How to put up chain link fence, install chain link fence, 2, posts and supports

Before you buy your chain link fencing materials, you need a list of what you require. Counting the corner or end post is easy, the remaining land you need to measure, then divide 3, because you will be putting a post in the ground every 3 meters, allowing every fifth post to be a centre support post. If you are collecting the materials your self, you may want to leave the rolls of mesh till your next trip, they do cost a bit of money and have been known to go missing overnight.

 So if your land to be fenced is a square, of 240 meters, you need four corner posts and if the sides are 60 meters each, you will need 3 centre support posts for each side, and 16 normal posts each side. Or the simple way is to take the figure to be fenced, divide by 15, ( the number of meters between each supported post ) that will give you the number of centre supports you need, then divide the area to be fenced  by 3 ( 3 meter distance between each post ) that will give you the total number of posts required, then take away the number of support posts, and that should be the amount of normal posts you will need, or near enough.

 For each centre support post, you will need three centre brackets and six tensioners, for each corner post, you only need six tensioners, and for each end post, you will need three tensioners, remember, you will also need a nut and bolt for each of the tensioners you require.

End and corner post holes and posts.

Where ever you wish to put an end or corner post are the easiest posts to position, as you either know where the end of the fence is to be, or where the corners are going to be. You need to begin digging a hole, with with a Post Hole Borer, which you can hire from your local Tool Hire Shops, or with a hammer drill / kango. The hole needs to be about 15-18 cm in diameter, and for the depth, just keep digging, when you think the hole is deep enough, put in the post, and if the ground level is above the bottom hole, then the hole is done, if the hole is above ground level, keep digging, the holes need to be deeper.

Once you have dug all the corner and end post holes, then you can put the posts in. The concrete needs to be slightly runny, fill the hole full, then insert the post into the wet concrete, this way it will allow the concrete to go up the inside the post. Do not put the supports on yet. You need to level the corner post so it is perfectly straight, then you need to lean it so that the post is actually leaning away from where the fence in going to be, on both sides, so now the post is not straight, this is because when you tighten the fence, it will eventually pull the post back into line. The same with the end post, you need to lean it away, just a little out of straight, say about a quarter of the bubble in the spirit level is out of the line. The bottom hole, or the weld piece of steel, will need to be out of the concrete by 2cm approximately.

 Once these posts are in, you need to measure 15 meters intervals for the centre support posts, use a string line for this. Again once these holes are dug, fill with wet concrete and insert he post, but only enough to hold it upright, check that it is level, then walk to the nearest corner post, and allowing for the slight lean in the corner post, ensure that the two corner posts and the centre support posts are, by eye, level with each other, if they are not, keep moving the centre support post little by little until they are level. Once the three posts are level, you then need to check that the height is the same, between the three posts.

If the land you are putting the chain link fence on is not even ground, or going up or down hill, then the three posts height will not match, which is no problem. If the heights are different, just ensure that the bottom hole is 2 cm out of the top of the ground level. This is all only for the centre support posts which are every 15 meters approximately. Continue putting in the centre support posts, but still, do not attach the supports yet.

 One all the centre posts are now concreted in, you can then run a string line from each ot the posts to the next post, mark off every 3 meters, and then dig another post hole, once all of the post holes have now been dug, you can now begin to put in the normal posts. To put these posts in, you have to level them up from one support post to the next, this should give you a straight line between each supported post. The height of the normal posts should be in direct line with the height of each supported post. Again, if you are having trouble, contact me via the comments box below and I will assist you in any way that I can.

 Supports

Now that all your posts are in, you can add the supports to the ends, corner and centre support posts. Your supports will need to be on the opposite side of where you want the fence, usually the supports go on the inside of your property to stop thieves using them as leverage to jump the fence. You simply attach a support with a nut and bolt ot the post, and where the support lies on the floor you will need to dig a rectangle hole, for the end of the support to fit into, about 20-30 cm long and about 10-15 cm deep. Fill with wet concrete and lower the end of the support into it, you may need to add a bit more concrete on top where the support has slid in.