Double fence ?? Can I put more fending planks on my side and not have the fence fall down ?

Question

I need more privacy in my back yard and on one side, I have a 5 ft fence. Can I buy 6 ft. panels, planks, and just nail them to the 2x4 cross boards or will this make it too heavy for the posts etc. It is my fence, I paid for it.

Answer 1

Yes you can, as long as your posts are in a solid state the weight is all downward, just make sure you have enough wood to nail to

Answer 2

2X4 cross boards are strong and can take the weight of all the fence boards that you can nail to them.

Since it is your fence, you can remove all the 5' boards and replace them with 6' boards. Replacing only one side will look strange from the other side.

Is it just the height that is a problem or is it the gap between boards as well? Most fence panels have a standard board width between each board. You can see through the fence at an angle. You can increase privacy by using 3/4 or 1/2 board width spacing. Get one board cut lenghtwise to use as a spacer to get the installation even. Centre the openings on the opposite boards.

Try to keep some space between the boards, otherwise you will have a sail and high winds could cause damage to the fence.

Answer 3

I've installed miles of fence and as the first answer states, if your posts are solid you can. You'd also need solid cross braces as well.

You say you have a 5 ft. fence but don't state the type? IE: Stockade?

It sounds like your fence slats are either separated equally, and many Stockade type fences are sold preassembled as "Board on Board, meaning that the first course is installed then in the separations another slat is attached, overlapping each opposing original slat, hence creating total privacy.
The slats may be close to 6 inches wide and the original course would be separated at 5 inches approximately. If your slats are the same width apart as the 6 ft. you want to buy, they should fit between each existing slat.

Most stockade is sold in preassembled in 6 x 8 sections, but single slats are sold in 6 ft lengths (some dog eared) and if your fence structure is basically stable the addition of overlapping or inserted slats won't effect its stability.

I'll assume you'd trim the addition to the size of the current fence before you install.

Steven Wolf