How We Build No-Dig Vinyl Fence (2023)

Introduction

👉🏻 Product Links Below In This Description 👇🏻
Ever wanted to build vinyl fence without using a bunch of concrete? This is a thorough look at how we build our no-dig vinyl fence using driven posts. Pounded posts have a lot of advantages in certain situations. We'll walk you through what we do, and what the pros and cons are!
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👉🏻 Post Pounders: bit.ly/postpounders
👉🏻 Fence Post Donut Adapters: bit.ly/SWIpipedonut
👉🏻 Self-Drilling Screws For Donuts: bit.ly/SWI-TY3-1-4x1
👉🏻 Rail Locks: bit.ly/vinylraillock
👉🏻 Self-Drilling Screws For Rail Locks: bit.ly/SWI-TY2-8x3-4
👉🏻 Vinyl gate hardware: bit.ly/vinylwhitegatehardware
👉🏻 Vinyl everything else: bit.ly/vinylfence
👉🏻 The whole website: bit.ly/swifence

Content

- Today, we are going to install a six foot white vinyl privacy fence here at this beautiful home., The way that we would do that is we would dig a hole, fill it full of concrete, stab, the vinyl post into the concrete.

The.

Next day.

We would then go erecting the fence and hang the gates and be done.

That's, not how we're going to do it.

Today.

Today.

We are going to drive these posts.

Then.

Take a donut.

Not.

The kind of donut you're thinking, of., This kind of a donut.

It's, a 2 3/8 by 5/8 post, adapter.

It's going to slide over these posts and slide up into the vital post, adapt into that.

It's going to be how this all works.

(rhino pounder hammering) - All of these posts.

They are 2, 3/8., So, they're, all the exact same size.

You should see the exact same amount of post on each side of the post that you're siting in., When, I.

Look.

This way, I should be able to see just a tiny sliver of nothing.

I wouldn't, see something.

I would see just enough of the, of the posts behind me and all on a nice straight line.

I'm, looking from this one to this one, to that one, to that one, to that one, to that one to make sure that my line is continually straight.

The rest of your line is your reassurance that you're, headed straight., (rhino, pounder, hammering) - So.

Our posts are 2.

3/8 SS40.

There are six feet.

Long.

There is three feet going in the ground.

Three feet coming out of the ground.

This ground is pretty good.

It's, not known for a lot of rocks.

So.

We knew that we'd be able to achieve our driving depth on this particular piece of land.

So.

This one particular post, right here.

We left taller.

It's, actually, not left taller.

It's.

A longer post.

This was an eight foot post.

Instead of a six foot post., We want a little bit more post sticking up top.

So that way our gate has something, has some meat to hang on to because this is going to be our hinge post.

Why is it going to be our hinge post? Because it's on the low side.

The land is supposed to be sloped away from the house.

So that way, when you have water on the ground, it doesn't drain back to the house.

It drains away from the house.

In that sense of saying, that, this would make our low side.

We, definitely want to hinge on our low side.

Like.

We always talk about., (drilling), We got some of our donuts put on over here.

We, got them put halfway up here.

Then the one under the bottom.

So.

What we're going to do is we have our post here.

There.

You go.

I, got it on there., So, we're going to slide our vinyl post, our vinyl five by five over the donut and then we're going to receive into the bottom.

And it slides just right over that.

And.

Once we set it to height, Which, we're, not ready to set it to height yet, because we still have to cut our bottom.

Rail.

We can screw down here and screw down here into our donut, and then cover it back with our dirt or their vinyl post, And back behind me.

You can see that they already kind of got that going on back here.

So.

They got three of them.

Ready., What, we're going to do is we're going to measure from metal post from face to face.

So that rail sits tight from inside a post to inside a post.

And.

It can't come out one way or the other.

We can still lift our vinyl post up.

So we can get our rail set in there.

And it's going to lock in between the two, 2, 3/8 post.

So it can't slide out of the post and go anywhere.

As soon as we get all the rails cut for this whole entire side.

Then we can start setting this fence to height.

As soon as it's set to height.

We can start building., (rhino, pounder, hammering) Whatever.

It is that you may be putting your fence around, you still have those primary utilities that are going to go through your area of work that have to get into the building of residents being a home or the business that you're fencing, around.

When.

You do your layout.

What we've found that helps us is make sure and do your layout so that you can work around those utilities and you're, not having to hand dig or pound right next to them.

Especially in this scenario.

Since we did our layout.

We made sure to give ourselves adequate room between the gas line that is shown right here.

And our post, spacing.

So in this particular part of the yard, we're in the back.

We're in the alleyway.

The utilities are right on the edge of the alley.

In.

This particular subdivision, the utilities are just barely within, inside the property.

So to keep the fence, looking nice, slick, and clean.

Instead of doing a utility bump-out, where you do a little, a U kind of to block all this out.

I have talked with my customer.

And what we're actually going to do is we're going to keep everything in a nice straight line., We're going to go to right here., So from point a to point B.

So we still have a nice straight line.

And this can stay all on the outside of the fence, All that we're losing of the property is just a little piece of the pie.

Not very much at all.

As far as our post spacing.

This is going to be our corner, and they have some utility marks in here because it's so congested in these two holes.

Now, we could pound them, because, I, mean, that's, obviously, utility, right, there., Is.

There more? Nothing's marked coming out of this box.

So.

Unfortunately, for this area right here.

The best thing for us to do to get this post in the ground is to hand, dig it to make sure that we safely get it in there.

And we don't risk killing the utility.

We're going to go ahead.

And these rails in.

Earlier I was telling you about how we were going to do it.

Now.

We have some of the bottom rail cut.

And the top rail cut.

If, you are familiar with vinyl fence at all.

Traditionally, you're used to the post being hollow.

So you can slide all the way inside one blank post and then pull back out and go into your receiving post.

And, then you're going to.

You just keep on Daisy chaining that effect down your fence.

Line.

Since.

We have that 2 3/8 post in there that now becomes an issue.

So.

We can't go all the way in one side and in the other, because we don't have "insertion".

So now we're going to show you how to do it.

(drilling) We're lifting up this post.

And.

What we're going to do is we're also going to rotate at the same time to get this rail in there., Like, so., Now, we're going to put that post back over that donut.

That.

Bottom rail is inserted.

Now.

Just like I was saying.

You probably notice how there is no crimps on the rail, right?.

Of course, you were because you were just looking at that., I know, you were.

The rail, can't, come out because it's locked in by the two posts.

Oh yeah.

This is where it's going to get tricky.

I'm going to go in this post.

Now, because you remember last time I started in this post.

I'm going to start on the other side of the post because I need the blank post over here.

Don't trip.

So.

We've got the rail inserted., Now, we're, just trying to get that post over that donut.

There.

It goes.

So.

Now of course, this post can still turn because we're not done with it.

Yet.

After.

We get all this bottom rail in.

We can see how the fence is going to flow and we're either going to pound the post down just a little bit or raise it up, screwed into place and call it good.

Look at that.

We got all the way to the corner.

No.

We can set our height.

We are actually going to establish our height.

So I have chosen this post, because this is where it all started and we're going to go that direction.

So I'm going to set this one kind of where I think it needs to be.

So I'm, looking for the elevation, not to be a whole lot higher than the elevation of the dirt.

But I do have some hardscape here that I can pull off of.

I want these two elevations, the bottom of the rail to be pretty close to the top of the concrete, which it is now., So we're going to go ahead and screw this post, in.

And.

What we're going to do is we have a donut down here at the bottom of the post.

We're going to screw in from the post to the donut.

Then we're going to screw back into the donut.

Really? - You kept talking about them.

- Really? Donut break? Is that where you've been this whole entire time? - Yeah.

- Yeah.

So we're going to go ahead and attach through the side down here., So, right now, we're just going to go ahead and put this screw in., (drilling) (hammering) - Whoa (drilling), (power, saw) - So that middle donut.

We obviously screwed into the bottom donut.

We showed you that kind of just here a few minutes ago.

And now we need to attach into that middle donut.

How are we going to find it? We're going to show you.

So I'm sticking my tape down inside my post and landing on top of that donut.

And I'm coming up to the top of that is 36 and a half.

So I'm going to add, I'm just going to add a half an inch or a little bit over to get to the center of that donut.

So I'm, going to, I'm going to go for 37 and 1/8 and on the inside of my U-channel, marker, pencil.

It doesn't matter.

As long as you don't mark, the outside.

So, if you're not very careful with the marker maybe use a pencil.

So I'm going to mark 37 and 1/8.

And I'm going to go ahead and put a screw in that.

(drilling) I can tell I'm getting my donut, because you can see that my U-channel is pushing out from my post.

So, I, I.

Am in my adapter bracket., (drilling), Going back through.

We have all of our U-channels on now going this direction and we're going to go back through and put all those middle screws, in., (drilling), I, mean, if you're going to use donuts, you got to eat donuts.

I.

Mean.

It goes hand in hand.

(Music), (hammering), We told you we were going to show you the next step.

Here's, the next step.

The.

Last thing that we showed you was how to find that donut and to screw put your last screw through the U-channel into the donut.

And.

Now, it's all about building a section of vinyl fence.

Privacy.

Vinyl white.

Privacy fence is what we're working on right, here.

And.

What we're going to do is we're going to take our measurement for our rip picket.

So down here.

We like to measure from the bottom because that's where you can control the post.

You got flex at the top of the post.

Your measurement's going to be accurate at the bottom.

- Make sure that your pickets are pulled all the way against each other.

Let's, take your tape inside the U-channel and get that dimension.

It looks like we're about 2, 3/4.

They've.

Already got the picket rip for us.

So we're going to take this case, which is our rip.

We're going to install it right? Here.

- Now, with our leftover piece, it's going to go to the next side of the post.

There is absolutely zero.

Waste., Oh, you're, not packing around a whole bunch of scrap pickets, filling a dumpster with a whole bunch of scrap.

You're able to use 100% of that picket.

That is how you build and assemble a section of vinyl privacy, fence.

Now that we have the pickets ripped to the width of the section.

And the section fit between the two posts.

All we need to do.

Now is insert the top rail.

Now.

The top rail has already been pre-cut for us.

What.

We did was we measured from post to post and I got 75 and a half.

What we're going to do is we're going to add three inches, one, an inch and a half insertion for each side, of, each side of the section.

Theoretically, an inch and a half of the rail goes into this post and an inch and a half of rail goes into this post.

So.

Now, what we're going to do since it's already pre-cut, We're going to slide it on one side, We're going to slide it on the side.

We are going to insert on the side that is an open post.

What.

I mean, by that is this one already has a rail in it.

So that we can get the rail slid all the way back into that post.

So.

We can go back on top of this section and slide into that post.

Now on the corner, you're, going to, I'm going to contradict what I just said, but I don't have to worry about that because this rail right here misses and still between my full gap.

So I can slide my rail all the way back to the back side of that post.

Once.

We got the rail in there and slid all the way back, pull it back and feel for, that we've got enough rail on each side.

So we can put a rail lock on.

Now.

As soon as we put our rail locks on there, we can glue our caps on.

These two sections of fence are done.

Now that our section is built.

We have our pickets installed.

We have our top rail, on.

We're going to do one of the two ways that you can do to fasten this rail in place.

One way that you can do is you can use a vinyl rail notcher.

What.

It is is you put this on your vinyl rail? And you can press it.

And.

It pops a little tab out of the rail.

So that way when the rail gets inserted into the vinyl post that tab grabs back behind the hole on each side.

So that way the rail can't come out.

So.

That is not the method we're going to do on this particular job.

We're going to use what they call the rail lock.

So.

What it does is this goes inside the post and for any rail, for your rail, for the rail that comes in this direction.

We have a screw hole and the rail that comes in this direction.

We have a screw hole.

We can then lock those rails into place with a couple of fasteners and we'll go through and we'll do that on the top of every single post.

It, just fits nice and snug in there.

I don't have to finesse it or nothing., (drilling), Now, I, just screwed the screw into this rail.

That is how we're keeping these rails on this particular fence from coming out.

So.

Should you ever want to take a section? Out, it's, pretty easy.

All.

You'd have to do is pop your cap off remove your rail lock, pull your top rail, out, pull your pickets out, twist, your post, pull out that bottom, rail, And.

Then you have, you have a section that you can take out within, within a matter of minutes.

So.

Now that we got our rail on, we've got our sections done, we're, still, not done.

We, got one minor, small, little, itty, bitty, little thing we got do.

Put.

The cap on.

This is probably the hardest part of the whole job.

And.

The reason I say that it's because you're going to use glue.

If, you have some guys that are like, well, how much how much glue do you use? You, know, it's, kind of like wrapping, a Christmas present.

How, much tape.

Should you use on the wrapping paper to wrap a Christmas present?, The, same concept., How, much glue.

Do you use?? You, don't need that much, honestly.

So.

We just picked two sides, about right in the center we're going to go about the size of a pea., I mean, really small.

You don't have to do all four sides., You don't have to do a four or five inch.

Line.

You, just need a couple of dots and we'll put it on.

Give.

It a firm tap down, make sure it's sitting nice and level.

Once, that's done.

You can move on to your next one., Okay., (drilling), There.

It goes., Well, I.

Guess, it was quickly just flipped over, (sawing), (drilling) - Four screws.

Take it off, flip.

It over, put it back on.

- But that one's going to have a big spring in it.

And, then it's going to come out and hit you in the face.

- We should get that on video.

(laughing), Yeah., (drilling) - Nope.

It'll come in right.

Here.

(Drilling) - You want to know one more cool thing about those hinges? Did I, tell you that they're self-closing?, Yeah, that's, right., There's, self-closing.

So.

We just wanted to do a overview of this install of this particular fence.

We wanted to compare it to the, the standard method of what we typically do of digging a hole and then filling it full of concrete and setting that post in the concrete.

Let's.

Compare the equipment needed for this method versus our standard method.

For.

This particular method, the biggest piece of equipment that we needed was a rhino, pounder.

And that was just to drive the post in the ground.

We didn't need a skid steer on this job to be able to drill a hole and or multiple holes and then fill them full of concrete.

So.

The less equipment was nice.

Another comparison is if you're working on a job where your customer or whoever you may be working for is really concerned about destruction to their landscape.

This method I would say would probably be a lot safer.

Also.

If you have limited job, access.

So, if you have no job access to get a piece of equipment back there, such as an MT85, you know, just a little walk behind, I would definitely say this is the.

This is what I would recommend.

This is the way I would do that.

I have done that before.

I've had to bucket concrete, back to posts and it's.

Not very much fun.

Speed on, on install is still debatable.

Because.

I mean.

This is our first one.

So.

We can't really say, that, "Oh, we're, we're, super fast at this.

And this is the only way to go." We're optimistic.

And as far as I go, I'm, still gonna choose whatever way may be best for me.

Not.

One is better than the other.

I would say they're, both the same.

They're, both structurally sound.

They.

Both have structural integrity.

Another comparison is cost.

You may think that this method may be cheaper versus the concrete method., It's, not, I'm going to say, it's a wash across the board.

And.

The reason being, even though you're not buying that concrete whatever you're going rate for concrete is in your local area, that steel post is cheaper than that concrete.

But the labor to get that post in the ground that's where the reflection comes.

And that's, where your costs are going to completely wash.

One.

Other comparison is for repairs.

So.

If this post ever failed or somebody.

Somehow this post broke now for repair in this fence, it's going to be a lot easier than a repair than one that was set in concrete because you're actually going to have to dig around the base and anchor into that base and pull that post out and then hand mix and set another post.

Whereas this.

You just got to undo a couple of sections, few screws, flip it off, slip.

Another one on.

This, this particular method, is, I, wouldn't, try it in a rocky ground, condition.

So.

If you know that you're dealing with a lot of rock, I wouldn't, even try this., And I would go straight to going to the other method that I would definitely do dig and set because it's just going to be way too hard to try to bypass those rocks when you're driving that post in the ground.

I think it's going to take you a lot more time and it's just not going to be worth it.

In.

The end, you still have to do the method that is the fastest for you.

Last thing that I can think of as far as the comparison, I'm.

Sure there's, many more.

As far as the work time, you have infinite work time on this method.

Now, the concrete method.

You only have so much work time from when you pour the concrete in the hole to the time that you go to put that post in the concrete.

If you let too much time lapse and it's a nice hot summer's day, you're, not going to be able to get that post in there because that concrete is going to be too hard.

This is a lot more forgiving in time.

You can alow.

Let more time go by versus the other method.

You have a good dang, day.

So.

What you're going to do is you're going to take the glue.

Then you're going to put a little dab of glue right? There., Ta-da., Hi, we're, rolling again., Just, kidding., Don't use that.

What's, up., Can, I, get you anything? Lens, cleaner, bottle of Windex?, No?, All, right., Ready?, Ready?, Action., I got my own clapperboard., See, clap., Clap., Just, kidding., So, we're going to go ahead and put these rails.

In.

You can edit that out.