Fence Repair Ideas

Cut your 2-by-4 railing long enough to span one or two sections of fence between the posts.Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images

If your wire fence is looking a bit saggy in places or your wooden fence is blown out, you don't need to rush out and order a new one. A few tools, supplies and some knowledge about how to mend certain types of wear and tear is all that you need to give your fence a structural and visual face lift without using new materials or paying a large chunk of cash.

Mending a Wire Fence Post

Even if your wire fence has already gone down on the weakest points, other areas in better condition are still salvageable. Replace only the broken parts, and fix it right before it goes down, this way you don't have the pressure of time when repairing it. Unfasten the strands of barbed wire without cutting them. Remove the entire broken post. Use a pair of post hole diggers for this. Place a replacement post 2 feet deep in the hole in place of the broken post. You don't have to purchase a brand new post, either. You can use an older post if it is in good repair. Wear heavy duty gloves to help you push the barbed wire an inch or 2 out of the way to stick the post in place. Align the top of the new post with the others along the fence. Place a small amount of dirt at a time, packing it solidly around the post as you go. Fill the entire hole with dirt.

When one strand of barbed wire breaks, the entire fence becomes weaker, so deal with breaks as soon as you notice them. Start at the post near the shorter end of the broken wire, hooking a barb from the loose strand in the claw of the wrecking bar. Use the post for leverage to pull the wire taut and have a partner staple it down. For the long broken piece, wrap about 8 inches of the broken piece around your new barbed wire piece (long enough to reach the fence post). Use the new strand as a crosspiece to help wrap the old wire around itself. A pry bar helps with tight turns that prevent slippage. Stretch and staple this new strand to the same fence post to which the old strand was attached.

If you need an entire rail replaced on your wooden fence, cut 2-by-4-foot rails that will fit flat along the tops of the posts. Extend the rails from post to post or extend a single rail across two sections. Put rails in place with the ends butted tightly against one another. After checking their positions, nail them in place with 10d galvanized nails at either end. Repeat steps for a bottom rail. Place the rails between slightly above grade level to 12 inches up. Nail bottom rails at an angle through the fence post and into the end of each rail. Use a level to help keep the rails even. Measure and cut fence boards a uniform length, equal to the measurement from the bottom of the ground rail to the top of the high rail. When you begin to nail the boards in place, start at one end and leave a board-width space between each. Secure boards with 8d nails on the top and bottom, tops nailed first. Do the same with the rest of the boards in the spaces that you left.