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A front fence built with vertical Ironbark battens.
The project
The front of our house needed a new fence as the old one, which was probably built in the Jurassic Period, was looking a little tired and unappealing. After some thought in regard to adding some street appeal to our property, and since we live in a beachside village, we decided on a fence built out of Ironbark in the style of 40 x 40mm vertical battens which lends itself to the beachside vibe.
Three packs of beautiful Australian Ironbark arrive on my front lawn.
Putting a pencil round on all the fencing material using my router table.
One of the vertical battens with the pencil round applied.
Samples of the Ironbark posts and vertical battens.
Bitumen waterproofing paint that l applied to the part of the post that goes in the ground.
Applying the waterproofing bitumen paint to the post.
Setting out the posts using timber profiles.
Tying off the string line to a nail attached to the timber profile.
Adding gravel to the bottom of the hole to encourage drainage away from the bottom of the post.
Using braces to hold the post straight and plumb.
Adding concrete to the posts.
Crowning the base of the post so the water runs away from the post.
Chiselling out the checkouts for the rails.
Applying some oil-based decking oil to all the checkouts and the freshly cut ends.
Applying an oil-based decking oil to the fence frame prior to installing the vertical battens.
Cutting all the vertical battens to length prior to installing.
Using a template to drill the holes for the vertical battens.
Using the Macsim 10 gauge clever tool to countersink the screw holes.
10 gauge stainless steel decking screws for the vertical battens.
Do not use an impact driver as you will snap the soft stainless-steel screws when driving into hardwood. Use your regular drill and set the clutch so that it kicks in once the screw comes to a stop.
Pre-drill the screw holes in the fence rails.
Applying some oil-based decking oil to the screws to add some lubrication prior to driving the screws in.
Using a level to plumb the vertical battens.
Driving in those stainless-steel screws.
Getting the job done. The reason for the right angles is just to add some interest to an otherwise fairly run-of-the-mill front fence.
The finished product.
Future landscaping ideas.
More inspiration for your fencing project
Community member Rodney found it surprisingly easy to erect his D.I.Y. Merbau front fence, made with 90mm wide decking boards.
Workshop member Hazel drew up detailed plans and measurements before starting on her front fence build.
For more inspiration, check out our Top 10 most popular fence projects and our 7 ways to refresh a fence.
