How to Build Homemade Field Fences

Whenever you own several acres of land in the country you will want to build a field fence for the livestock or to mark your land boundaries.  Your fence can be made of either barbed or woven wire.  With some physical strength and a few hours of time, you can build your own field fence without hiring a professional. 

1.  Mark off the area where you want to build your field fence with string that is tied to some stakes.  This will give you a straight line to work from.  It will also help you know how many posts you will need.

2.  Dig postholes beneath the stakes. 

3.  Set larger posts at the end of each fencerow.  These will act as your corner posts and support the fence’s tension.

4.  Put some gravel in the bottom of the hole after setting the posts inside.

5.  Use a carpenter’s level to make sure that the posts are plumb.

6.  Fill the hole with dirt.  Make sure to pack it down tightly.

7.  Place brace posts eight feet away from your corner posts.  These don’t need to be as sturdy as your corner post but they must be bigger than your line posts. 

8.  Pack dirt firmly around each brace post.

9.  Place a horizontal brace between the corner post and your brace posts.  Use nails to secure them in place.

10.  Run wire diagonally from the top of your corner post to the bottom of your brace post.  Repeat this two or three times.

11.  Put a small board in the middle of your brace wires and twist them together.  This will hold the posts firmly in place against your horizontal brace.

12.  Place a corner post and a brace post at the opposite end of your fencerow and set the posts in place in the same way that you just did.

13.  Set additional line posts that are 9 to 12 feet apart. 

14.  Unroll enough wire to fasten one end around one of the corner posts.  For woven wire you will want to fasten each horizontal wire.  Barbed wire must be installed one strand at a time, starting at the top. Wear protective gloves to prevent injury to your hands.

15.  Use fencing staples to fasten the wire to the brace post.

16.  Unroll your wire to the other corner post.

17.  Wrap the wire around the post and fasten it loosely in place.

18.  Connect the wires with a fence pulley.

19.  Once the wire is taut, staple it to the wooden post.

20.  Use wire fasteners to connect the fence to your steel fence posts.

21. Continue wrapping the wire tightly around the last corner of your post.