"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
. ..

"Leon" wrote in message
. net...
This was about my 20th fence and practice does make perfect. Pictures on
a.b.p.w, sorry for the quality, I was using a camera phone. A tape
measure was only used to measure post hole depth and final post height
after cementing them in and attaching the bottom rot board. PT lumber on
every thing except for the cedar pickets.

My neighbor had a new fence put in about 3 years ago. He bragged about
what a cheap price he was paying. He got lots of quotes and found a
slimeball firm to build him a fence that barely stood there. I pointed out
the poor construction and he kept yelling about how he got a 20 YEAR
GAURANTEE!!

A big windstorm came up about a year ago and totally trashed his fence.
Not from the wind, it was those big branches that broke off his trees and
landed on the fence. Ir it had been built well, he could have just patched
up the holes. But the fence was crap and the whole fence was just
destroyed.

He was building the fence right this time himself. He kept complaining
that the other guys were ripoffs because they had a "act of god" clause in
their gaurantee. LOL

Well I am not a pro fence builder but have learned a lot. I prefer to add
the middle 3rd rail to add strength and if the customer wants treated
pickets they are less likely to warp being fastened top, bottom , and
middle.
The rot board on the bottom is a must. It helps the pickets last longer and
it is cheaper to build the fence with the rot board than to save a few
dollars on materials and not have a rot board. The beauty of the rot board
is that you only have to level those boards and not worry about the height
on the individual pickets. You simply set the picket on the rot board and
nail it up. It is a huge time saver. If the customer does not want the rot
board, he pays more. I have not had a problem selling the rot board with it
explained that way. ;~)