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Advice for preparing and building a privacy fence against a short brick wall.

Advice for preparing and building a privacy fence against a short brick wall.


  #1  
Old 05-14-16, 06:26 AM
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Question Advice for preparing and building a privacy fence against a short brick wall.

First off I'll start by saying I'm a beginner but a quick learner in most things I do so although I might not get something I can easily research and understand any terminology you use that I might not understand so don't feel the need to 'baby-talk' me too much!

I am also having problems adding images for some reason so I have uploaded them to Imgur and placed the links instead if this helps.

Right, I'm building a privacy fence against a short brick wall in my concrete yard and need some advice on how to prepare the wood I have bought which are feather edge boards. The Wall

Firstly how should I prepare the wood? I will be painting it with Cuprinol Ducksback but have read on the tin that any raw wood should ideally be treated beforehand. Is this necessary and what are the consequences of not doing so?

Secondly should I give the wood a light sanding to remove the patchy green stains that I assume are mould? I say sanding because the wood is rather rough and I would like to give it a smoother finish so was wondering if this would kill two birds with one stone.
The Wood

Thirdly as I will be building this against a wall should I be painting the wall facing side before construction as I obviously won't be able to paint it once it's up?

Finally what advice would you give me for building a gate in this location?
The Gate

Thankyou in advance for any help!
 
  #2  
Old 05-14-16, 08:12 AM
C
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I can start with a few points and some questions:

Are you planning typical fence construction with posts and rails, with the fence boards attached to the rails?

Assuming so, will all of it be in front of the brick wall (posts, rails, fence boards)?

If so, the posts will have to attach to the concrete slab, how were you planning to do that?

I guess we need a little more information as to what you are planning, construction-wise.

That looks like pressure treated wood. If that's the case, then the green stains are likely deposits from excess treatment chemicals not mold. Remove whatever is loose with a light brushing with a wire brush.

The finish you've picked is intended for rough sawn wood only, so sanding would not be recommended (plus it will be a lot of extra work). If it is pressure treated wood, then no other treatment is needed before applying the Ducksback. They only recommend a pre-treatment for untreated wood. It's usually recommended to allow PT wood to dry for a month or so (at least) before staining; I would check the Ducksback instructions regarding how long to wait before staining.

I wouldn't pre-stain only the part of the fence against the wall. Products like that will show lap marks if you stop in the middle of a board and continue later, so I would recommend doing the whole board with at least one coat before you build the fence. Although I guess a little lap mark right at the top of the brick wall wouldn't be a big deal. It is often easier to pre-finish the fence boards before assembly however, and then touch up any small areas that need it after construction.

The key to gate construction is have very sturdy and well attached posts on each side of the gate. we can give better advice after we know more about your general construction plan.
 
 

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