The old fence line
The first photo shows a grey, weathered board fence closing off the yard beside the house. The boards had faded and split, and the section no longer gave much privacy from the driveway side.
We took the old section out and kept the neighbouring fence runs in place, so the new work had to line up with what was staying.
A fence beside the house takes more knocks than a back run. Garbage bins, bikes and lawn equipment all pass through the gate, so the new section had to be stronger than the old one.
Posts and an overhead beam
The crew set new wood posts at each end of the opening and ran a beam across the top to join them. Gates hang their full weight off one post. Tying the posts together at the top helps stop them from leaning over the years.
The beam also frames the opening like an arbour, which gives the fence a finished look from the street side.
Before setting the posts, the crew ran a string line from the house to the fence that was staying. The posts went in on that line so the new section meets the old one without a kink.
Braced gate frames
We built the gate frames from wood rails with a diagonal brace in each one. The brace runs from the bottom corner on the hinge side up toward the latch side, which carries the weight back to the hinges and keeps the gate from sagging.
The photos show the bare frames hung and checked for level before any boards went on. Getting the frame square at this stage saves you from a gate that drags on the concrete later.
Boards, latch and the finished fence
Vertical boards cover the fence and gates edge to edge for full privacy. New metal latch hardware closes the gate against the post.
Fresh wood like this stays golden for a season or two, then weathers toward grey. A stain or sealer slows that down and helps the boards shed water through Niagara freeze-thaw cycles.
Look at the finished photos and you can see the boards run tight from post to post, with the gate boards lined up to the fixed section beside it. When the gate closes, the fence reads as one wall of wood.
