How to Build a Split Rail Fence

Seriously. My husband built me a split rail fence for the backyard last weekend, and I am still over the moon about it.

Remember the cedar logs that used to contain our garden? We didn’t get rid of them. Hoarders are us.

There are several ways to split cedar logs. My husband just started whacking the log with a splitting maul, working in a straight line down the length of the log.

After about a dozen hits per side, the logs split open like zee oyster.

Not all of them split that nicely, but the majority of them did.

And that’s pretty much it. The upright posts were left just split in half, and the rails were split in half again. We (and you know who I mean when I say ‘we’) busted out the post-hole digger and dug the holes for the posts and put them in place.

A traditional split rail fence has notches cut into each upright post for the rails to fit into. That sounded like a lot of work. Instead, the ends of the rail pieces were cut at an angle and screwed to the back of each upright.

Done! I love it. A lot.

Soon there will be lilacs planted behind it, which is also exciting. Because I’m a dork.

See you in a few!