Installation is four operations in order: set out the line, dig and set the posts, fix the rails, fit the infill. Every fence style is a variation on that sequence.
Set out from a known line, dig below the frost line, brace and plumb each post, let the concrete take up, then build. Post spacing is normally 6 to 8 feet, and the height of the fence sets the number of rails.
Useful for a new boundary, a garden division, a pool enclosure or a paddock line.
Posts sized to the height, rails sized to the span, and infill sized to the gap you want to leave. Fasteners in contact with treated timber must be rated for it or they corrode from the inside.
Height limits often differ between front and rear boundaries, and corner lots usually have a sight-line triangle where nothing tall is permitted. Both are set by the local authority.
Post concrete generally needs time before load is applied, which is why installation is normally split across days rather than done in one push. Footage, access and soil do the rest.
The first year is when a badly set post reveals itself. A walk along the line pushing each post, once after the first winter, catches almost everything worth catching early.
6 to 8 feet is the normal range. Closer spacing stiffens the run and is used on tall or wind-exposed fences; wider spacing saves posts and flexes more.
Convention in most neighbourhoods is that the finished side faces the neighbour and the rails face in. Some HOAs make it a rule rather than a convention.
Only if that is permitted locally and the neighbour agrees. Many owners set the fence a few inches inside their own line specifically so that maintenance never requires stepping onto someone else's property.
Call Donor Probe fencing-sterling on (512) 555-0134, or send the details through the form.