Wood Fence Repair and the Tools Needed

If you’re just looking for the list of tools we keep on hand when doing fence repairs you can skip this and go straight to the list below. We may have more tools on hand but the list below is a comprehensive list of tools you can use to do all your fence and gate repairs. You don’t need to buy a nail gun you can use screws if you prefer as a nail gun may be the most expensive item on the list. As for fasteners, you can use nails or screws. If you are going to use screws we recommend an exterior rated polymer coated or hot-dipped galvanized screw for pressure treated wood. If you are using cedar we recommend double hot-dipped galvanized screws. If you are going to use nails we highly recommend using ring shanked stainless steel nails. We like to use screws to attach rails to posts and nails for fence pickets to rails. When attaching rails to posts you will need an 18d to 20d nails or 3-1/2in. to 4in. long screws. To attach pickets to rails you will need 8d to 10d nails or 1-1/4in. to 1-3/4in. screws.

Replacing some fence pickets is not a horrible task it might actually be quite simple. In general, nothing is easy but you never know you might get lucky. Replacing broken, bent, or leaning posts is another topic. You can do it yourself but be prepared for some work. If you have wood fence posts you will probably want to replace them with wood fence posts vs steel fence posts simply for aesthetics. If you are replacing a gate we recommend considering replacing it with a steel frame and steel fence posts. This is a gate that will open and close properly for a very long time. If you have a pressure treated fence you will want to use pressure treated pine for replacement. We do not ever recommend using anything other than cedar for fence pickets but there are fences everywhere made of other types of wood still standing after 20 years. This article is not a course on fence construction, but we have covered some of the basics of fence repair and a list of tools you may need is below. If you look at the project and decide it's not something you want to pursue, call a local fence company they will be happy to get you squared away.

Tape measure
Post puller
Angle square
Fence pliers
Drill bits
Nail puller/prybar
Hammer
Level
Jigsaw
Circular saw
Extension cord
Socket set
Pencil
Gloves
Safety glasses
10lb hammer
Post hole digger
Wheel barrow
Digging bar
Post driver
Rake
Shovel
Screw drivers
Cordless drill
Nail gun