How to Grade Land for a Level Fence (When You Don't Have the Right Tools)
When it comes to construction, it’s critical that whatever you’re building is sitting on good ground. When I knew I was having a new fence installed, I realized that, even though I didn’t own any serious excavating machinery, I still had to get my rolling land straightened out. Keep it right here to learn how to grade land for a level fence when you don’t have the right tools.
Coming up in the next few weeks here on The Renaissance Garden Guy, I’ll be publishing pieces about a variety of gardening topics (and maybe one or two about some non-gardening topics, as well) including a pictorial tour of my garden and how it’s looked throughout the various months of late spring through mid summer, Part Two of my article about dealing with moles, voles, and chipmunks, my suggestions regarding sources for landscaping stone (including the limestone I’m using in my garden) and other hardscape elements, where to go to find the most stunning and unusual garden furniture and garden objetsd’art, and a how-to construction blow-by-blow of my heavy timber arbor/trellis system. Obviously, I’ll continuously write about many, many more topics (I’ve made a million mistakes, but scored a few victories, as well – so you’re gonna have to hear about all of that stuff), but those I’ve mentioned specifically just now are what’s on the burner for the next few weeks. But for today, I’ve got another “How-To” for you concerning garden fencing.
Consider this article an extension, or “Part 2” if you will, of my most recent article about choosing the right fence contractor for your potential fence project. What I want to do here is explain the process of achieving a level grade to the land in preparation for the installation of a new fence, without the benefit of sophisticated surveying equipment. So for today, I’m going to give you a heads-up on what a level grade actually means, why I wanted it and did it for my project, and a basic rundown on how I did it.
WARNING: This post is a trifle convoluted. I apologize. There’s simply no way to effectively explain how I graded the ground for my new fence so it was level in a couple of quick sentences. It was a sizable job with lots of stakes, string, levels, and shovels – everything except the right equipment. It was even tough taking accurate pictures. So again, I’m sorry.
Are you sure you still want to read it? If you can decipher my ramblings here, and you want to try to grade your ground so it’s level, AND you don’t have the right tools, AND you’ve got immediate access to lots of caffeine, this might be a good one for you.
It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat…
What is a Level Land Grade?
Grade, as it pertains to land, refers to either the flatness, or the slope/angle of the ground with repect to a specific structure. For example, when a house is built, the land upon which its foundation is immediately situated must be level (flat). This is imperative for a number of reasons. The most obvious being the need for the house to not be leaning (or pitching) after it’s been built. If a house is built on the side of a hill, the part of that hill upon which the house’s foundation is to be directly built must be graded to level. In other words, the exact part of the hill specifically under the house’s foundation must NOT remain sloped. That part of the hill must be excavated so that it’s flat. Think of it as a “shelf” being dug out of the side of the hill – a flat shelf upon which the new house will sit. Can you imagine what would happen if this flat section was not created and the house was built on the slope of the hill? The structure of the house would follow the slope of the hill. The house would have a high side (the side that’s sitting higher up on the slope of the hill), and a low side (sitting lower down the slope). If you placed a marble on the floor of a house built in such fashion, it would roll downhill from the high part of the floor to the low part. So, in order to build a house on a hill that sits perfectly flat (so all of the living room furniture doesn’t slide down and crash into a nasty pile against the wall on the low side of the house), it’s got to be built on a perfectly flat piece of ground. It needs to sit on a level land grade.
Achieving a level land grade is important for building structures other than houses, as well. For my garden, I have built/installed the first part of a limestone planter/retaining wall system. The unseen parts of this system are the laminated wooden planter backs (and corresponding anchoring mechanisms) and the concrete footings upon which the limestone walls are built. Consider these elements to be the “foundation” of my limestone planters/retaining walls. It was imperative for me to build and install these features on a level land grade. The individual stones in the limestone walls can be laid so that they meander, stagger, and rise and fall in height according to my design, but the rigid heavy planter backs, and the solid and deep concrete footings upon which the limestone is laid and mortared must be perfectly level (flat). It was imperative to achieve a level land grade in order to build the foundations of my limestone structures – the ground under and around them needed to be perfectly level. And it’s this necessity for a level land grade for my limestone structures that brings me to the next section of this article. (This article’s above featured image shows the land, which has been graded to level, upon which the new fence will sit).
Still awake?
Why I Wanted a Level Land Grade for the New Garden Fence
My existing garden fence (the one which will imminently be removed and replaced by Spencer’s Fencers) was not built on a level land grade. As you can see in the pictures below, it changes elevation as it goes along, following the rise and fall of the land. This condition is far more exaggerated on the south elevation of the garden. The fence clearly is not level – it runs up and down corresponding to the land on which it was built. This can really be a charming look. It definitely reflects the surrounding land’s “movement.” The west elevation is also not level, but the length of fence built there doesn’t rise and fall as the south fence section does. What it does do is rise on a continuous and gradual slope from north to south. The land beneath this elevation was much easier to grade to level than the south elevation.
Once again, under normal circumstances, I would find this natural rise and fall of the land (and corresponding fence) very natural and attractive. My garden design, however, calls for the construction and installation of the aforementioned limestone planters/retaining walls (and pond and waterfall). As discussed, the timber planter backs and concrete footings for the limestone walls MUST be level. Since the level planter backs will be situated immediately to the inside of the fence, the ground that the fence runs on must therefore also be level, since they’re basically running side-by-side on the same ground. And those concrete footings for the limestone walls tie in to the planter backs. So, to summarize: level planter backs + level concrete footings + level ground = level fence.
How to Achieve a Level Land Grade for a Fence Installation
I decided to grade my land to level with my own manpower rather than having the fence company do it. I had the time and the manpower (in the form of my friends, Carlos, Eric, and Zen) to do it, so I decided on self-performing this aspect of my fence installation. My awesome crew of friends is comprised of extremely bright, hardworking, strong guys who easily grasp the nature of any construction project and execute it quickly, correctly, and perfectly. But before I could tap into the prodigious capabilities of this little cadre of mine, I had to do a bit of planning and layout ahead of time, on my own.
How do you determine a fence layout? Before we could start digging and moving earth around in order to get the grade of the land under my new fence to level, I had to actually figure out the layout of the new fence. Where was it going to be situated with respect to the existing fence? This is a loaded question. The best way to determine the dimensions and elevation of a proposed structure, and the grade of the corresponding land upon which this proposed structure sits, is through the use of one of two types of surveying/measuring instrument – a theodolite, or a transit level. There are some basic differences between these two instuments, but their respective capabilities and accuracies are similar. Suffice it to say that, in the hands of an expert, either of these devices can easily provide the exact layout and elevation of any proposed or existing structure situated on the surface of dry land.
I don’t own one of these instruments, and I’m not an expert.
So, I went about the process of laying out my new fence plan the old-fashioned way. Note: this gets a bit obtuse so please bear with me – the pictures should help you visualize what I did. I am fortunate that I had an existing fence to use as a baseline, and I used this base line to help me determine the location of the post located at each of the four corners of the new fence.
- Determine the location of the post at each corner of the new fence. My new fence will have four outside corners, each with a corresponding fence post, or terminal post, at its location. It’s important to note that, for now, I am not removing the north elevation of the existing fence. We are planning on building an addition to the north side of our home in the next year or two, so that section of existing fence will be removed, and the garden expanded at that time. In the meantime, the existing fence section on the north side of the garden will remain in place. Determine the location of terminal post #1: The location of the first of the four terminal posts was determined in pretty straightforward fashion. It is located 24″ west of the western-most post of the existing north fence line. This northern fence line is not a uniform straight line. Rather, it runs due west for approximately 25′ and then runs at a dogleg south west to its existing terminal post. Since there was no way to run a straight string line along the northern, doglegged fence section in order to extend it 24″ (which is how far west the new western fence elevation will sit from the existing) out from the existing fence line, I placed a 4′ drywall square tight against the existing western fence elevation at the location of the northern corner terminal post (Figure 1) and drove a stake into the ground at the appropriate mark on the square as a marker for the location of this fence post. This placed the stake, and the soon-to-follow terminal post, squarely at 24″ out from (west of) the existing western fence elevation’s terminal post. This will be the northwest corner of my new fence. One down, three to go. Determine the location for terminal post #2: This was the easiest of all four new terminal post locations to determine. This post will be set immediately up against the house’s south elevation, about 18″ east of the southwest corner of the house. I measured approximately 18″ from the corner of the house and set a stake as a marker for this post right up against the house at this location (Figure 2). Easy-peasy. Determine the location for terminal post #3: The key to making the new fence line as square and dimensionally correct as possible, without the benefit of the proper surveying tools (and the necessary expertise to use them) was to accurately continue the existing fence lines out beyond their existing locations – 105″ southward and 24″ westward. Figure 3 below shows the existing fence’s outline in black, and the outline of the new fence in dashed red. Figure 4 shows the same fence plan, but hand-labeled with directions and terminal post numbers for your reference. Please note that Figures 3 and 4 are not drawn to scale. I determined the location for terminal post #3 by again using the 4′ drywall square. I placed the square tightly against the side of the house at the location of the stake marking the spot for terminal post #2 (I temporarily removed stake #2 so I could fit the square tightly to the side of the house at the correct location 18″ from the edge of the house). I fastened a string line to the base of the square and pulled the string southward along the 4′ length of the square, keeping it tight to the side of that 4′ length (Figure 5). Using the square as a guide, I extended the string to a distance of 105″ out from (south of) the side of the house (Figure 6). This is where I placed the stake for terminal post #3. By using the 4′ long square as a guide for the string line, I was able to place the stake as accurately and squarely as possible at 105″ out from the side of the house. It is within this 105″ section of the new fence, between terminal posts 2 and 3, that the gate will be located. Terminal post #3 will be located at the southeast corner of the fence. Determine the location of terminal post #4. This post will be located at the southwest corner of the garden. Determining the location of the stake for this post required the most work. To do it, I fastened a string line at the base of the terminal post at the existing fence’s northwest corner (the same one I measured from with the 4′ drywall square to set the stake for terminal post #1) and pulled the string line tightly along the existing western fence line from the north to south. I used the fence line as a guide for the string (just like I used the 4′ length of the square to set the stake for terminal post #3) and measured to a point 105″ beyond the existing terminal post at the southwest corner of the fence. I marked this location with another temporary stake. I then ran a string line from stake #3 west to this stake. Then, holding to this straight line, I continued with string line 24″ to the west beyond its intersection with the string line running along the western fence elevation from north to south (the one that extends 105″ south beyond the existing southwest terminal post). This location, 24″ west of the existing western fence line and 105″ south of the existing southern fence line (and as square and true as could be achieved without the proper surveying tools) is where I placed the stake for terminal post #4. Figures 7 and 8 show the use of the string lines along both the west and south elevations, and their intersection marking the location of the stake for terminal post #4. It’s in this way that the existing fence was helpful in establishing the layout of the new fence – without its use as an effective baseline, coming up with the new fence’s layout would have been extremely difficult.
My apologies for the difficult bit of reading you’ve just been forced to endure. I know, there were lots of “wests of this, and souths of that” going on which you had to wade through. But, in order to grade the ground which my new fence was going to be built on, I did have to figure out exactly where the new fence was going to be built. And because I accomplished this without the benefit of top-notch surveying equipment, my methodology itself was a little tricky to begin with. Again, my apologies. Thankfully, we’ve reached the part where I tell you how to grade land so you can put a fence on it that runs level.
(Now might be a good time for that caffeine. I’ll wait while you get your coffee).
How do you grade your land so it’s level? This is really what this article is about. And it’s pretty straightforward. You want a level fence, so you’ve got to have level ground to build it on. I did it using the following five-step methodology.
- Step 1: Find your elevation benchmark. An elevation benchmark, or simply benchmark, with respect to grading land to a certain level, refers to a specific elevation used to determine the level/grade of the relevant land. For my fence, I looked for the most level section of land that I could find in the area where I knew the fence would be built. That would be the land that my house immediately sits upon. So the location I chose for my elevation benchmark was right up against the south exterior wall of my house, 18″ from the southwest corner of the house – exactly in the location of terminal post #2. I measured 66″ from the ground at this spot on the side of the house (using a 6′ level and tape measure) and made a mark on the wood siding at this height (Figure 9). I chose an elevation benchmark of 66″ because I knew it would be exactly at, or within a few inches of, the height of the new fence posts once they were set in the ground. Whether I chose 66″ or something close to it wasn’t important. What was important was making sure that the elevation of that little mark on the side of the house (66″ up from the ground at that point) was held consistently throughout the entire planned footprint of the new fence. In other words, the ground on which the entire new fence is going to sit is going to have to be exactly level with the ground right at the spot up next to my house where I measured and drew that 66″ high elevation benchmark line. So how do you make sure that that ground is level? You’re about to find out in the next four steps.
- Step 2: Set elevation stakes. These are taller stakes (in this case, 8′ long 1×2 boards) sharpened on one end and driven into the ground. These were set at locations near (within 12″) the stakes used to mark the locations of terminal posts 1, 3, and 4. The elevation stakes are used to extend and maintain the elevation benchmark (that I placed at 66″ above the ground on the side of my house) along the entire layout of the new fence. The difference in height between the elevation stakes and the stakes used to mark the terminal post locations, and the proximity of each type of stake to the other are demonstrated in Figures 10 and 11 below.
- Step 3: Running stringlines to establish level. In this step, you’re going to see how the elevation stakes get their name. Starting at my elevation benchmark (66″ above the ground on the south side of my house), I taped one end of a string line securely to the side of my house exactly on the benchmark line I drew there (Figure 9 above). I then ran the string line out to the elevation stake set near the stake for terminal post #3. Using a string line bubble level (figure 12), I made sure the string line was perfectly level between the wall of my house and the elevation stake at the terminal post #3 location (Figure 13). When the string line was level, I marked the elevation stake at the point where the level string line touched it (Figure 14). The mark on that elevation stake was now level with my elevation benchmark line on the side of my house. I then tied one end of another string line to this elevation stake at the level mark I just made on it (Figure 15) and I ran that string line out to the elevation stake located at the spot near the stake marking terminal post #4’s location. Again, I made sure the string line was level (using the bubble level) and held it against the elevation, and then marked the stake at this spot. I then tied this end of the string line to the stake at this point. I repeated this process for the final elevation stake (located at the stake marking the spot for terminal post #1). I now had marks on each elevation stake which were perfectly level with my elevation benchmark line I drew on the side of my house.
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- Step 4: String and gauge. This step, which was really a combination of two steps, was the final preparation before actually excavating the ground to the correct level grade in preparation for the installation of the new fence. This got done when my crew of friends got on site the morning of the big dig. When Eric, Zen and Carlos got to my house (Carlos brought me some awesome Mexican food with homemade hot salsa – his own recipe! Too bad this isn’t a cooking article. I’ll have to write about Carlos’ culinary skills in the “Family and Friends” category on this site.), I explained the gameplan to them. These guys are smart. Not only did they get it, they contributed to it. The first thing we did was run a string line from the elevation benchmark line I had drawn on the side of the house to the level mark I had drawn on the first elevation stake, and tied the string line off there. (Note: I had removed the original string lines described above in Step 3 so we wouldn’t decapitate ourselves in the dark when we took our pups out for their evening walks). We then ran a string line from that level mark on the first elevation stake to the level mark on the second elevation stake, and tied that string line off there. We repeated this from the second elevation stake to the third and final elevation stake. The string lines were tied tightly so there was very little slack. We really just put all the string lines back to where they were at the end of Step 3 above. So what we basically now had was a level line, starting at the side of the house and following the whole footprint of the new fence. This line was perfectly level with the elevation benchmark line on the side of the house, set at 66″ above the ground right at that spot. Now we had a level elevation for the layout of the new fence – the string lines provided it. But the ground on which the new fence would run – the very ground which the stakes were driven into and the level string lines ran above – was not level. There were high spots and low spots. This was obvious just by looking at the way the existing fence rose and fell with the land. But how low/high was the ground beneath those perfectly level string lines? Zen suggested the use of a gauge to determine how much earth would need to be moved on the ground under the string lines. Based on the need to accommodate the height of the elevation benchmark line I drew on the side of the house, which was drawn 66″ above the ground directly there on the side of the house immediately below the line I made, we decided to use an 8′ long 2×4 board to make the gauge. We made a mark 66″ from one end of the board. If this gauge was held flat to the ground up against the side of the house where the benchmark line was drawn, the line on the gauge and the benchmark line on the house lined up. That was the level of ground I wanted for the whole run of the new fence. By holding the bottom of this gauge to the ground beneath the level string lines, and checking the mark I made on the gauge (at 66″ from the bottom) against the string lines along the entire run of the new fence, we could see how far above or below the 66″ mark lined up with respect to the string lines. If we hit a spot where the 66″ mark on the gauge was below the string line, that meant we’d need to add dirt to that area to make the 66″ mark line up level with the string. If we hit an area where the 66″ gauge mark was higher than the string line, we’d need to dig out the dirt there in order for the string line and the gauge mark to line up. Where the gauge mark and string lines lined up (Figure 16), the ground was exactly level with the elevation benchmark line I drew on the side of the house. That’s what I wanted for the entire run of the new fence. That would make the ground and the new fence perfectly level. Now, all that was left was the digging.
- Step 5: Dig baby, dig!!! This says it all. The string lines were set at the correct level elevation and we had a gauge to measure the distance between the ground and the string lines. Thankfully, my friends were here to help me knock this job out. There was a helluva lot of earth to be moved. But these guys were more than up to the task. In fact, they did all of the work. They wouldn’t let me do much of anything. Great guys. By working their way around the new fence layout following the string lines, and holding the line on the gauge level with those string lines, they removed tons of dirt from the high spots, and redistributed what they needed to the low spots. When they were finished, the ground where the new fence was going in was graded to perfectly level with the benchmark on the side of the house. The fence would run level. And it would lay the groundwork, so to speak, for an easy and level installation of all of the limestone features I’ve got planned for the garden. These guys worked their asses off. Great job.
That’s it. I did my best to explain how I measured and laid out the location for my new fence, and how I subsequently graded the ground that the new fence is going to run on so it was perfectly level. I had to do the work this way because, right off the bat, I didn’t have the proper surveying equipment. We still would’ve needed to dig, but determining the layout and elevation before the digging would’ve been much easier if I owned a theodolite or a transit level. Who said life is fair? In any event, what I did have was a great crew of hardworking friends that made completion of the job possible. Now that it’s all said and done, I’m excited about the installation of my new fence.
Did the coffee help?
I actually fell asleep during that one. Sorry about that.
In preparation for the installation of my new fence, I thought it would be a good idea to write about how I got my land graded so the fence could go in level. I just hope I didn’t bore you and confuse you too badly. Thankfully, there’s only one new fence being installed, right?
In any event, thanks once again for sticking around and reading. I truly do appreciate your readership and interest. As always, Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
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So much planning and work ! You could be a garden engineer. All that work will really pay off. I know the fence will look great.