How to Repair the 3 Most Common Problems that Annoy Fence Owners

Your fence is your garden’s frame. A stunning fence will give your garden a polished appearance whereas a broken or wonky fence will make your garden look messy no matter how much work you put into the rest of it.

Leaning fencing, broken railings and rot on the base of your fence posts are the three most common problems the effect fences. If you spot any of these problems, the good news is that they can all be easily fixed if you act quickly enough. Don’t put it off for “another day”, if you spot any of these common problems just follow one of our simple DIY guides.

What You’ll Need

• Planed & Treated Timber
• Cement Mix
• Fence Screws or Nails
• Drill
• Electric Screwdriver
• Sledgehammer
• Shovel
• Carriage Bolts
• Clamps
• Safety Glasses
• Work Gloves

Need to Straighten-Up a Leaning Fence Post?

• Remove the soil around the leaning fence post and pile it onto a tarp so you can easily refill the hole once you’ve straightened your post.
•  If your post is set in concreate, don your safety glasses and use a sledgehammer to break up the old post setting.
• Adjust the post so it’s standing straight and add a supporting planks of wood at either side of the post to make wooden braces that ensure the post stays straight and, prevents the rest of your fence from collapsing. Use a level to make sure your fence is straight before you secure the support braces in place by nailing them to wooden stakes in the ground.
• Mix fresh cement and use it to fix your new post in place. Once it’s dry, hide the repair job by packing the top soil you removed earlier around the post.
• Remove the braces once you’re sure the cement has set and your readjusted fence post is secure.

How to Replace a Fence Railing

• Use an electric screwdriver to unscrew the fence boards from the damaged rail or if you’ve used nails, pry them out. When you’re doing this be careful not to damage the boards as you’ll need these later.
• Unscrew or pry the nails out of any supports you’ve set up for the fence rail you’re replacing.
• Cut the new rail to size or if you’re really organised, you’ll have already ordered your replacement rail pre-cut to size from eDecks.
• Nail or screw the new rail in place and reinstall any fence boards you removed earlier.

The Quick Way to Fix Buried Rot on your Fence Post

• Dig around the base until you reach the end of the post or the concreate setting.
• If you’ve used a concrete base, use a sledgehammer to break up the concreate so it can be removed easily.
• Screw 2 x 4 timber supports to your fence to make a secure brace. Use a level to make sure that the fence is even then nail the wooden braces into wooden stakes in the ground to hold them in place.
• Pull the old post out from its foundation and cut just above the damaged section. Make sure you cut away all of the rot to prevent it spreading to the rest of your timber.
• Cut a new section of timber that’s at least a foot longer that the rotted section you’ve just removed.
• Place the new section of timber in the base hole and fix it securely to the existing post using clamps.
• Use a drill to bore a hole through both the old and new timber and secure the two posts together using carriage bolts. Make sure both sections are fasted together tightly by adding nuts and washers to either end of the bolts.
• If you’re replacing a concrete base, mix your concrete and pour it into the posthole. Once your concrete has set you can go ahead and remove the braces and supports.

Find all the cheap fence supplies you need to build or repair a fence at eDecks. Shop the range online today.