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If you are often worried about rabbits, mice, or other creatures entering your garden and ruining your produce, then it’s about time you install a fence. However, professional services for the same result could prove to be expensive.
With some time and effort, you can work on a fence for your garden all by yourself. In this article, you will learn how to build a chicken wire fence with gate in easy, effective steps.
Things that you will need:
- Chicken wire rolls
- Measuring tape
- Fence stapler ( or heavy-duty stapler)
- Fence wire cutter
- Lumber posts
- Power drill and screws
- T-Hinges for the gate
- Spade
- Timber cutter
How to Build a Chicken Wire Fence with Gate
1. Cut the chicken wire sheets
Roll out the chicken wire sheet over the ground or a work desk, wherever convenient.
Based on the required measurements for the fence on all four sides, neatly cut the required pieces of the chicken net using a fence wire cutter.
If you do not have a typical work area for this, you could simply roll it over the grass in your garden, place a couple of stones on the net to hold the sheet down while you work your way through the sheet with your cutter.
2. Assemble the chicken wire fence
Now with your chicken wire sheets ready, you will now have to build the fence. To do this, you must begin by stapling the corners of the chicken wire to the side posts along the perimeter of the fence.
You get what is called fence staplers which work like paper staplers. With a fence stapler, you essentially shoot stapler pins from a gun directly onto the piece of lumber in a way that the pin secures itself around the wire mesh pinning it to the post.
You may alternatively use a heavy-duty stapler.
Staple the mesh along the length of the post until you are convinced that it’s completely and securely fastened to the post.
Repeat this step of pinning the chicken wire to the posts from one end to the other until you have covered all four sides of the fence.
When you get to the area where you plan to build the gate, leave on some extra rolls of the chicken wire without cutting it to the exact length as yet.
Once you have built the gate, you can cut the mesh where the gate begins, for a smooth finish.
3. Prep the gate posts
Now that you have built the wire fence, you are ready to work on the gate. For this, first, you have to build two lumber posts that will support the gate’s frame on both sides.
Dig out a small pit, just enough to insert the wooden log or post of the desired height into the ground. Fix your post by inserting it into the ground to about 2-3 feet, enough for it to stand firmly, and then cover the hole and gaps around it with mud to secure it in place.
Repeat the same step for the second post on the other side of the gate. Now you have the supporting lumber posts ready and fixed. This is an important step to follow in how to build a chicken wire fence with gate.
4. Cut the wood for the gate
With your wire fence ready, you can move on to cutting the lumber pieces for your gate. To do this, you need 5 pieces of lumber of the desired length and width. Among these, four pieces will be fastened together to form a square or a rectangular frame.
The fifth and last piece will be placed as the diagonal cross beam or a cross brace to support the gate and hold it from collapsing.
To get your lumber pieces ready to create the frame of the gate, start by cutting the pieces as desired. Clamp your long lumber piece onto your desk. If you do not have one, simply place it on the ground.
Now cut the piece with a lumber cutter according to the desired measurements for the gate. For a smooth finish, cut the edges diagonally on both sides, as mentioned below.
- On the left end of the piece, cut from left to right diagonally from the top.
- On the right end of the piece, cut from right to left diagonally from the top.
Follow this design and make sure all the four pieces are uniformly cut in this manner so that when you ultimately put them together as a frame, they can be fastened adjacent to one another like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Straight cuts will make fixing them together more difficult. Instead, you can cut the edges diagonally so that when you fit them together, they form a perfect square or a rectangle.
5. Assemble the wooden gate
Once you have cut the pieces of lumber, you are ready to put the frame together. To do this, you will need a power drill and screws.
Place the wooden pieces together in a manner that forms a rectangular or square frame. Now on each of the four corners, where two pieces of lumber are at a right angle with each other, you will need to drill a couple of holes.
Using a power drill, start making a hole from the outside of one piece and stop just when you have drilled a bit into the adjacent piece. Drive a screw into each of the holes made to secure the two pieces together on this one corner.
Repeat the same steps on all the other three corners until you have pieced all four posts together to form your frame.
6. Attach the cross beam and wrap with chicken wire
The next step you have to remember as you learn how to build a chicken wire fence with a gate is to secure the diagonal cross beam.
Cut the fifth lumber piece the same way you did the others and place it diagonally, preferably from left to right. Screw the diagonal piece also in place, so now you have a square or rectangular frame along with the diagonal crossbeam in one whole single piece.
You cannot hang the gate right away at this stage as doing so will defeat the purpose — rabbits and mice could get in through the huge gaping holes in the gate. So cover the entire gate with chicken wire by stapling it to the corner of the gate.
7. Install the gate on the gate posts
Now your gate, along with the perfect frames, diagonal crossbeam, and wire mesh across it, is ready to be hung.
To hang the gate, you need to fasten two T-hinges onto one side of the gate.
Drill holes through the hinges to attach them to the chosen post— with one hinge on the top and the other on the bottom. The side of the gate with the T-hinges attached will be fastened to the adjacent supporting post, in order for you to be able to swing the gate.
Once your gate is in place, cut off any extra wire mesh, and then you are done!
These are some useful step-by-step instructions on how to build a DIY chicken wire fence with a gate. Start right away to keep pests away!
FAQs on How to Build a Chicken Wire Fence With Gate
How do you make a simple chicken wire fence?
Cut your chicken wire and staple it to posts along the perimeter of the fence using a fence stapler. This will shoot pins into the posts in a manner that will attach the mesh to the post. Run the mesh from one post to another until you have covered all four sides, install your wooden gate, and then your simple chicken wire fence is ready.
How do you attach a gate to a post?
To attach a gate to a post you need T-hinges. Attach two T-hinges to one side of the gate— one on the top and one at the bottom. Then fasten this side to the adjacent post to make the gate swing. If required you can attach a bolt to keep the gate closed.
Takeaway
If you are wondering how to build a chicken wire fence with gate, you can get this done in a few easy steps all by yourself.
Start by cutting sheets of chicken wire as required. Staple them onto the posts that are installed on the perimeter of your fence. Create your wooden gate by fastening four pieces of lumber posts together using a power drill and screws.
After you have created the wooden frame, secure the fifth piece in place to form a diagonal crossbeam and cover the entire gate with chicken wire.
Hang the gate by fastening T-hinges on one side of the gate and attaching it to the adjacent supporting post and you are good to go!
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