Need to build your privacy fence on a slope? It’s not hard as long as you plan and build carefully. You have four options. You get to decide which is best for you. Here they are:

Level Rails, Level Pickets: As my amazing drawing below shows, this method gives the top of the fence line a stair-step look. The tops of the pickets will be more stable and supported than the bottoms of the pickets. You could strengthen the bottom of the fence with a rot board running parallel to the ground. Using level rails means you either have to put your rails closer together or use fewer rails.

Level Rails, Sloped Pickets: The top of the fence line is parallel to the ground but the tops and the bottoms of the pickets are left unsupported. You can strengthen the fence pickets at the top with a top rail, which also makes the fence look nice, and you can strengthen the bottom with a rot board.

Sloped Rails, Sloped Pickets: I like this one the best but you have to decide how level you want the top of the fence. Do you want to trim the tops off the fence pickets or do you want to leave them untrimmed with a small rise from picket to picket? It’s up to you and it barely matters. This is my favorite method because it easily allows for three rails AND the pickets are well-supported from top to bottom along the length of the fence.

Sloped Rails, Level Pickets: This is my second favorite method because it allows for three rails but the drawback is that you still end up with pickets that are unsupported at their tops. If you want the stair-step look in your fence, this is probably the way to go.

IMPORTANT (REALLY): If you are building a gate on the slope portion of your fence, put the hinges on the DOWNHILL side so it will open towards the downhill side instead of swinging into the hill.

Level Rails versus Sloped Rails:  Unless you are building your fence on unusually rough or unlevel terrain, I would suggest always sticking with sloped rails and sloped pickets. Levels rails are easier to build if you are building in an area where you have to move a lot of rocks or something. Some people might just prefer the straighter lines of the level pickets.

Whichever method you choose to build your fence on a slope, you can use a rot board at the bottom to strengthen the fence and protect the bottoms of the pickets and a top rail will improve the looks of your fence and provided additional strength up there as well. Screws are better than nails and always use properly treated wood.

Here are more tips on how to build a fence that lasts.

I made a sketchcast about how to build a wood bulkhead and I wrote about how to build a wood retaining wall but I might have assumed too much about how much you know about the bulkhead materials I listed. They are slightly off the beaten path from “regular” building materials you’d find at your local hardware store so here is a breakdown of basic wood bulkhead materials.

Wood Bulkhead Materials List

Building a wood bulkhead is similar to building a privacy fence. You have posts (pilings), rails (wales), and pickets (sheets or sheeting). A bulkhead typically has great horizontal force applied against it, though, so it has more structural requirements than a fence. In order of front to back (water side to ground side) the parts of a wood bulkhead are:

• Pilings (can be round or square)
• Wales
• Center Match (sometimes call “sloppy tongue & groove”)
• Filter Cloth
• Tie Rods
• Deadmen
• Top Cap
• All the required Hardware (nails, screws, spikes, nuts, washers)

Attention: First, the materials required for YOUR wood bulkhead might be different from those I am showing below so please have your bulkhead designed and specified by a professional builder and/or designer. Also, be sure to use the proper materials for the best longevity. Using cheap materials to save money NOW is only wasting money in the long run. Use properly treated wood, galvanized or stainless hardware, and make sure the bulkhead is installed properly.

Treated Pilings

You can use round or square pilings. It is totally up to you. You might want to match your neighbors’ bulkheads or you might be concerned about costs (round pilings cost less). Either way, use properly treated wood - 2.5 pcf in saltwater and a minimum of .60 pcf in freshwater. For brackish (mixed fresh and salt) water, go with 2.5 pcf.

Wales

Wales are the horizontal boards (like the rails on a fence). Most wood bulkheads have two but some will have three or more. Wales are connected to the land-side of the pilings and will have the center match sheets nailed to them. A very common size used for wales is 3×8. You should use the longest lengths possible to minimize joints, which can become weak spots. You should be able to find 3×8-20’s from most marine construction suppliers. Many other sizes are commonly use depending upon the sizes of the bulkhead and the forces applied to it. I have seen wood bulkheads with 8×8 wales.

Center Match

Center match are sometimes called “sloppy tongue & groove” because the joint is a little loose to allow for swelling in the water so the edges will not break with regular expansion and contraction when the boards alternates between wet and dry.

Center match is usually nominal 2×10 with actual dimensions of 1.5″ x 8.9″. That is, because of the groove each board only spans 8.9 inches - very important to factor into your bulkhead materials list. I have heard of numerous people making an extra trip to the dealer (or paying for another delivery) because they were 5 pieces short of center match.

Filter Cloth

Filter cloth is kind of like a very thick felt. The purpose of filter cloth is to stop silt and dirt from seeping through the spaces between the center match while allowing water to drain and relieve hydrostatic pressure from the bulkhead after a rain - it helps maintain a cleaner appearance and keeps soil behind the bulkhead where it should be. While some people use plastic for this purpose, I truly believe a quality geotextile filter cloth is better because it allows the water to drain. Filter cloth is cheap - use it.

Tie Rods

Tie rods support the structure from behind to keep it from falling forward (into the water). Tie rods will be connected to the pilings on one end (via hold drilled from the front to back of each piling) and to deadmen on the other end. They are simply long rods with about 12″ of threads on each end for a nut.

Builders usually use tie rods that are about 3 times as long as the exposed height of the bulkhead being built. For example, a 4′ tall wall will commonly use 12′ long tie rods. The come in diameters including 1/2″, 5/8″, 3/4″, and larger. Some people use cables instead of tie rods but tie rods are stronger and they can easily be tightened if needed.

Deadmen

I have no idea why deadmen are called deadmen but I can make up some good stories about medieval times and using what you have to protect the castle if you want.

Dead men are treated posts - round or square and often cutoffs - used to “tie back” the bulkhead and support it from behind. Like the rest of the materials, the size of the deadmen used should be based upon the overall height of the wall and the load it bares.

Top Cap

Most top caps are made using a regular S4S 2×12. While they are not required, top caps will provide a little more structural integrity while giving the wall a more finished appearance from above.

Hardware

Use galvanized or stainless steel hardware when building on or near water. Screws are better than nails but more time-consuming. Generally, you will need the following hardware for your bulkhead:

• Tie Rods with 2 nuts and 2 washers for each
• Spikes (60 penny nails) to attach the wales to the pilings
• 16 penny nails (or larger) to attach the center match to the wales and the top cap to the wales
• Staples to attach the filter cloth to the center match

The materials list for a wood bulkhead is pretty simple and short. The bulkhead materials listed above will work for most wood bulkheads or retaining walls built around residential locations. If you need a reliable source for wood bulkhead materials, call the people at Building Products Plus in Houston, TX who let me take the pictures above in their yard. They ship nationwide so you can call them from anywhere.

Here’s a simple sketchcast from WoodScience (became Lumber Talk) on how to build a wood bulkhead.

According to Google, the current conversion rate of British Pounds to US Dollars is 1 to 2.013 - yikes.

The Galloway home, a small cottage in southern Scotland, was built by Steve James for 4,000 Pounds (about $8,000). It began as part of project to help first time home buyers get their homes started and became an excellent experiment in just how cheaply a house can be built.

Construction actually began in 2004 when a foundation and heavy rains were erected. Those had to be demolished, though, because of heavy rains and failed tarps. The project was restarted in 2007 and recently completed.

The rock foundation holds a traditional wooden frame of joists and stringers. The walls are made largely of straw bales and the roof is made of turf. Some of the materials are salvaged (such a window and door) and some were cut from local trees. While the price is low, it is a very different and slightly more crude project than typical small home plans, which are designed to be small and refined while reasonably affordable.

Here’s a Breakdown of the Costs (in £)

£600 supplies for volunteers

£500 sarking

£400 floorboards

£400 pond liner

£300 straw

£200 plumbing

£150 reclaimed joists

£150 plywood

£150 equipment hire

£150 glass

£100 quicklime

£100 wiring

£100 tarpaulin

£100 paint/varnish

£100 batteries

£100 fixings

£100 miscellaneous

£100 fuel for power tools

£70 water pump

£50 water heater

£50 stove chimney

£30 cooker

It is an inspiring idea, really. I doubt that houses of mud and straw will start appearing on every street corner but the possibility of an ultra-inexpensive house looks more realistic. We could all have our Walden if it weren’t for local and state build codes, right?

How to Build a Fence that Lasts

Building a wooden fence can be backbreaking work but, conceptually speaking, it is very simple. You choose your layout, mark your corners, stretch a string to keep your lines straight, set your fence posts, add rails, add a gate, add pickets, and you are done. Again, at its core…

Here’s some help if you are building your fence on a slope.

How to Build a Fence (the basic version)

1. Choose Your Fence Layout
2. Mark the Fence Corners
3. Stretch a String Between Corners
4. Set Your Fence Posts
5. Add Fence Rails
6. Add Gate
7. Add Fence Pickets

How to Build a Fence that Will LAST

The main point of this article is about how to build a fence that will last. There are a few things you can do to build a fence that will outlast the other fences in the fence line. Your neighbors will be replacing old worn out fence materials while you sit atop your fence saluting their hard work and poor construction methods.

Building a long-lasting fence can also be broken down into a short list similar to the one above but with a few additional details…

Steps to Build a Fence that will Last

1. Choose Your Fence Layout (same)
2. Mark the Fence Corners (same)
3. Stretch a String Between Corners (same)
4. Set Your Heavily Treated or Coated Fence Posts
5. Add 3 Fence Rails (not two) Using Screws
6. Add a “Rot Board”
7. Add Gate
8. Add Fence Pickets Using Screws

The builder of this fence went for longevity using .60 CCA treated 6×6 posts and a “rot board.” The fence also looks beautiful because of the trim boards at the top and the fact that the rails and pickets are set inside and between the posts. This can be done using 4×4 posts but it looks funny because the posts are so small (relatively).

There are three main components of any project. In no particular order of importance, they are:

1. Design
2. Materials
3. Construction

Each of these three components must be respected for any project to produce a strong and long lasting result. Building a fence is no different. Taking these components into account, here’s a brief overview of what you can do to build a fence that will outlast your expectations. It is easiest to analyze proper fence construction at the components level.

Think Longevity by the Piece

Design your fence with longevity in mind. A fence is only composed of four basic components:

1. Posts
2. Rails
3. Pickets
4. Fasteners

Build your fence so that each component supports, and is supported by, the components around it. Think about how you want the fence to look five years from now as you design it, buy your fence materials, and build it.

Fence Posts - A Strong Foundation

Posts rot at the ground line so protect against that. Use posts that are well treated and come from a reputable location. For the absolute best results, use posts coated with a polymer coating such as the ones produced by the folks at American Pole and Timber. They coat the bottom three feet of treated posts with a polymer coating that is guaranteed for 25 years. 4×4-8′ posts cost about $17 each instead of $8 but you will probably be able to use the posts again for your next fence - saving you time and headaches down the road.

Other long lasting fence post tips include:

• Plant deeply - about 1/3 the height of the fence.
• Tamp the bottom of each post hole to minimize settling over time.
• Encourage drainage with a thin layer of gravel (a few inches is fine) at the base of the posts.
• Level carefully to ensure the posts well aligned and straight.
• Pack the dirt tightly around the posts after they are installed.
• Cap, slant, or round the top of each fence post so water cannot accumulate.

Whether or not you want to set your posts in concrete is up to you. While concrete makes a post seem permanent I am not convinced it actually makes the fence last much longer and it definitely makes removal a real bear.

Along the same vein, you can also consider using larger fence posts such as 6×6’s. The look cool, are really strong, and are usually treated more heavily that 4×4’s. They also require larger holes and are very heavy so you will probably need help putting each fence post in place. Are they necessary? Probably not but they will provide an excellent foundation.

Fence Rails - Use Three

Rails sag over time and there two are primary ways you can combat this - build with your rails on their “edges” so you will have a stronger “depth-of-section” and use three rails so each rail supports less weight. A third option is to set the fence posts closer together. Always use treated wood. #2 grade treated lumber is great for a fence - cost effective and strong.

If you get nothing else out of this how to article, take this away - use three rails. Pickets have a weakness that shows up over time but is seldom considered when the fence is being built. Pickets have a tendency to warp. Using three rails dramatically improves the chances that your fence’s pickets will remain straight.

Use 3 Rails when Building Your Fence

Toenail your fence rails to your posts. Not only does it look better than butted rails but it leaves no spaces between pickets and rails where grass can grown and critters can hide. Birds and other nesting animals often build homes in the spaces between posts and pickets, especially in “neighbor friendly” fences with alternating panels.

I prefer to “toenail” fence rails because this method creates straighter lines and does not leave a space for grass, weeds, and critters to creep between the posts and the pickets.

Fence Pickets - Lift & Support

Most pickets come in 5/8″ thick but use 3/4″ thick pickets if you can find them. That would be the same as using 1″ nominal dimension lumber. Call around the local lumber yards. Yes, the will cost a little bit more but will last longer, warp less, and look better.

Make sure you use treated pickets. A good treated picket will last 10 years if maintained with the occasional stain. An untreated picket will last only a few years. This should not be a big concern because you usually won’t even find UNtreated pickets - there’s no point in making them. You can also consider cedar, redwood, or any other variety of “naturally resistant” wood species.

The best two things you can do to extend the life of fence pickets are to use a rot board and a three rail system. Again, if you take nothing else away from this article…use three rails. The rot board lifts the fence pickets off the ground where they are in contact with pests and moisture and keeps them aways from regular beatings by a weed eater. A three rail systems supports fence pickets more effectively to minimize warping.

Fasteners - Use Screws

Use screws for everything. Good deck screws such as Primeguard Plus coated deck screws do not rust and will not pull out like nails. Building your fence with screws minimizes warping and helps keep your fence solid and tight. When building your fence gate, use excellent hardware - not the cheapest kit you find. Use galvanized or zinc coated hinges and hardware to minimize rust.

Fence Maintenance

Now that we have gone over the basics of how to build a fence that will last, let’s look quickly at fence maintenance. There’s not a lot to do, really. Just spray the fence with a great high quality deck and fence sealer every few years and you should be great. A few of the best brands are Cabot and Wolman, according to a Consumer’s Report article as well as my experience.

Examine the fence occasionally for broken boards or sagging rails. If one rail is sagging, it is not properly supporting the components around it. Replace broken boards. Not only do they look bad but when they flop back and forth, they put unwelcome stress on the rails.

A long-lasting fence will cost a few dollars more up front but you will save money in the long-run because it will last longer and you might even get to re-use your fence posts. Most fences are still in service looooong after their aesthetic life died a slow miserable death. Another benefit of a well-built fence is that it will always look good.

How to Build a Retaining Wall

When asked how to build a retaining wall, my response is almost always, “What kind?” This article covers the basics of how to build various kinds of retaining walls, including wood retaining walls, timber retaining walls, block retaining walls, and even vinyl sheet piling retaining walls. I will go over each wall in more details in following articles. If you want to know how to build another kind of retaining wall after you have read everything here along with the materials I have linked to, leave a comment and I will do my best to respond.

Basics of Retaining Wall Design
Remember that the forces on your retaining wall change with the weather. If the ground behind your retaining wall become saturated with water from rains or watering it will become heavier and put more force on your wall. The design and materials you choose for your retaining wall need to take into account what it will need to support during its darkest moments. If you have any doubts about your materials choice or retaining wall design, please call a civil engineer or professional contractor and spend a few dollars on a professional retaining wall design and/or installation.

Why a Retaining Wall Fails
Retaining walls typically fail in one of three ways:

1. Top Failure - the top collapses forward because the wall was too weak to retain the force behind it.
2. Breach - the wall bursts in the center. This is usually caused by weak or improperly installed materials.
3. Toe failure - the bottom of the wall comes up. This is usually caused because the retaining wall was not planted or supported deeply enough in front.

Each of these causes of failure can be avoided with the proper design, proper materials, and proper installation for your project. Please consult a professional before designing and building your retaining wall and please understand that this article should be used as a guideline only.

How to Build a Wood Retaining Wall

There are really two wood retaining wall designs. The main difference between the two designs is that in one of the designs the retaining boards are horizontal and in the other they are vertical. I personally think using the retaining boards vertically will give you a stronger wall because of the specifics of that particular design. Using the boards horizontally makes building the retaining wall a little easier, though, and still gives you a great wall that will last a long time.

Building a Wood Retaining Wall with Vertical Boards
This is retaining wall design commonly used to build wood bulkheads along shorelines. It is an effective design and the basic rules of it are pretty standard. The drawing is pretty self-explanatory but here are some more guidelines (PLEASE NOTE - the drawings leave out the tie back rods that I strongly advise you use. See the design for the vinyl retaining wall as they use the same tieback systems):

• The posts go about 50% into the ground (e.g., The posts of a 3′ tall wall will be 3′ IN and 3′ OUT)
• The retaining boards should go at least 1′ into the ground (part of the reason this wall is strong than using the boards horizontally)
• The filter cloth should be longer than the retaining boards and roll back away from the wall
• Use granular material (sand or small pebbles) to fill in behind the wall and allow water to drain
• Use at least two back boards but do not be afraid to use three
• For a stronger wall use “center match” or “sloppy tongue and groove” boards for the retainer boards
• You can use round posts or square posts
• Leave a comment if you have any other questions
• Use tieback rods and buried “deadmen” or other anchors for extra wall support to prevent top failure
• The tie rods should start at the front of the posts and extended through them and behind the wall where they bolt to the deadmen.

Building a Wood Retaining Wall with Horizontal Boards

This is probably the most common type of wood retaining wall built around gardens. Unless you are using really heavy materials or a professional retaining wall design, do not use this design to build a wall that is any more than 16″ or two feet tall. It is a simple design meant for small loads such as garden beds. For the moment, buildeazy has the best plans for building this kind of wood retaining wall so I will simply let you read their how to article and get on to explaining how to build other kinds of retaining walls.

How to Build a Timber Retaining Wall

Building a timber retaining wall is conceptually easy and physically back-breaking. If you use properly treated timbers and build the wall properly a timber retaining wall might last 30 years. Timber retaining walls are simple to understand, simple to design, and simple to layout. Using a backhoe or tractor to manipulate the timbers will make building one easy as well.

To build a timber retaining wall, begin by digging a trench along the line of where your wall will be. The trench should be approximately the depth and width of the timbers you will be using to build the wall. If you need space to work on the back side of the wall, dig that space out before you begin building the wall. Use a line level to level the ground where the timbers will lay. Place the first row of timbers flat in the trench. After your first row of timbers is laid along the ground begin stacking your second row of timbers and make sure to stagger the ends of the timbers to ensure a strong wall. Attach each layer of timbers to the layer below it with spikes (8 inch long 60D nails). Timber retaining walls are built straight up - not slanted like stone walls - so keep your timbers plumb as you stack them.

Timber Tie-Backs
If your wall will be higher than about 18 inches use tie-back timbers every eight or ten feet on various levels to hold your wall upright and make sure it will not fall forward due to the constant pressure exerted upon it from behind (top failure). To add a tie-back timber, simply lay one timber perpendicular to the other timbers but with its length extending into the area that will be back filled. When the area is back filled this timber will act as an anchor to hold the wall in place and ensurer your timber retaining wall can withstand time and rough conditions.

Timbers United into One Structure
One aspect of my retaining wall design which is a little different from others you may see is that I prefer to unite the entire timber retaining wall structure with re-bar driven vertically through all the timbers and into the ground via a hole that is drilled through all the retaining wall timbers after they are completely stacked. The re-bar should fit tightly into the drilled hole. This step might be an overkill but I like strong stuff that lasts a long time. An alternative but similar method is to drive re-bar through the bottom two or three layers when the wall is about half-built and then connect the bottom timbers to the top layers once the top layers are added (see pictures).

Use Properly Treated Quality Timbers
Some books and sites will recommend that you use “garden timbers” (those cheap ones with two round sides and two flat edges) to build a retaining wall but I strongly advise against that practice because “garden timbers” are typically made from the cheapest pieces of wood leftover from the production of other lumber or plywood and contain mostly heartwood which does not accept pressure treatments. They will probably be heavily rotted within a few years and will eventually fail. Building a timber retaining wall is hard work so use timbers that will last. You might even consider using timbers with a vinyl or polymer coating. American Pole and Timber is a reputable company that ships quality timbers nationwide and offers a few types of vinyl coatings that can make wood last virtually forever.

How to Build a Vinyl Retaining Wall

Building a vinyl retaining wall is basically exactly like building a vinyl bulkhead and since I have made a sketchast about that before, I am using it here (below). The main things to remember about building a vinyl retaining wall are:

1. You push vinyl sheet pilings into the ground. Don’t hammer them.
2. Lead with the male edge of the sheets because the female side gets clogged with mud and makes it almost impossible to add the next sheet.
3. Keep the sheets straight (vertically and inline) as you drive.
4. You may find it easier and faster to drive two sheets side by side instead of strictly driving one at a time.
5. Use properly treated wood for your wale and backboard and make sure they are solidly connected to the sheets and one another.
6. Use galvanized or stainless steel hardware.
7. Building a vinyl retaining wall is hard work and requires equipment. Expect it.

How to Build a Block Retaining Wall

Block retaining walls are built very much like the others and some people consider them the easiest type of wall to build. They also look very nice and allow you to easily build a wall with curves. The process of building a block retaining wall is fairly slow and painstaking because you are building with such small pieces but the end result is probably worth it. There are a million great tutorials already existing about how to build block retaining walls so for now I am going to point you to them and get on with other projects.

This video from Alan Block is far-and-away the best about how to plan a block retaining wall. I am not endorsing their products (at least not intentionally) but this is a really great video.

Other great tutorials for how to build block retaining walls can be found at PaverSearch, this student’s page, DoItYourSelf, and Lowe’s.

There are the basics of how to build retaining walls - five kinds of retaining walls, in fact. If you have any questions or want to know about another kind of retaining wall, leave a comment below. I will respond as quickly as I can. Thanks.

Decks are easy to build. You level an area, throw down some joists and stringers for a deck foundation, screw deck boards to the top of all that, and trip finish by trimming it up. Sure, it’s easier said than done but - still - it’s not hard. For some reason, though, this question comes up repeatedly as a sticking point for weekend warriors: “How do you build deck stairs?”

How to Build Deck Stairs - It’s Easy

Deck stairs are built just like the rest of the deck. To add deck stairs onto your existing deck, you simply fasten deck boards (steps or treads) to the tops of decks stair stringers and attach the stairs to your deck. You can make the stair stringers yourself or you may be able to find pre-made stair stringers but even the pre-made stringers will need some customizing based on the height of your deck. Now, let’s build some deck stairs.

Calculating How Many Steps Your Deck Stairs Need

The easiest way to figure out how many steps your deck stairs stringers will need is to use the very simple rule of dividing the height of your deck by the riser height of your steps (and round to the nearest number). Risers are usually 6 to 8 inches high. The height of your deck is measured from the ground to the top of the deck boards (where you step onto the deck).

So, if you want 7 inch risers and the height of your deck is 48 inches then 48/7 = 6.86 steps. After rounding, you will build 7 steps into your deck stairs.

Materials Required to Build Deck Stairs

The two main components required to build deck stairs are stair treads and stair stringers.

The treads, or steps, are made from one of the following:

• side-by-side 2×6 or 5/4×6
• 2×10
• 2×12 (my personal preference)

The stair stringers are almost always made from 2×12’s, which are actually 1.5″x11.25″. You might want to use pre-cut stair stringers to ave yourself some time on measuring, layout, and cutting.

Other materials you may need to build deck stairs include:

• Coated Screws (Primeguard Plus are excellent screws)
• Metal Angle (for treads)
• Lag Screws (for treads and/or connecting stairs to deck)
• Hex or Carriage Bolts (for connecting stairs to deck)

Building and Attaching Deck Stairs - Build Deck Stairs from the Ground Up

It is easier to build deck stairs on the ground before attaching them to the deck but they get heavy once all of the stair treads are attached to the stair stringers, which makes them difficult to properly and safely maneuver into position at the deck. The best compromise is to attach your stringers together first and put only a few stairs treads on before attaching the stairs to the deck. Make to use strong hardware such as lag screws or hex bolts when attaching deck deck stairs as the consequences of failing stairs can be disastrous (hopefully this is obvious).

All I have done above is try to prepare you for a few of the sticking points that might make a deck stairs project less fun. Hopefully, by knowing those basics, you will be able to get through your building project a little faster. There are a million places online that will tell you how to build decks and how to build deck stairs. I listed the best of the best below for you.

Great Resources for How to Build Deck Stairs

Step by Step Plans for How to Build Deck Stairs: Installing Deck Stairs

How to Build Deck Stairs: Laying Stringers and Attaching Treads

How to Build Deck Stairs: Design, Layout, and Assembly of Deck Stairs (this is the best how to)

How to Build Deck Stairs Video: Video from This Old House About Building Deck Stairs