1. Check City Fence Regulations

Make sure your fence meets your city’s requirements before building. Each city will have their own fence regulations on their website. You will be able to find out if you need a permit, how high you can build your fence, and how far it has to be from the road. Find out your city’s regulations and then get started!

Be Sure To Let Your Neighbor Know

It’s a good idea to keep your neighbors involved with your fence project. After all, they do share a property line and it’s important to keep the peace. This allows them to move any plants or give their input. Most likely, they’ll be okay with the fence and they may even offer to help pay for it. Especially since it gives them more privacy and they don’t have to do the work.

2. Make Sure Your Posts Aren’t Too Close

Once you know your city’s regulations for building a fence, you’ll want to see what it’s going to look like. You can attain this by putting stakes in the ground where the corner and end posts will go. Connect the stakes by tying a string. You’ll then want to mark where the posts will go by placing stakes in between. You will want to avoid putting your stakes too close together. Having them too close will make your fence rigid and it won’t allow any flexibility. Having some flexibility will help your fence be more durable and withstand bad weather.

3. Clear Out Any Debris From The Fence Area

Before starting any digging, you will want to mark the perimeter of where the fence will be and remove anything in its path. Remove any rocks, plants, or debris that could get in the way during fence installation. In some cases, you’ll have to adapt the fence to any slopes in your yard.

4. Make Sure To Dig Your Holes Deep

Putting your posts in shallow holes will make your fence weak and more likely to blow over in high winds. It’s a good idea to dig six inches deeper than recommended when digging holes for a fence. This will allow you to backfill the hole with gravel, which will reinforce your posts and make a stronger fence.

5. Install End and Corner Posts First

You will want to install the first post at the end of your fence. Second, you’ll place the corner post, and so on. In order to set posts in a straight line, tie a string attaching the corner post to the end post to have a guide-you’ll be glad you did!

6. Dig Gate Posts Holes A Little Deeper

As pointed out earlier, you’ll want to dig post holes six inches deeper than recommended. When installing a gatepost, go another six inches deeper than your regular posts. This area needs added strength to accommodate all the movement with opening and closing the gate.

7. Use A Level

A level is probably one of the  most important tools you can use while building a fence. We wouldn’t recommend using the eyeball test to make sure the posts in the ground are straight. It’s also a good idea to check the Level twice before placing the panels — once you place the post, and then after you pour the concrete.  This will ensure you have a level fence and it will be worth all the effort.

8. Don’t Directly Hammer the Vinyl

Installing a fence without a hammer is almost impossible, but you need to use it carefully when using vinyl. It’s important you never hit the vinyl directly with the hammer. Instead, we recommend laying a 2×4 piece of wood flat over the vinyl to protect it while hammering. This will soften the contact and prevent any harm or cracking to the top of the post during installation.

9. Install One Panel At A Time

Once your posts are securely in the ground, don’t rush putting the panels in. It’s important to Install one panel at a time so you can make sure they are level. After installing a panel, make sure it’s straight before moving on to the next one. This way you can make sure they are level as you go and you won’t have to try to level your whole fence later. Taking the time to make sure your fence is level as you go will save you from a big headache later.

10. Don’t Paint The Fence

After installing a vinyl fence many people will want to apply a coat of paint or varnish for protection, but with vinyl, none of that is necessary. That’s the beauty of Vinyl- it’s naturally water resistant. Instead of having to apply stain or a fresh coat of paint to maintain your fence, you can just power wash it every so often to remove any dirt or debris. You CAN paint a vinyl fence but painting vinyl can actually weaken the material so we would not recommend it. Plus, the whole point of vinyl is to not have to paint or stain your fence every year. Vinyl was designed to be nearly maintenance free and that’s why it is such a popular fence choice.

Rely On The Vinyl Fence Professionals-Vinyl Fence Connection

Installing a vinyl fence can be a little tricky, but hundreds of people have successfully done it. When you are ready to install a vinyl fence and you feel like you need more direction and possibly some help, give Direct Fence a call. We can walk you through the process or you can choose to have us install the fence for you. Whatever choice you make, we’ll make sure you get the professional vinyl fence you’ve always wanted. Call us today at 201-438-870.  Our expert fence builders are ready to assist you!.