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This Summer I tore down and rebuilt 206 linear feet of cedar fencing in our back yard. This blog post is to help me remember what I did and when. The old fencing was installed by a previous owner, so it was at least 20 years old. Practically every Spring/Summer since I’ve owned the house, I’ve had to replace a handful of posts due to the wood rotting. The old pickets had never been treated, so they had the gray-weathered look.

This photo from May 2013 gives an idea of what the fence looked like BEFORE:

Chris building hoop tunnel for garden in back yard in May 2013.

I worked this project all Summer 2014, completing about 25-40′ sections per weekend. The new fence is built with PostMaster steel posts set in concrete, cedar 2×4 rails, and cedar pickets. I covered the back side of each steel post with a wide picket for aesthetics. The new gates on the alley side are in a better location for how we use the back yard. Finally, I sanded and stained with Sikkens Cetol SRD in Cedar tint. Michelle was great help with project–being supportive in general, selling the old materials, and with the staining!

I really hope that the steel fence posts live up to expectations that they will last for decades without need for replacement, making the annual chore of replacing fence posts a thing of the past.

Here are some photos showing the finished fence: