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In my previous post, I talked about setting the fence posts for a 3-foot high fence. The next step is to put railings on your fence.

The further apart your fence posts are, the more likely you are to crack, warp, or sag your railings. I have two spans that are 10 feet apart, and realized after having already set the fence posts that this was not a good idea. My recommendation is to keep your fence posts no more than 6 feet apart (4 feet is ideal if you want strong railings). This provides enough support that you can actually lean on the fence railing.

After your fence posts are plum and have been set in cement for a few days, you can cut your fence railings to size. I encourage you to keep your fence posts at 90 degree angles, as cutting the mitered edges of your fence railing can be a cumbersome and painstaking task. I spent about twice as long on the mitered edges as I did on the straight edges. Be careful – if you cut it too short, you’ll need to scrap it and start over.

I used a compound miter saw for all the railings. The wood was a 2×4 by 10 feet (2 spots) and 8 feet. I also had a few 6 feet and shorter spans for the curved part of the fence.

I placed my railings on edge, as this will result in less sag over time that means you can’t just run it across the top of the fence post, you have to screw it in to the side of the fence post. Having the angles meet up to the 4×4 post can be challenging, even require a recut once or twice. I found it to be somewhat painstaking and suggest avoiding angles if you are able to do 90-degree turns.