DIY wooden fence – how to do it

Planning

Building your own wooden fence is a great project for anyone who likes to be hands-on and realise their own ideas in the garden or on the patio. While there is almost no limit to how creative you can be with your wooden garden fence , you should still make sure that the fence meets your requirements. So it’s important to know first of all what purpose your garden fence will have.

Do you just want to create a boundary between flower beds or separate your garden from next door? Or is the idea to have a wooden screen to provide privacy in the garden? 

As always, the materials you need depend on the project you have planned: A lattice-style or hunter’s fence in the front garden or for separating your property is usually no higher than 1.20 metres. Wooden screens in the garden to block out unwanted views or for greening may well be 1.80 metres high.

If you want to build a wooden fence, you will also need posts to give the individual fence elements sufficient support. Depending on the type of fence, you should usually plan to have a post every 1.80 to 2.50 metres. Remember to also allow enough space for a garden door or gate.

DIY or ready-made components?

If you want to build your own garden fence from wood, you have a wide range of options. For example, you can work with natural materials such as branches, sticks or even recycled pallets. This is perfectly in line with the current upcycling trend: Give old items a new lease on life. By the way, we love pallets and have created a number of projects for you: How about a beach chair made from pallets or a DIY pallet sofa?

Of course, you can also use new materials if you want to build your own fence from wood and you’re not counting pennies. And a mixture of materials is possible too: Today, modern fences are often made from aluminium, but wooden elements can also be added.

Choosing between ready-made components and a project where you cut and finish every component yourself from the very start depends on your abilities, and also on your budget and the nature of the terrain. Ready-made components can make the work easier, but they also limit your creativity. A DIY project from scratch, however, can present a number of challenges, but gives you plenty of scope for creativity and individual design.

Wood or WPC?

Especially for outdoor use, many DIYers like to use WPC (wood plastic composite). This composite is not only durable, but also very easy to clean. Cleaning with water alone is sufficient. At the same time, cracking is very rare – despite the fact that the material is 70% wood. Undesirable discolouration is also rare, even when exposed to severe weather conditions. Only heavy use can cause a slight lightening of the colour due to abrasion of the wooden components.

Wood, on the other hand, is a natural material that responds to the environment and needs to be oiled or painted every now and then to remain durable, as moisture, strong sunlight or extreme cold can cause it to fade, become brittle or even rot.

Which type of wood is particularly durable?

Wooden fences made from larch are particularly durable. Due to its high resin content, larch wood can last up to 10 years, even when untreated. A protective stain and bevelling of all the edges is also worthwhile here, however, so that water doesn’t collect. This is especially the case for the posts and upper ends of the slats on a wooden fence.

Larch wood is relatively cheap and available in most DIY stores.

What types of fences are there?

Wooden fencing is not only about functionality; how it looks also plays a role. Fencing is always a design element too – for the house, garden, patio, pool or even the balcony. 

Whether you’re using slats or natural wood for a low or high fence – it can really set off your home nicely. We have many more design ideas for your garden, balcony and patio just waiting to be discovered by you.

If you have some material left over, despite your careful planning, there are lots of options for using it in other projects. How about a colourful garden bench made from left-over fence slats? Or an attractive wooden garden lounger?

You can use different types of fencing for the right garden design. The most popular garden fences are outlined below.

Slat fence

A slat fence can be a simple wooden fence or also a fence made of metal or plastic elements. Its horizontally running slats provide excellent privacy and wind protection. This fence can also be easily extended using the corresponding wooden elements from your DIY store.

Panel fence

A panel fence can also provide privacy. The slats usually run vertically, but they can also be arranged horizontally. For a small paddock or, if you live in a rural area, to stop the surrounding nature from getting into your garden, a wooden panel fence is ideal.

Lattice-style or hunter’s fence

The hunter’s fence is without doubt one of the classics in Germany. Whether you make it yourself or use ready-made components, these low fences add a rustic look to your garden without obstructing the view. This type of fencing, with its half-rounded, cross-connected components, is mainly used in conjunction with hedges or other plants or as a border for flower beds.

Natural fence

A natural fence provides almost endless design options. Branches, sticks, greenery and lots of other materials can be used in combination with plants to fence off flower beds or properties. You can find more ideas for flower bed edging here. If you opt for a hedge as your natural fence, this video shows you how to properly care for the hedge. Also check out the tutorial on hedge trimming.

An existing wall can also be transformed into a natural-looking privacy screen: Everything you need to know about living green walls can be found here.

Paling fence

A paling fence also embraces nature. Natural materials such as wood, branches or even plants are put up vertically using wire or a simple frame to create playful, natural-looking boundaries. A paling fence can also act as an inconspicuous privacy screen.

Single-sided/double-sided picket fence

A picket fence is certainly versatile. You can have half-rounded or flat slats, large or small spacing between the slats, a natural colour or painted, single-sided or double-sided – you decide what suits your house and garden. You can also put up the individual slats of your fence so they run horizontally, vertically or at an angle.

With or without concrete?

If you want to build your own wooden fence or your own wooden screen in your garden, you can secure the individual posts with concrete or use drive-in spikes. When deciding for or against concrete, the type of fence as well as the height and soil conditions in your garden are important.

In principle, you can secure any fence with ground spikes only. But if you want to build a solid foundation, you can use ready-mixed concrete. You must always calculate the length of the fence posts exactly because they will be sunk down to 50 centimetres into the ground, depending on whichever method you choose.

What factors do I need to bear in mind when working with drive-in spikes?

When working with drive-in spikes, accuracy is of the utmost importance. As you place the spikes in the ground at regular intervals, keep checking the depth. Your fence will only be upright if you take accurate measurements and carry out checks using tools such as a spirit level and folding rule.

You also need to factor in some space between the ground and the wooden slats so that moisture from the plants and the soil does not cause them to rot. You have to take this into account when choosing the length of the posts and slats for your wooden garden fence.

How and where should I plan to put a door in the fence?

Of course, your fence should not be without a door or a garden gate. Where you put these depends on the given situation. In all cases, however, you need to fix the wooden posts to hold your garden gate securely. Depending on the size and weight of your door, a concrete foundation for the posts is recommended.

You should also think carefully about how wide your door is going to be. Do you just want to have a small gate or will you need to fit a wheelbarrow or a trailer for garden waste etc. through it? If you are using a prefabricated wooden fence, you are stuck with the fixed dimensions of the individual elements, whereas a wooden fence you build yourself gives you complete design freedom.

How do I make my wooden fence weatherproof?

The DIY wooden fence project does not end with the last strike of the hammer. Quite the opposite: Wooden fences need to be painted regularly to remain weatherproof. Regardless of the type of wood you use, the material will need a little help to withstand the sun, the cold and also moisture for as long as possible.

Protective wood stain is used if you want to keep the actual grain of the wood visible. The stain protects the wood and you can choose different natural wood tones according to your own personal preferences.

Protective wood paint, however, requires a little more effort. Here, you must first apply a primer. You can then use any colour you like for the top coat, which you don’t necessarily have to apply by hand – check out our paint spray guide.

Wood oil provides your fence with long-lasting protection, but needs to be reapplied regularly.

What do I need to bear in mind when it comes to maintaining my fence?

If you have weatherproofed your wooden fence using wood oil or wood stain, you must reach for your brush regularly so that the material is not adversely affected in the long term. Before re-applying, the fence must be thoroughly cleaned for this purpose.

As beautiful as wood paints are, they require more work in the long run. Sooner or later the paint will flake off. This not only looks unsightly, but also compromises the protection for the wood. This means that you must first sand and clean the entire fence and only then can you impregnate it again with paint, stain or oil.

Also see how to sand and oil garden furniture properly to learn more on the subject. Maybe our sanding guide will also help you.

Let’s get started – step-by-step instructions

After spending plenty of time on planning and preparation, you can now start building your wooden fence. To ensure success, we will guide you step by step in the following instructions so that your fence is upright and stable and the project runs smoothly.