Items required:

Tape Measure, Level, Post holedigger, Shovel, Wheelbarrow,Piece of 1” diameter steel pipe 4’9”long, Hammer or mallet, Line for layingout  site, Bucket,Acid Brush, Steel rodsfor the line, skill saw, diamond blade, pencil, steel digging bar,willinghelper.

Consumables:

Ready Mixed Concrete forfootings, 1” Diameter PVC Pipe,Muratic Acid, Glue for top rails.

Laying out jobsite:

Mark each corner of the fenceline

String your line from eachcorner of the area you areworking on.  Theline needs to be approx1’ above the ground level  and 3” outfrom the actual corner. As lines sag over distance your line will needto besupported each 50 to 70 feet with a steel rod.

See Fig 1,2 and3                                                                   

Hole Sizes:

The size and depth of the holerequired varies depending onsoil conditions and height of the wall. 

As a guideline, for the blackclay generally found east of I35 you need a 14 inch diameter hole 24 to 30 inches deep for a6’ high fence.For each corner or end post make the hole 18” in diameter.

 Whereyou are in solid limestone an 8 inch diameter hole 18inches deep is sufficient.

 Forthe caliche soils or where there is a mix of clay andstone an 11” to 12” diameter hole 24”deep is recommended.

 Newlycompacted areas will need a bigger footer depending onthe depth and level of compaction.

Installing poles:

Cut the post with the skillsaw/diamond blade to the desiredlength based on the hole dug. 

Mark a line (line 1) on theside that will be going againstthe line 60.5 inches from the top of the posts. Fig 4.

Mark a line  (line 2)in each of the slots in the post 73.5 inches from the top of the post.If youare stepping at this pole please refer to stepping guidelines below.

 FirstPost: Place in ground in the position marked. The mark(line1) should be about half an inch from the post when the post isplumb. Forminor adjustments to the posts position use the digging bar as shown inFig 5.Mix concrete and place it in the hole. Cut about a 6 inch piece of thePVC pipeand place it into the slot of the pole. Hammer this pipe into the wetconcreteuntil the top of the pipe is level with the mark line2. For additionalstrengththe pipe can be filled in with some wet concrete. Fig 10.  The panels rest on thispipe.

 Subsequentposts.  Using the 4’9” steel pipe (Thisis the length of the panels) put one endinto the slot of the previous post. The other end is where the nextpole goes.Dig the hole, mark and cut the pole as discussed above and place thepole intothe hole. Use the pipe to ensure that the distance from the previouspole iscorrect. Adjust the height/position of the pole to ensure it is plumb,thecorrect height and distance from previous post and correctly in linewith theprevious posts. Make sure you can slide the steel post up and down theslot andthat the previous post is still plumb.

Placing Panels:

Panels can be placed into theslots 24 hours after the postsare finished. Each panel weighs about 90 lbs so 2 people are needed tolift andposition them. Make sure all panels are the same way round. If shortpanels areneeded they can be cut with the skill saw/diamond blade.  Do not transport and carrypanels lying flat.

Leveling:

If leveling is required thiscan easily be done using one or2 steel bars as per fig d and placing a flat stone on top of the pipeif thewall is too low or alternatively chipping off some of the pipe it thewall istoo high. Accuratemeasurements and pole positioning are far less timeconsuming than adjusting panels. Fig 7.

Stepping with Slope: Thereare 2 types of steppingwhich can be done.  Whichone to use willoften be based on personal preference although when there is arelatively steepslope the continuous stepping looks the best. For a severe slopeconsiderreducing the distance between poles. Fig 8,9

Occasional Stepping.

This occurs at intervals wherea gradient change happens.Care must be taken with determining where the top of the PVC pipe mustbe as onthe one (high)side of the post it will be 73.5 inches while the otherside maybe say 81 inches.

Continuous Stepping.

For continuous stepping usuallythe slope is relatively evenand on the high side of the post the pipe will be 73.5 inches and onthe lowside say 74.5 inches thus giving a constant drop or rise of 1 inch per5 feet.

Top Rails:

Top rails should be positionedbefore the fence isleveled.  Once thefence is leveled theserails should be glued as per Fig 6.

Washing:

After completion the fenceneeds to be washed with a lightmixture of water/muratic acid (1” acid in a bucket) using anacid brushobtained at your local hardware store. The acid wash reduces colorfluctuationson the wall.