Thread: Graveyard Fence

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Here's my first tutorial, hope it helps.

How I created my graveyard fence:



The horizontal cross bars are made from pine 1x2x8 boards. The vertical bars are created from 1/4" electrical conduit (looks like PVC pipe, but they are grey in color). I cut the 1/4" conduit into 3' sections, which left the last remaining section with the flaired end longer (about 4' long).

Here's a couple of pics of when I was cutting the vertical bars:


Here you just make out the flaired end on the longer pieces that are upright leaning against my house:


Next I used a hole saw bit on my drill to make holes every six inches on the cross bars, and then slid the vertical bars through the holes:



Once it was all even I screwed the bars into the cross bar. I first started out drilling the hole first and then screwing it together. However, I quickly found out that I could just dispense with the pilot hole and screw it straight through. Only a couple of minor cracks. Screws I used:


Here's the fences before painting (notice the longer flaired bars on the ends, and all bars are even at ground level):


I used cheap spray paint (about $1 per can) that I got from Lowe's (Helpful suggestion - Get a good spray can grip like this one. It will save your fingers a lot of cramping. Trust me.)


Painting:


Here's the Pièce de résistance; the finials really make the whole thing come together. This is a link to Steel Supply, L.P. where I ordered the finials: Steel Supply, L.P.

I used wooded dowels about 6" long with the end wrapped in duct tape to hold the finials, and to make a tight fit into the vertical bars (this way I can remove them later if I wish). I ended up putting finials on my tall end bars, but I thought about putting the tops of tiki torches on 'em; or maybe mount skulls, etc. Just ran out of time this year.

Here's the fences in place with nothing on the top of the end bars:


I cut rebar into 18" stakes that I drove into the ground leaving about 3-4 inches above the ground and just set the fences onto the rebar. I only did the end posts and it was pretty solid. You could add more in the middle if you wanted, but keep in mind that the rebar going up inside the vertical end posts will hit the screws if they stick out too high above the ground.

Any questions?

Good idea using they gray conduit. It should take the inevitable scuffs and scratches without being glaringly obvious if it was the white PVC showing through.

Great and easy to follow tutorial. I second that spray can grip, really makes it easy and not painful to spray paint.

Nice looking fence. Thanks for the How-To

i thought about doing this. this is the way i think im going to do it.

twisted minds think alike? not only is the gray a little more scuff proof, it was 20 cents a stick cheaper!

wow that looks great! Thanks for the tutorial.

That is absolutely brilliant. This year for Halloween we decorated ONLY in our internal atrium of our home ... even though we can a good sized front yard. Last year we had a problem with Fed Ex, UPS, and the post office leaving packages outside our door when we were not home and a thief (which I caught a few weeks later) was driving down our street and stealing packages from my house and several of my neighbors. We live in a nice neighborhood, but fairly close (about 50 feet) from a main main main street that gets a lot of traffic and it very easy to access which means people come into our neighborhood sometimes and steal and then make a fast getaway.

Also last year I was cleaning out the gutters of my house using a 12' ladder and went inside for 15 minutes to have lunch and when I came out, MY LADDER WAS GONE!!! There were 3 people home at my house that day and someone had the guts to run up to the house and steal a 12' aluminum ladder!!!

My concern was people would STEAL the tombstones and other props I would want to put outside because I didn't have any sort of fencing. It is totally open.

Now would your fence idea STOP thieves? It would certainly be a deturant against it ... maybe ... Thieves are not going to want to come around to the small open area to then risk getting caught ... so maybe your graveyard fencing and a security camera would be enough ... at least for Halloween.

Thanks for the great tutorial and the idea of how to maybe protect my cemetary.

Great tutorial. I'm thinking about making a fence this year. I never thought about using the gray conduit. That's an excellent idea. Also, the spray grip is one of the best tools I bought years back. It makes working on projects so much more manageable!

thanks for sharing this I need to put up a fence next year and this would be perfect