Avery Ranch Connects June 2021 issue

Fence Repair
Story by Cecil Cole, The Landing resident
Since our houses are around 20 years old, maintenance and repair problems are happening more frequently. One of
those issues you can fix yourself is fence boards pulling away from the posts. The fences were built with treated 4X4
posts, so most of those are still in fairly good shape. The most common reason the fences are leaning or are about to
fall over is because the 2X4 horizontal “runners” or “stringers” are getting rotten at the ends where they are attached
to the posts. Then a whole section of fence is in jeopardy of falling during a big wind.
This quick fix uses 16-inch, 2X4
braces at the post to carry the
weight of the fence where the
old 2X4 ends are rotten. One
8-foot treated 2X4 yields six,
16-inch braces. You normally
use two braces for each post,
so each new 2X4 will repair
three posts. You will need a box
of 3-inch deck screws to secure
the braces to the posts and a
box of 1 5/8-inch deck screws
to attach the fence pickets to
the new braces. The tools
required are a saw to cut the 2X4s, a large hammer, a nail bar (to pull nails from the pickets and old
stringers), and a good power drill. And of course, you will need access to both sides of the fence, so the
ideal situation would be to work with your adjacent neighbor, or at least get access to their backyard if you
are working alone.
Avery Ranch Connects • June 2021 p. 16