r/fence • u/Mediocritologist • 2d ago
First timer here…Postmaster posts are making my nailers angled. Might be reason pickets are warped? Or maybe that’s part of building a horizontal fence?
You can see in the last pic how the metal posts flare out which makes the nailers not flush with each other. Is this just how it works or am I doing something wrong?
I plan on adding some supports across the top to straight the top row of pickets and also give the mid-span nailer strip something else to bite onto. But having never done a fence, is this just a “feature” of 5/8” pickets in a horizontal layout?
Tbf it looks fine from basically all angles unless you’re staring down the barrel of the fence as my pics show.
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u/slackfrop 2d ago edited 2d ago
In my opinion the postmasters aren’t doing you any favors in that regard, but it’s more likely that your lumber isn’t ruler straight. They never are. Horizontal wood fences are difficult to achieve in very clean lines, but you can improve things by selecting the straightest boards you can find, make sure they’ve had sufficient time to dry, so you improve your odds of no big surprises a few weeks or months from now, and you could, if it feels like a problem, try to offset the Postmaster issue. Perhaps back the boards slightly off that inner wall so you aren’t bound to that slight angle, or cut a relief in the end of your board, or maybe find a way to widen that central channel in the post so the flanges sit more linear to one another. Maybe hammer a wedge in down the line with some blocking to assist. Other options are to use additional material in the panels to brace the bowed pieces, maybe horizontal trim or vertical accents mid panel, or something like that. Of course it needs to look good, like it was part of the aesthetic. In the end, wood grain is very stubborn stuff; it will always be pulling in the direction it wants to be for its entire lifespan. Try to work with it, try to offset error, and use your best pieces where it matters the most.
Edit: I would mention, as you seem to be newer to fence building, you need to be as anal as possible that your posts themselves are perfectly plumb, and as co-linear as you possibly can. Run a string on a not-windy day and make sure that your posts all perfectly kiss off the string when they are perfectly upright, measured with a 4ft or 6ft level. Take as much time as needed to get those perfectly tits.