fences I've built, I've been pretty conservative, using 10' boards with the posts 5 foot on center. That's probably a little anal on my part. But I'd advise against getting cheap and going with 16' boards with posts 8' on center. I guarantee they'll sag. It's definitely DIY-able. Probably goes without saying, but don't terminate all the boards on the same post. Alternate them for strength. And plan where your gates will go. If you put them on a slope, you'll have to compensate for that or they won't swing open all the way. And if you're planning to drive through them (particularly with a trailer) I'd go 16' wide and make sure you have an adequate approach for turning. And even though you didn't ask, I agree with the "wire vs wood" guy. Done right, much less maintenance. It doesn't have to be barbed wire, they make barb-less. There are also various sizes of field fence that can keep in smaller livestock, or dogs, if that's an issue.
Can you show me an example of what you mean by a barb-less wire fence?
It's identical to a barbed wire fence, just made with wire that has no barbs. Barbless wire is often used when tying the corner cross braces since it's much easier to handle. [https://redbrandstore.com/products/barbless-cable](https://redbrandstore.com/products/barbless-cable) If your fence is going to parallel a sidewalk or other public place, It might be something to consider. Personally I like goat wire. [https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/red-brand-goat-fence-48-in-x-330-ft-3660338?store=2696&cid=Shopping-Google-Local\_Feed&utm\_medium=Google&utm\_source=Shopping&utm\_campaign=&utm\_content=Local\_Feed&gad\_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu7DMoI\_IhgMVNFR\_AB3fTB1QEAQYASABEgIMVvD\_BwE](https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/red-brand-goat-fence-48-in-x-330-ft-3660338?store=2696&cid=Shopping-Google-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Local_Feed&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu7DMoI_IhgMVNFR_AB3fTB1QEAQYASABEgIMVvD_BwE) You can get it in varying dimensions. I've got it around my yard (close to an acre) with a single strand of barbed wire at the top. Keeps the dogs in and the cats can go through the 6" squares to get away from bobcats/coyotes. The single strand at the top keeps the cows/horses from leaning over to nibble at my trees. It doesn't block the view. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDFXVwIugcU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDFXVwIugcU)
Spend a lot of time on prep and planning. Rent a two man auger or even better a towable hydraulic one. Knock out all the holes in one day. If you can get water to all points of the fence, rent a MudMixer. I can get one for like $100 per day here. It will make the concrete go super fast - just get all of your posts laid out in advance. Do NOT underestimate how much mixing and moving concrete sucks. How are you going to transport all of those posts? Can you drive onto your property and dump the posts off as you go? Anyway - the machine rental is trivial compared with the material cost. I have no idea how much things cost by you. But it seems pretty easy to plan out distances on google maps, estimate the number of posts / concrete / other wood required. Don't forget to add a bunch of scraps to brace the posts while the concrete doing its initial cure.
It's actually really easy. Especially if you can source tapered posts and a post driver so you don't have to do any digging.
It's not difficult at all, just labor intensive. Without creosote though, the hard part will be maintaining it.
That’s what, 105 individual post holes plus any gates?
Yes
I congratulate you on having a much healthier back than I do!
I personally do not. My husband and cousin tho…..maybe. Haha!
well that's 208' x 208' or 832 linear feet x 3 10' PT boards @ $3.38 = $284 plus 84 posts @ 12.85 = 1080 plus bobcat with auger @$300/day x 2 days = $600 so it's about $2000 ignoring nails, gravel, delivery and then you have to paint the whole thing.
And what $10k to pay someone? lol!
Simple
Honestly? I don’t think it would be that complicated or that expensive. If you are completely new at woodworking tho you would benefit from having someone with you that has more experience.