Frugal finals for fence

**zwiller** · 05-15-2011,10:08 AM

Long time lurker, first post. Trying to pay it forward a little bit since I've used a ton of info here for my haunt.

Anyway, here's my take on cemetary fence finials. I was too frugal to buy some and not happy with some of the diy versions I saw. Essentially, the fence is constructed in usual manner with 1/2" pvc and wood. Before final assembly the top of each piece of pvc is heated with a paint removal gun, pvc cement is inserted, and is immediately clamped together with a wood jorgenson style clamp until cooled. Then I use a piece of cardboard as a template and mark it. I shape starting with tin snips, angle grinder and sand paper until smooth. Finally, assemble the fence keeping the finials aligned. The whole process sounds a lot harder that it is. Actually the least enjoyable part for me was painting. Ughh...

Also, I ran some hot glue around the joint of each "stake" and not only did it make the fence more solid but it it gave it a welded look. Hope somebody benefits from this.

**beavervw** · 05-15-2011,10:23 AM

Great idea!!

**Industen** · 05-15-2011,10:25 AM

I like the idea. Looks great

I agree painting is the worst. Took me around 10 hours to build 80 feet of fence. About 5 hours was spray painting them

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**Terra** · 05-15-2011,12:07 PM

Love the welding effect you did! It certainly makes them look real. Looking at the pictures I was certain they were real because of the welding effect. Small detail but something you certainly notice. Add a little rust and they'd look just like my wrought iron fence in the back yard

**hollowscreamer** · 05-15-2011,07:57 PM

ooooooh i like this a lot!!!! thanx for sharing it with us!! i too am frugal and wanted to make a fence, but didnt have any ideas what to use as finials. this is the answer thank you

**obcessedwithit** · 05-16-2011,11:33 AM

that's a geat idea, thanks for sharing.

**TheGraveyardCareTaker** · 05-16-2011,12:06 PM

Great idea! I plan on making a PVC fence of my own this year and that's a great idea to keep in mind for some detail!

By the way, what size wood did you use to hold the PVC on the fence sections?

**zwiller** · 05-16-2011,05:03 PM

Glad you folks like them. Try practicing with some scrap pvc so you get the hang of it before going at your fence.

Stay frugal; the wood is made from ripping a stud into 5/8" strips. I had a few laying around and decided to use them. Do yourself a favor and prime them with dark latex paint after you poke holes in them but BEFORE you put the pvc in them. Beats painting around the stakes. This seals the wood and allows the spray paint to create a film on the surface like the sheen of painted metal.