Building a Good Picket Fence
Planning for longevity is worth the effort.
To further separate our 1920s cottage from the traffic on a somewhat busy street, we knew we’d be replacing the poorquality fence around our entire yard. That would enhance our privacy, and also keep our dog, Lily, and a flock of chickens safe.
Determined that this would be the first and last fence we ever build, we used grade “A and better” Western red cedar for the pickets and good-quality cedar for rails and posts. We also scrupulously primed and painted every conceivable surface that might encounter water. The fence cost twice as much as one with similar-looking components, but the results are worth the price and months of effort we put in.
PICKETS Our design for the fence was in part based on the existing one, with a slight change to the shape of the spear-top spindles. The pickets are graduated in height, then installed so that each post-to-post section creates a graceful scalloped line. Our intention was to plant alternating ‘William Baffin’ roses and ‘Popcorn’ viburnum centered within the arc of each scallop. When mature, the two shrubs blossom in clusters and spread like bouquets in a vase. Seen from the street, the overall effect is like a basket of flowers.
Working with 1x4 cedar in 10' lengths allowed us to get two pickets per board. To create the spear-point tops, we first made a cardboard template and traced the picket shape on the wood, then flipped it over and marked the other side the same way.
The first cut was made with a hole-saw jig. The second cut was with a band saw to rough-cut the spear shape. We then predrilled the holes for attaching the pickets to the rails. Once the cuts were done, we took the time to sand all the edges before vacuuming to remove dust. Then we primed and painted, hanging the pickets from eyelet hooks attached to boards screwed to the workshop ceiling, to keep all edges exposed for painting and drying.
RAILS After cutting the 2x4 rails, we sanded, primed, and painted them the same way. The horizontal edges of the top rail were cut at an angle to shed water. To hold the rails for drying and painting, Bill built an A-shaped rack using 2x4s braced at each end near the bottom. For extra stability, he added bottom supports attached to the framework with Simpson Strong-Tie 2x4 face-mount joist hangers.
The rail supports were simply long screws drilled into the rack a few inches apart. Each side supported about eight rails. Rather
than rest the painted rails directly on the projecting screws, we drilled two screws into either end to rest on the screws. When everything was dry, we attached the pickets to the rails with 1 5⁄ 8" stainless-steel deck screws with pre-painted heads (Headcote #7).
POSTS To support each picket-and-rail assembly, we used custom-ordered 6x6 cedar posts with square edges. We routed the edges with a radius rounding-over bit (quadra cut). We found stainless-steel deck screws too soft for secure fastening, so we used 10 x 3 ¾" FastTap Plus exterior-grade carpentry screws with Duracoat, a brand that won’t rust or stain.
Before sinking the posts, we applied at least six coats of Cabot Problem-Solver acrylic primer to the post bottoms. To avoid any danger of frost heaves or fence movement, we sunk the primed and painted posts 3' deep into the ground. So far, there’s been no movement at all, and all the components of our fence are standing up well to the Connecticut winters.