Most of our customers install our aluminum fences themselves. Unless you’re all thumbs, you can do the same.
If you think it’s too difficult to install your aluminum fence, you should think again. Our customers typically install the fences they buy from us, and most of them have never done it before. When you buy a wood or steel fence, you know you’ll have to pay someone to install it. That’s not the case with our aluminum fence panels. We designed our system so you can install your own fence, which saves a lot of money. Consider investing a small amount of sweat equity to install your fence.
Start by reading our installation manual. We provide a download link on our website. You will see that you need no special skills to install our aluminum fence panels, and if you have questions, just call and we’ll set you straight. About 90% of our home owner customers nationwide install our products themselves, and most have never installed a fence before.
Outside of a few tools, you will need nothing more than a friend to help you install your fence. If you really don’t want to do the work, you can hire someone to take care of the rest of the installation.
Posts
Our system consists mainly of a series of posts, which you might view as the skeleton, upon which you will insert your fence panels. Typically, you will start with a gate, cement the gate posts and hang your gate with gate hinges and a lock. Then, work off the gate with 1 fence panel. Temporarily secure the panel into 2 posts. Make sure everything is level and then set the panel-to-post connection with stainless steel screws that are automatically included with your order. Your learning curve is going to skyrocket and then you can setup 2 or 3 or 4 panels at a time and follow the same procedure. If you’re installing a fence on a deck or stairwell, you can buy welded plates upon which you can erect your posts on top of an existing hard surface.
Our website details the sizes of posts you’ll need depending on the fence height. Dig your holes at least 6” to 8″ in diameter for posts up to 2.5” square, and 8” for larger posts. Your bag of cement should have guidelines to help you determine how much cement you’ll need.
You might terminate a fence run at a column or wall, or perhaps your fence abuts a building. We offer straight mounts to make those connections. You can also buy horizontal swivel mounts if you want to accommodate an angle with your fence, and you can use our vertical swivel mounts for stairs and steep slopes. If you need a partial section of a panel to complete a run, you can easily cut any fence panel on-site. We call it trim to fit. You cannot cut or trim gates on-site because gates are welded into a frame.
Gates
Your fence project will likely include walkway gates or aluminum driveway gates. You should start your installation with the gate and work your way outward from there with your fence panels.
Set the posts for your gate first. You may have to use larger posts for your gate because they will support a heavier load. Remember that when digging your holes. Position your aluminum driveway gates or walkway gates with a space of about 0.75” between the gate and the post. Larger gates require about 4 inches of spacing when using our Heavy Duty Gate Hinges. Check your measurements, and then drill the necessary holes and place the hinges.
A Final Word
We’ve taken you through the basics, and now you should read our installation manual and make yourself comfortable with the procedure. We’re sure you’ll use your newfound knowledge to accomplish a quick, trouble-free installation.
