How would you repair a sagging rail and paling fence without having to dismantle it?

[Peterg]

How would you repair a sagging rail and paling fence without having to dismantle it?

[Jason]

Hi @Peterg,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're pleased to have you join us and trust you'll get plenty of inspiration and advice for all your projects from our wonderful members.

I suspect this is a common challenge, but it might help members if you could share some photos of your fence so they can see what you are working with and whether it is repairable. 

Please let us know if you need a hand uploading some photos. 

Thanks,

Jason

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Peterg,

We'll be looking forward to those images as they will really help paint the picture.

Depending on the condition of the fence, you might be able to remove and then reinstall the rail without deconstructing the fence panel. However, it will likely be easier to remove the pailings, replace the rail, and then reinstall the pailings. This is because, by the time you remove the nails from that rail, you've likely half-pulled them out from the other one. If that happens, it is probably worth knocking the pailing off entirely.

Is the sagging rail affecting the integrity of the fence?

Mitchell

[Peterg]

Hi Mitchell

Here are the before and after photos of the sagging fence. As you can see it is in better shape than I thought hence the reason to improve the fence.

 

 

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Hi @Peterg,

I presume the sagging has occurred because the rails were installed on their face instead of the side. If you were to lever the bottom rail up and take the bow out of it, you could potentially install a verticle piece of 90 x 45mm Pine between it and a paver you've dug into the ground. You could then place another verticle timber between the bottom rail and the top rail. This would essentially jack up the middle of the fence panel and remove some, if not all, of the bow.

You'd probably need a crowbar to lever the fence back up and into position.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Noyade]

Afternoon @Peterg and @MitchellMc 

I was thinking of a hole and a carjack.

It also looks like the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

Of course if it works (which I seriously doubt), we need to look at additional steel/wood supports and concrete.

Cheers.