Hello everyone, great forum! I am building a shadow box fence that will primarly be 4' in height, with one part of the perimeter being 5' high. This will be constructed using 4x4 treated posts, 2x4 treated stingers, and 1x6 slats (treated or cedar, not sure yet). Spacing of the 4x4 posts will vary but most have 7.5' between them.
I want a uniform look on the interior and exterior (just a strong personal preference), so I plan to run the the stringers toe nailed between the posts laying flat. Laying the 2x4 flat will allow me to acheive a consistent width on both sides because the stringer and the post will be the same width. However, realizing it would eventually sag, I plan to run another 2x4 directly underneath it. This one would be standing upright (3.5 side of the 2x4 running vertical this time) for the extra support. The 2x4's would form a T shape between posts.
My question is, to prevent the stringers from sagging over time, should I run the extra 2x4 under both the top and bottom stringer for support, or would just supporting the top stringer be enough? I'm not sure if the bottom stringer could even sag once all the slats are nailed to it, but I don't want to have to repair it later.
Secondly, I know 2 stringers are recommended between posts for 4 ft fence, 3 are recommended for 6 ft fence. What is best for 5 ft fence ?
Thanks !
I would do the T shape top and bottom and add the 3rd stringer to the 5' section. Easier to do now than after you have build the fence. Not sure what width the slats of the fence are going to be, but the extra stringer in the middle will keep them from bowing, twisting or whatever PT lumber does as it dries out.
Thanks for the input, that's exactly what I did today and it worked out well. Very sturdy and solid run of fence. Thanks again.
I just completed a somewhat similar fence. I have seen quite a few 6' fences with just two horizontal 2x4s providing the support, but after a few years they sag in the middle. I just finished my fence yesterday and I decided to add a pressure treated 2x6 as a kickboard with a 2x4 laying flat above it for the pickets to rest on. 4x4 posts are 7' apart. Before the pickets were installed you could easily stand on the stacked 2x6/2x4 bottom stringer and it felt extremely solid. The top 2x4 stringer probably isn't doing much except holding the top of the pickets when being side-loaded by winds.
Here's how it came out:
This was my first woodworking project. Would love to see how yours came out.
You might consider leaving some gaps between vertical boards the next time you build a fence. With the tight spacing, yours will act like a giant sail, wanting to blow over in a high wind once the post bottoms start to rot.
Tags: shadow, fence, stringers, bottom stringer, between posts, build fence, fence Thanks, support would
