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A wood privacy fence is really one small structure repeated as many times as your property line needs — this plan covers the one section: two posts, a top and bottom rail between them, and pickets nailed on with an even gap. Get one section right and every additional section is the same steps again.
Work top-down, not bottom-up. Set and brace the posts, then attach the top rail first and get it level across the whole run before you touch the bottom rail or a single picket — everything else takes its reference off that top line. The bottom rail gets inset slightly rather than flush, which both looks more finished and keeps screw heads that would otherwise show on the front face hidden behind the pickets. On a sloped lot, step the fence in consistent drops rather than racking the whole line to follow the grade — a racked fence looks and reads as a mistake even when it isn't one.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Cedar 4x4 fence post, 8 ft (for ground contact)Trim to fit your post-hole depth and desired fence height above grade. | 2 each |
| Cedar 2x4, 8 ftTop and bottom rails for this section. | 2 each |
| Cedar fence picket, 72" x 5-1/2"Enough to cover an 8-ft run with a small gap between pickets. | 16 each |
| Pocket-hole screws, 2-1/2" | 8 each |
| Galvanized nails, 2" | 64 each |
| Fast-setting concrete mixOne bag per post, more in loose or sandy soil. | 2 bag |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| PostsCedar 4x4Trim on site to your actual hole depth plus desired above-grade height. | 2 | 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 96" |
| Top railCedar 2x4Fit between posts; length depends on your actual post spacing. | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 93" |
| Bottom railCedar 2x4 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 93" |
| PicketsCedar | 16 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 72" |
Some parts are longer than a 8 ft board, so there is no honest board count to show here. Open the board plan to pick a longer stock length — it names every part that does not fit.
0 boards
2 boards
16 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Dig post holes roughly a third of the post's total length deep (a 4-ft-deep hole for an 8-ft post is typical, less on a sloped or rocky lot). Set posts in concrete, brace them plumb with scrap lumber while it cures, and don't touch them again until the concrete has set.
Once the posts are set, attach the top rail first and work your way down from there. On a sloped lot, measure down a consistent distance from the lowest post at each post along the run, and use a level to keep the rail level end to end even as the ground underneath it isn't.
Add the bottom rail, inset from the front face by about 1/2" for a cleaner shadow line. Attaching it with pocket screws driven from behind keeps every visible screw hole out of sight — they'll be covered by pickets anyway, but it also means no exposed fasteners for water to collect around.
Nail the pickets to the top and bottom rails with a consistent gap between each one — a scrap of wood cut to your target gap width makes a fast, repeatable spacer. Check every third or fourth picket with a level as you go; small drift compounds over a long run.
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