How To Build A Garden Fence With Chicken Wire

Chicken wire is a very versatile and inexpensive material that can be used to craft a quick fence for your garden. While chicken wire is generally used to keep small animals contained, it can also be used to keep unwanted pests from nibbling at your growing produce. It even works great when you want a trellis for your vining plants.

In order to create an outside perimeter for your garden to help secure your plants, all you’ll need are a few building supplies. Along with the chicken wire, this project requires a few pieces of lumber and some simple tools. With these materials and some basic steps, you’ll have a chicken wire fence installed in your garden in no time at all.

Chicken wire is a type of mesh fencing that is, conventionally, used to confine poultry. Thus, earning the name ‘chicken wire.’ However, you do not have to be a farmer to use this material on your property. Comprised of galvanized wire and hexagonal gaps, chicken wire holds up exceptionally well to the elements. In fact, you’ll often find excavated pieces, used decades ago, on old homestead properties while digging around.

In addition to its durability, chicken wire also offers flexibility and is very easy to cut and manipulate. Although chain link fence looks similar, it is much more difficult to cut and install. This fact is why DIYers and farmers alike choose to use smaller gauge fencing, like chicken wire, for a number of outdoor projects.

The first step in installing your chicken wire garden fence is to determine where you’d like it to be located on your property. If your garden is already established, this should be a very quick and simple step.

One of the great advantages of using chicken wire fencing is that the dimensions do not have to be exactly perfect. The material is very flexible, allowing you to bend it into place very easily. After you’ve determined the placement, create an outline of your fence by marking with landscape paint.

Now that the posts are installed in the ground, you need to create the rails for the chicken wire to attach to. Using 1×1 pieces of lumber, cut rails that are long enough to span your posts. The goal is to have both top and bottom rails to achieve a stable platform to secure the chicken wire fencing.

Once cut to size, nail the rails in place along the top of the posts so that the ends are positioned on the center of the posts. Follow this up by installing the bottom rails so that they are toenailed into place between your fence posts. These two rails will give your chicken wire some additional firmness after being nailed in position.

For this step, you may want to request the assistance of a helper. Regardless, make sure that you wear gloves to protect your hands, as the chicken wire will be sharp once cut. Unroll your chicken wire so that the mesh reached from one end post to another. Using tin snips, cut the material to the appropriate size. If done correctly, you should end up with six-foot pieces.

Quick Tip: Cut the chicken wire carefully and try to make your cuts as straight as possible to make installation much easier.

Beginning at the corners of your garden fence, start stapling the chicken wire along the post. Move carefully, keeping the wire tight, and slowly unrolling the material along the top rail. Staple the chicken wire to the rail every three inches, temporarily leaving the bottom of the mesh unattached. Continue working your way to the next post.

At the post, pull the chicken wire taut and staple it every six inches from top to bottom. Once you’ve made your way to the bottom of the post, pull the chicken wire tight and work your way backward along the bottom rail. Place a staple every three inches for the bottom rail as well. Repeat these steps until you’ve made your way around the entire perimeter of your garden fence.

If you’d like your garden fence to have a gate for easy access, you’ll need to craft a simple frame. Measure your posts at the top and bottom to ensure that your gate opening is square. Determine the width your gate needs to be by measuring the distance between the two posts and subtracting ½ inch. Using 1×1 lumber boards, build a square frame that fits this size.

Align your four frame pieces and connect them together using metal angle plates. To help strengthen your gate, you can add a cut piece of wood diagonally between the top of the hinge side and the bottom of the latch side. Then, cut a piece of chicken wire to the size of the frame and staple it tightly around the gate.

Now that the frame is built you can attach it to your fence posts. First, hold the frame up to the opening and attach hinges in the appropriate spot on the post. Follow up by deciding where your latch will go, either on the top or the side of your gate. This is entirely based on preference, as you can find a number of different types of latches available at your local hardware store.

With the hinges and latch installed, you can create a gate stop by cutting a strip of wood that is the length of the gate and placing it adjacent to the latch on the inside edge.