Find professional picket fencing services near you

Picket fencing installation services generally include the entire process, from marking the fenced area to hanging up the gate. This covers bringing the necessary tools for the job. 

Some Taskers may offer related services, such as purchasing the materials from the hardware store on your behalf, talking with utility companies to make sure they don’t hit your water or power lines, and even processing the building permits. When it comes to the actual installation process, this is how it will usually go for each project:

Digging the post holes

Once utility lines have been marked, and the property line has been defined, your Tasker digs a 25 cm (10 inch) diameter hole with a shovel. They'll dig as deeply as possible without hitting any wires, pipes, or lines. After they hit around 81 cm (32 inches), they'll start setting the first post. 

Next, the fence installer adds 20 cm (8 inches) of soil and ensures the post is level. They'll pack the bottom of the post with soil using a tamping bar and then add 20 cm more soil. They'll do this until the entire hole is filled, making sure that the post stays level. Finally, the fence installer uses a mason's line to measure and position the corners of the fence. 

Setting the post holes

Your Tasker then slides the panel's rales into the first post's mortises, adjusting until the top rail is level. If the post has no mortises, the installer props the panel up so that the bottom is 5 to 12 centimetres off the ground and the top rail is level. They'll check if each side is level, then screw the rails to the post.  

Your fence installer proceeds to check the gaps between pickets and between a picket and post. Next, they'll fill in the post holes and ensure that each part is level and plumb. Finally, they'll secure the rail with screws. Afterwards, they'll repeat this step until all the fence panels have been secured. 

Setting up the gate

The first gate post is installed pretty much like the first fence post. Your Tasker then measures the gate's width, adds around 4 cm, then digs the hole for the second gate post. Just like with the fence posts, they'll fill the hole, tamp it with soil, then check that the post is level and plumb. 

Picket panel installation

After this, they'll install the fence panel on the side of the second gate post to stabilise it. Then, the installer uses wedges to level the gate. After lining up the pickets and leaving a two-inch gap between the gate and post, they'll hang the gate and screw on the hinges. After checking the gate swing, they'll put on the latch and nail caps to the post tops. And that's it! You can now do a quality check on your new picket fence, then send the Tasker on their way.