How to Put up a Vinyl Fence for Privacy

Video Transcript

RON-VO:
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA IS STEEPED IN THE PAST.  AS AMERICA’S OLDEST CONTINUALLY OCCUPIED EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT, IT’S THE ONLY CITY IN AMERICA WHOSE STREET PATTERNS AND ARCHITECTURAL THEMES ARE DIRECTLY ROOTED IN ITS SPANISH ORIGINS.
DAVID MILES’ ORIGINS LIE IN ST. AUGUSTINE AS WELL.  HE WAS BORN HERE AND NOW HE AND HIS WIFE JILL CAN LOOK OUT OVER THE HISTORIC CITY WHILE RELAXING NEAR THE PIER ON THEIR WATER-FRONT BACKYARD.
THERE’S ONE OTHER LESS HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT ASPECT TO THIS STORY…THE MILES’ BACKYARD FENCE.  IT’S WELL BEYOND REPAIR AND READY FOR THE KINDLING PILE.  SO I’M GOING TO HELP THEM REPLACE IT WITH ONE THAT’S PURE STATE OF THE ART.
David:
Listen, this is the project, right here.  And, Lord knows, we need some help.

Ron:
Wow.  This has been around for awhile, huh?

David:
I don't know if you--  Yeah, it has been around a while.  An- any longer and they'd be out here and 'clared it, declared part of the historical district.  So we've got to do somethin' in a hurry now.

Ron:
Okay.  So listen.  I have a,  I know the materials are already here.  So…

David:
Yeah.

Ron:
--what I'd suggested to you guys when we talked earlier on the phone was that we replace this with a fence you don't have to maintain.  One of the problems with this is that it really should be, uh, washed and stained or sealed every so often. 

David:
Yeah.

Ron:
The fence that we're gonna put in today is plastic.  It's virtually maintenance free. 

Ron:
It's gonna be white instead of wood.  But, I think it's gonna dress the house up quite a bit.

David:
Yeah.

Ron:
First thing we've got to do is get this one down. 

Jill:
Okay.

Ron:
You've got about how much here?

Jill:
Hundred and 62 feet, I think.

Ron:
162 feet.

David:
About.

Ron:
Runs way back to the, uh, to the north 40 there.

David:
Give or take an inch or two.  But, yeah, it's a little over 160 feet of fence that we've got to rip out of here.

Ron:
OK.

MUSIC

RON-VO:
WITH THIS MUCH FENCE TO TEAR DOWN, WE GET RIGHT TO IT, RIPPING EACH SECTION OFF THE POSTS WITH PRY BARS AND HAMMERS.
David:
Oh, man.

Ron:
Little bit more up at the top here, I think.  Yeah.

David:
Okay.  Yeah.   Here they are.  Here they are.  Good spot. 

Jill:
Number four.

David:
It's the good thing about these old, wood fences, they're easy to tear down.

[SOT:  SLEDGEHAMMER]

Ron:
That is for sure. 

David:
OK, watch it.

Ron:
I think David's liking this part of it.

David:
I am.

[SOT:  HAMMER]

Ron:
There you go.  Okay.  Excellent. 

David:
Free?  Good. 

Jill:
Okay. 

Ron:
All right. 

Jill:
So there we go.

David:
All right.  Good job.

[SOT:  HAMMERING] 

David:
Go together.  Whoops.

Jill:
Uh-oh.

David:
Did it break?

David:
There you go.  That's got her.

David:
Good job.

Ron:
Then we’ll go on to the next nail.

[SOT:  HAMMERING]

[SOT:  PRYING]

Ron:
But Jill, go ahead and keep, keep…

[SOT:  POUNDING] 

Ron:
Three.  Three.  [LAUGHS]

David:
Boy.  He's puttin' it on it.  You guys watch out.  There you go.

Ron:
There we go.

Jill:
Ah.   [SOUNDS LIKE:  Big one.]

Ron:
Pulled the head right through.

David:
Get, get that bottom one, you guys.

Ron:
Whoop.  Hold it.  Hold it.  Hold it. 

David:
Oop.

Ron:
Timber.

David:
Watch those ants.

Jill:
Ooh.

Ron:
Whoa.

David:
Ants.  Watch out, you guys. 

Ron:
Whoa.  Those are big ones.

Ron:
Oh.  We're getting down to the end here, guys.

Jill:
Two more sections.

David:
Two more sections?  Well, we gonna pop the beers when this one goes? 

Ron:
I think so.  We've got to celebrate somethin' here.  The end of the easy work?

David:
Uh-oh.

Jill:
Oh, really?

[SOT:  POUNDING] 

Ron:
Well, you know what comes next?  A lot of diggin' holes.

Jill:
Oh, the hole digging.

David:
I think old Ron's got a trick up his sleeve.  What do they say about old age and treachery'll beat youth and ex- youth and strength any day or somethin'.  I'll bet old Ron's got a trick for the hole digging.

MUSIC

Ron:
There you go.

David:
Right about over here.  Drop her right here.  Hey, wait.  Let's turn it over like that.  That's right.  Nail side down.

Jill:
There we go.

David:
Good job, man.  That's it.

Ron:
That's it.  Huh?  That was fast.

David:
That's it.

Ron:
Like an hour, we got this whole thing off?

Jill:
It was. 

David:
Yeah.  You know what you're doin', I guess it is.

Ron:
You know what?  I don't know that these things are set in concrete.  They feel to me like they're just driven in.

David:
Man, that'd be sweet if they were.

Ron:
There's, there's a possibility we could maybe pull these out.

David:
Uh, hell, hell, Ron.  Hold on, Ron.  Hold it.  Hold it.  I, I've got an idea.  I've got an idea.

Ron:
Okay.

David:
Hold on a sec, man.  I've got somethin' in the garage that I think it might help us on this.

Ron:
All right. 

Jill:
Hmm.

David:
Hold everything.  Don't nobody run off.   

Jill:
He's a--  He's up.

Ron:
He's a ren- he's a Renaissance man.

Jill:
He is a Renaissance man.  I've heard that before.

Ron:
Have you?

Jill:
Yeah.  He's up to, he's always up to somethin'.

Ron:
What's he got now?

David:
Ron, hey, look at this, man. Look at this thing.  Hold my tool, honey.

Ron:
What is it?

David:
Look at this.  This-- 

Ron:
That's a Jack.  Yeah.

David:
I think this is a jack of some type.  But I think it may get these out.  Look.  You can bring this thing up and set it where you want it.

Ron:
Yeah.

David:
We'll have to put somethin' onto these.  But you can get this thing set up and we can jack these right out of the ground.  That way some of these timbers are not bad.

Ron:
I love it.

David:
We can actually salvage 'em.

Ron:
I love it.

MUSIC

[SOT:  DRILL]

Ron:
Will you look at this?

David:
Look at that thing come out of there.

Ron:
I love this.

David:
I'll tell ya, I've used that thing quite a few times.

Ron:
This is an, an elegant solution.

David:
Okay.  Hold on, Jill.  Let me see if I can get it.  'Cause I…

Ron:
Okay, young man.  Ready?  Is it loose?

David:
I think it is.  I think it is. 

Jill:
Got it?

David:
Yeah, man. 

Ron:
Would you look at that.

David:
Hold that.  Hold that, Jill.  Hold that.  Man, this thing's right out--  That thing's right out of the ground. 

[SOT:  DRILL]

RON-VO:
WE BACK OUT THE SCREWS, REMOVE THE CLEAT, RE-ATTACH IT TO THE NEXT POST AND START JACKING IT OUT.
[SOT:  DRILL]

Ron:
This is good exercise.  This is the most I've touched my toes in months.

David:
Oh yeah. 

Ron:
You're the man.

David:
Oh yeah, man.  That's it.

Ron:
All right.  Let's move down here.

[SOT:  DRILL] 

Ron:
There you go. 

[SOT:  JACK]

Ron:
Yeah.

David:
Ready to go.

David:
Timber. 

Ron:
Can you lift that, Jill?

Jill:
Let me try.

[SOT:  DRILL]

Jill:
Comin' right out. 

Ron:
Beautiful. 

David:
Hey, this is the one with the ants, Ron. 

David:
They're gonna be upset when we get that PVC fence down here.

David:
Got it.  Got it.

Ron:
And I have to say--

Jill:
What a relief.

Ron:
--the man is a genius.

MUSIC

David:
Sometimes, sometimes you get a break.

Jill:
That's gonna go to his head.

Ron:
Yeah.  Maybe that was a stro- strong word.

Jill:
Yes, it was strong.

Ron:
How 'bout inventive?

Jill:
Okay. 

MUSIC

Ron:
So--

David:
All right. 

Ron:
--that is the last of our old fence.

David:
Okay.

Ron:
Okay?  Time to start on the new one.  So let's go take a look at the materials.  All right?

Jill:
Okay.

David:
Let's do it.  I'm ready to roll.

TEASE
RON-VO:
COMING UP…WE CALL ON THE BIG GUNS TO HELP US BORE HOLES FOR 162 FEET OF BRAND NEW FENCING.
BUMPER Ron:
For more great home improvement ideas, visit me at lowes.com/housecalls.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
COMMERCIAL BREAK

ACT 2   RON-VO:
TODAY’S ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA HOUSECALL MARKS THE END OF AN ERA.  WELL, REALLY JUST THE END OF DAVID AND JILL MILES’ 162 FEET OF ROTTING OLD FENCE.  AFTER TEARING IT DOWN AND USING DAVID’S HIGH-LIFT JACK TO PULL OUT THE POSTS, WE’RE READY TO PUT UP THE NEW ONE.
Ron:
Well, guys, this is your new fence.  Want to say hello?

David:
Hello, fence.

Jill:
Hi there, fence.

Ron:
Good looking, isn't it?

Jill:
It is good looking.

David:
Beautiful fence.

Ron:
Uh, this is from U.S. Fence.  It's a plastic fence, uh, made of PVC, polyvinyl chloride.  It has an additive, titanium dioxide, which is gonna keep it looking this way pretty much forever.  It's guaranteed for your lifetimes.  And it's virtually maintenance-free. 

Ron:
It has two basic components, this panel right here, which comes just like you see it, all assembled.

Jill:
Mm.

Ron:
And then the posts. 

Ron:
Now the panels are gonna be attached to the post using this bracket right here.  It'll mount right on the inside, just like this. 

And there'll be three of them on each side of a post, one up here, one here, and one down here.  So why don't we go over here?  I've set up some sawhorses, and we'll start putting some of these clips on.

MUSIC

RON-VO:
WE MEASURE AND MARK THE BRACKET LOCATIONS ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE POSTS. 
Ron:
And the last one's gonna be down here, 69 and one quarter.  OK.

RON-VO:
WE POSITION THE BRACKET AND ATTACH IT WITH A PAIR OF ALUMINUM SCREWS. 
Ron:
There you go, and that’s all there is to it.

RON-VO:
THE TWO END POSTS GET BRACKETS ATTACHED TO JUST ONE SIDE, WHILE ALL THE OTHERS WILL HAVE BRACKETS ON BOTH SIDES.
[SOT:  DRILL]

[SOT:  HAMMERING]

RON-VO:
AFTER ATTACHING BRACKETS TO A DOZEN OR SO POSTS, WE NEXT DRIVE IN STAKES AT BOTH ENDS OF THE FENCE LINE BETWEEN WHICH WE’LL STRETCH A LENGTH OF TWINE.
Ron:
Go ahead.  Just give it a few more.

Jill:
One, Two.  Three, four.

Ron:
So this is the opposite end of the fence right here.  Here comes David.  All right, guys.  Just wrap that string right around there.

David:
Right around here?

Ron:
Mm-hm.  Now what this is gonna do is give us a reference line so that we make sure that the, uh, the fence is straight, that it's not zigzagging as we go down here.  There you go.

David:
Other words, so it's not like a snake.

Ron:
That--  Well, you could say it that way, David.  You could say it that way.  Yep.

Jill:
Or you could not.

Ron:
All right.  That's good.

David:
Okay.  I’ll just leave that right here.

Ron:
Uh, next up, uh, time to dig our first posthole.  So let's go get set up for that.

MUSIC

[SOT:  AUGER]

RON-VO:
DAVE AND I USE A POWER AUGER TO BORE A HOLE ABOUT 30 INCHES DEEP.
Ron:
Clear the hole.  There we go.  Pull it up.

Jill:
Towards you, David.

Ron:
Not bad for the first hole, huh?

David:
I'll tell you what; it's the easiest hole I ever dug. 

RON-VO
WE REMOVE THE LOOSE SOIL FROM THE HOLE USING A POST HOLE DIGGER.
OUR POSTS NEED TO BE SET 72 INCHES APART.  SO WE MEASURE FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRST HOLE, THEN MARK THE SPOT FOR THE SECOND ONE WITH SPRAY PAINT.
[SOT:  AUGER]

RON-VO:
AFTER BORING OUR FIRST TWO HOLES, WE POUR A COUPLE OF INCHES OF GRAVEL INTO THE BOTTOM OF EACH ONE FOR DRAINAGE…THEN INSERT THE FIRST POST, BRINGING THE  BACKSIDE  UP AGAINST THE STRING.
Ron:
Now this is a post plumbing level right here.  It's, it's gonna hook this on.  And this'll make sure that we have it vertical in both directions.  So let's look at this one first.

Jill:
Oh, cool.

Ron:
How does yours look?  Bubble should be right between the lines.

Jill:
It's there.

Ron:
Okay.  And mine is good right here.

Ron:
All right.  Rocks are in.  Time for the, cement.  We're gonna put this in dry.  So David, go ahead and pretty much fill up the hole.  Leave it maybe an inch or so below the top.  I'm gonna check to be sure it stays plumb, which it is.  Okay.  Let's stop her there.  Okay. 

Ron:
Jill, put some water in there, would you?

Jill:
Just kind of slosh it in there?

Ron:
Yeah.  Just put it in 'til it stops absorbing the water.

David:
All the way down.  There you go.

David:
Uh, what do we want, the consistency of firm cookie dough or something?

Ron:
Yeah, if you're into cookie dough.  I am.

David:
Yeah.

Ron:
Put a little more concrete in there, buddy.

Ron:
I thought he'd say something a little more manly, what it looks like, like facial cream.

MUSIC

RON-VO:
WE CONTINUE ALTERNATING CONCRETE AND WATER UNTIL WE’VE FILLED THE HOLE.
Ron:
Well, the first post is up, first panel going in.  So we want to set right into those brackets. 

Ron:
There we go.

David:
Yeah, that’s good.

Ron:
Dropping in?  All right?

RON-VO:
DAVID AND I DRIVE IN SCREWS THROUGH BOTH SIDES OF EACH OF THE THREE BRACKETS. 
Ron:
Okay.  Panel number one in.

Jill:
Oh, it looks good.

Ron:
Let’s put post number two in. 

Ron:
And then you bring this up.

David:
There we go, there we go.

Ron:
Okay, now--

David:
Now.

Ron:
You take a look, be sure we’re kind of up next to the string in the back here.

Jill:
Push it on in.

Ron:
I’m gonna put a level up here.

Ron:
You’ve gotta go down a little bit on that post.

RON-VO:
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE PANEL IS BOTH PERFECTLY STRAIGHT AND PROPERLY LINED UP WITH THE BRACKETS, WHICH IN THIS CASE REQUIRES US TO TAP THE POST ABOUT A HALF INCH DEEPER.
Ron:
You got it.  Okay.

David:
Good.

Ron:
All right.  Now, let’s go ahead and attach this. 

[SOT: electric drill]

Ron:
So let’s go ahead and, uh, and put some concrete in that hole.

RON-VO:
WITH OUR FIRST SECTION NOW SECURED ON BOTH SIDES WITH POSTS, JILL AND DAVID BORE SEVERAL MORE HOLES DOWN THE FENCE LINE.
MUSIC
[SOT: gas auger] 

David:
Pick it up again.

Jill:
Some couples do the tango.  We auger. 

RON-VO:
WITH ALL THE HOLES BORED, WE CONTINUE SETTING POSTS AND ATTACHING FENCE PANELS.
Ron:
Just set it in the brackets.

David:
One thing about ‘em, these things are, these things are light. 

[SOT: electric drill] 

Ron: 
The panel’s in.  Now drop this guy down in here. 

David:
There you go.  Okay.

Ron:
Okay.  Lift the post up.

Ron:
Let’s go back to our levels.

Ron:
OK.  Good.  There you go.

Ron:
It seems to me like we might have a little storm comin’ in here, guys.

Ron:
I’m gonna drop this post in.

Ron: 
All right, I’ll tell ya, we’re gonna have rain here any second. 

Ron: 
Just, just, uh, drive it--,

[SOT: electric drill] 

  Ron:
Push it down in a little bit.

Ron:
Oh, God.  Uh--, maybe we could use a hammer? 

David:
Is that improper--, is that improper use of--, is that improper use of a tool?

Ron:
Uh, absolutely.  Especially my tool. 

David:
Espe--, sorry about that, Ron. 

Ron:
One more.

Ron:
Pour it in.

Ron:
Nothing like a little impending thunderstorm to speed things up, huh? 

Ron:
Now here's what's gonna happen.  Right now--

David:
I got her--

Ron:
--you guys, your fence, your old fence, had dropped down right here to, to a lower level.

David:
Yeah.

Ron:
So you notice we're gonna go to a shorter section now. 

  [SOT:  DRILL] 

Ron:
Whoa-ho.

David:
Whoa.

Ron:
Got away from me.

[SOT:  DRILL]

Jill:
Howdy, neighbor.

Ron:
Howdy.

Ron:
This is just the right height, isn't it?

Jill:
It is.  Yeah.

Ron:
You sort of lean on your fence here, talk.

Jill:
Yeah.

Ron:
Just drop this down in here. 

Ron:
You know, sometimes when we do these home improvement projects, it brings out the worst in a couple.

David:
I can imagine you, you get a couple together with some of these power tools—

[SOT:  DRILL]

Jill:
Things can get pretty ugly. 

Ron:
It can get dangerous.  Huh? 

[SOT:  DRILL]

David:
Yeah, Jill, we were fighting like cats and dogs before we started this project, weren't we?

Ron:
This is like that, uh-- Transcontinental Railroad, you know.  Except we’re all coming from one direction here.

Ron:
Did you think we'd get it done?

David:
I never had a doubt.

Jill:
Oh.  I never had a doubt, either.

Ron:
Hundred and sixty --  What, 162 feet?

David:
A hundred and sixty two feet.

Jill:
Don't forget the two.

David:
Don't forget the two.  I never had a doubt, Ron.  When I saw you drive up, come striding out of that RV…

[SOT:  DRILL]

David:
…with that confident look on your face,--

Jill:
That confident stride. 

David:
--confident stride, I never had a doubt.  I said, "Honey,--"

[SOT:  DRILL]

Ron:
Oh.  That's what I like to hear.

RON-VO:
WITH OUR FINAL POST TO SET, IT’S A HOUSECALLS TRADITION TO TOSS A PENNY IN THE HOLE FOR GOOD HOME IMPROVEMENT LUCK.
Ron:
I don't know if I've got pennies.  I've got quarters.

David:
We kept the penny.

Jill:
I've got a penny. 

Ron:
The more you put in, the better.

David:
Let me--  Okay.  You throw it in, honey.

Ron:
You got yours?  Here's a nickel.  Want a nickel?

David:
Uh, nah.  A penny.  I don't know.  I always do it with a penny.

Jill:
It's got to be a penny.

Ron:
The more you put in, the better the luck.  Here you go.

David:
You think? 

Ron:
Here's a nickel.  Yeah.  You got a nickel?  You got a penny?

Jill:
I've just got a penny.

David:
Well, somebody give me a five-dollar bill then.

Ron:
Let's, let's drop it in.

David:
While we're buying luck.

Ron:
Here's one.  Two.

David:
Oh, that was good.

Ron:
Three.

Jill:
Eleven cents. 

David:
Okay.

Ron:
Here's a fifty-dollar bill.  I threw it in my side.

Ron:
Okay, Jill.  Go ahead and wet it--  Oops.  Bag broke.  Okay.

David:
Yep.  Well, they're getting a little bit wet here. 

MUSIC

RON – VO:
FINALLY, WE APPLY A SPECIAL ADHESIVE THAT’S MADE FOR THIS TYPE OF PVC PLASTIC TO THE INSIDE EDGE OF THESE POST CAPS.  THE CAPS ARE BOTH DECORATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL, SINCE THEY KEEP WATER OUT OF THE POSTS.
Ron:
Well, you got yourself a fence, about 162 feet of it.

Jill:
Yep.  We sure did.  Yeah.

David:
Yes, we did.  One hundred and sixty-two feet, and what a beauty of a fence it is.  Sweet.

Jill:
It's a handsome fence.

Ron:
It is pretty.

David:
It's a nice fence.  It's a nice fence.

Ron:
Kind of brightens up the whole side of the, uh, of the yard here, doesn't it?

Jill:
It, it does.  Even in the rain.

Ron:
And that idea of the car jack, the bumper jack,--

David:
Yeah?

David:
--to take the old posts out, that was great.

David:
Yeah.  Yeah.

Jill:
Right.  Yeah.

David:
Yep.  That'll work.

Ron:
It just goes to show you, you can learn something from just about anybody.  Even David.  Even David.

Jill:
Even David. 

David:
Even Dave.  Okay.  Well...

RON-VO:
WELL OUR NEW PLASTIC FENCE MAY NOT HAVE THE OLD SPANISH FEEL OF ST. AUGUSTINE, BUT THEN AGAIN, NEITHER DID THE WEATHERED FENCE THAT WAS HERE WHEN I ARRIVED.  THIS ONE THOUGH IS GREAT LOOKING, WILL NEVER NEED PAINTING OR STAINING, CANNOT ROT AND IS GUARANTEED TO LAST FOR DECADES.