Wooden fences are an awesome part of the aesthetic and security of millions of homes and are a major part of making your yard look the best it can. Maintenance of your wooden fence is key in saving yourself from having to shell out unneeded money to have the fence replaced if damage goes unaddressed for too long.
Table of Contents
One of the main problems seen with wood fences is that they start to lean and shift from their original position over time. This is mostly caused by soft soil allowing the fence to shift over time, or moisture absorbed by the fence posts causing them to expand and contract depending on the weather which loosens their position in the concrete base.
As stated in a previous article about wooden fence maintenance, replacing your fence is quite costly and can run anywhere between $3 to $13 per linear foot just for materials. So, in an effort to avoid this cost, this article was written to show the best way to fix a leaning fence yourself without even having to remove the fence posts.
Materials Needed
To get started you will need:
- A Fence Post Mender (I recommend this one on Amazon for less than $20 a piece)
- 2 and 1/2″ exterior wood screws
- 3″ exterior wood screws
- Additional fence panels if necessary
Tools Needed
- A cordless drill
- 3 lb mini sledge hammer
- A framing hammer
- 3/16″ and 1/4″ drill bits
- A shovel
- A Pry bar (Optional, but can be very handy when digging around the fence post)
Step 1
Visually inspect the fence post or posts that are leaning and determine if the post appears to still be in good condition above the ground. If it is, the post has likely just shifted due to loose soil or moisture in the post causing it to expand and contract and loosen from the position it was initially set in.
If the post is visibly damaged above the ground, it is better to just replace the post and re-set a new one in the ground. Re-stabilizing a broken fence post is just a losing proposition because the fence will likely sag again as the post continues to split.
Step 2
Start by removing the panels surrounding the post that needs to be straightened. You need to clear enough space so that you can easily access the railing to which the fence panels are secured. So, removing three or four fence panels on either side of the post should give you enough space.
Next, unscrew both the bottom and the top fence rails that attach to post to the rest of the fence. This will now fully allow the post to be moved and straightened without affecting the rest of the fence. The least amount of wood you have move or flex the better, as it is very possible to crack pieces of the fence when moving it, especially if it is older wood.
Step 3
Begin digging around the base of the post to reveal the concrete base that the post is set in. Once you have dug around the post, prop it up into the most upright position you can without causing too much strain on the wood using either a 2×4 angled into the ground and secured to the post or a rope tied around the post that can pull the post into an upright position. Be careful on this step as putting an excessive amount of pressure onto the fence posts can cause them to crack or completely snap.
By holding the fence post in an upright position, you will likely notice a gap between the wood and the concrete base that the post is set in, this is where the post mender will go to stabilize the post in this position.
Step 5
Start by setting the post mender in the gap between the post and the concrete base. Put the post mender on either side of the post that runs parallel to the railing, NOT the side that the panels will be reattached to.
Make sure your post mender is centered on the the post and begin pounding it into the ground using your sledge hammer. The goal is to get the post mender far enough into the ground that the bottom of the “Strike Point” of the post mender is touching the ground.
If necessary you may need to strike from the top of the post mender if the strike point becomes too damaged. When doing this, do not strike the top of the post mender directly because it will cause the steel to fold over and damage the whole unit. Instead, lay another hammer sideways on top of the post mender and strike that. This will save the integrity of the metal and will displace the force of the strike more evenly allowing for an easier push into the ground.
(Here is a youtube video showing the process a little more in depth. He uses a second sledge hammer but if you only have a framing hammer, that will work just fine as well.)
Step 6
Once the post mender is fully driven into the ground, you will probably notice the post has straightened and become much more sturdy.
Now, you will want to secure the post mender to the post using some screws (2 and 1/2″ wood screws are recommended). It should have some screw holes pre-drilled into it. If not, simply use a drill bit to make some holes ( a 3/16″ drill bit is recommended).
Once you have secured the post mender to the post, you will want to re-secure the fence railing. To do this, hold the railing back into place where it was previously secured. Drill back through the holes where the railing had been attached previously with your drill bit and allow it to mark the steel post mender on the other side.
Then, move the railing out of the way and drill through the steel where the marks were made to make new screw holes. Move the railing back into position and drill your 3″ screws through the railing into the new holes you made in the post mender and ultimately, back into the fence post. This will fully secure the railing and will have re-attached the rest of the fence to the post.
After you have secured the bottom railing back into the post, reattach the top railing, drilling back through the same holes that were used to attach it to the post previously.
Once this is done, simply reattach the fence panels in the same position the were in before you took them off and Boom! Your fence will be completely put back together.
This should make a noticeable difference in the posture and stability of your fence. If there still appears to be some leaning in other areas of the fence, determine which posts are causing it and repeat these steps.
Maintenance is Key
As previously mentioned, the whole point of this article is to give you the best shot at avoiding a costly full fence replacement. Regular visual inspection and maintenance of your wooden fence will allow it to last much longer than the typical 10 years that the majority of wooden fences do.
For another helpful article about wooden fence maintenance and specifically staining your fence to protect the wood, check out our article titled, Does Staining a Wood Fence Make it Last Longer?
