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DIY Horizontal Privacy Fence – A Cedar Fence Extension Project

April 20, 2020 / 78 Comments

Privacy fences are a great way to make your backyard feel like a privae oasis. We recently completed our DIY horizontal privacy fence, extending our 6′ cedar fence to 8′ in height. Over the years we have tried to create a private backyard with privacy trees and landscaping, but no matter what we have tried it just hasn’t been enough to give us privacy from our neighbors. Our fence is very close to our house, on the side that we spend the most time entertaining – our dining area and deck. Both clearly overlook our neighbors yard, into their home, and through their old collapsed fence and into a parking lot. It was because of this that we finally decided to build a DIY horizontal privacy fence that would attach to our existing 6′ cedar fence, and extend the overall height of the fence to 8′ tall and give us the privacy that we needed.

DIY Project Notes and Tips

For this DIY horizontal privacy fence tutorial, the materials will be listed per panel. Note that when you connect your panels you will need one less 4×4″ post for each additional panel since the panels connect. Each panel cost approximately $100 to complete. 1 box of each kind of screws was enough for us to complete 5 panels. We used all pressure treated wood, and cedar fence planks. We used 1″ thick planks from Dunn Lumber which were more costly but had a better appearance and sturdier form than the 5/8″ planks available at Lowes and Home Depot. The pressure treated wood we selected was non-incised (does not have the riveted look) and was purchased from Home Depot. Pressure treated wood may be labeled outdoor wood or some other weatherproofing label. We attached the 4×4″ by 8′ long fence posts to our existing 6′ long fence posts. If you need to do this project by installing new fence posts, substitute for 10′ long posts instead and properly place them in ground. You won’t need the lag bolts for this method since you are not securing the new posts to the old posts.

Materials

  • 1 box of 1 1/4″ Deckmate decking screws
  • 1 box 3″ Deckmate decking screws
  • 3/8″ x 6″ galvanized lag bolts (2-3 per post)
  • 2 – 4×4″ by 8′ long pressure treated/outdoor wood, non-incised
  • 1 – 2×6″ by 8′ long pressure treated/outdoor wood, non-incised
  • 1 – 2×2″ by 8′ long pressure treated/outdoor wood, non-incised
  • 6 – 1×6″ by 8′ long cedar fence planks

Tools

  • Circular saw
  • 18 volt drill/driver combo
  • 11/32″ drill bit
  • T-25 bit (included in the box of decking screws)
  • Clamps
  • Level
  • Optional: Laser level

Step 1 – Install Fence Posts

For our privacy fence we installed new 4×4″ by 8′ long fence posts directly into our existing fence posts using lag bolts. We put 3 lag bolts in per post. The exception was the one fence post that we had to install directly to the fence and not to an existing post because of spacing (see below) where we only used 2 lag bolts.

We installed all posts with 34″ distance above our fence line to ensure we would have enough height to maintain a level top line of cedar boards. Our fence sags in one area, so we wanted to make sure the privacy fence was level despite the fence inconsistencies. This meant that some posts did not touch the ground, but maybe had 1-2″ space in order to maintain the level height we wanted.

Pre-drill your holes and then screw in the lag bolts. We used a clamp to hold the post in place while we completed this step.

Step 2 – Attach Horizontal Cedar Fence Boards

First you will need to establish a level line to begin your horizontal cedar plank installation. We used a laser level that we attached to the house temporarily. Having a laser line run down the fence line allowed us to make sure our guide board remained level throughout. We marked each post where the level line landed and installed the guide board on each section so that they always rested on the laser guide line, and then used an actual level to be sure that it was level from post to post when we installed it.

The first set of planks we installed top down to establish the height. Each section after that we worked bottom up, making sure our cedar boards aligned with each other as we went, lining up with the laser level marks on the guide line. We spaced the boards 1/8″ apart, eyeing it as we went. Alternatively, you could use spacers or measure with a tape measure. Its important to note that cedar fence boards are imperfect, so sometimes we had to move them slightly before screwing them in to make sure we had a visible gap. Its a fence so it isn’t important if its not perfect. It is not noticeable when finished if lines are not perfectly spaced as long as they line up and are level.

Some of our fence posts were exactly 8′ apart, so not cutting was necessary, however other segments were slightly smaller so we cut our cedar boards down to the correct length before installing. There was a segment that was slightly longer than 8′ so we installed our fence post directly to the fence and not on the existing 4×4″ post so that our 8′ cedar boards would work.

The cedar boards were installed center on the 4×4″ posts throughout the fence. We used clamps to hold the planks in place while we screwed them in.

Step 3 – Trim the Top and Bottom of Fence

Once all of your fence segments are complete, the final step is to trim the top and the bottom of your horizontal privacy fence extension to give it a finished look.

Cut boards down if needed for any segments less than 8′ and prepare to install. Cut the top of any posts off that are too tall.

For the top trim, use the 2×6″ wood along the length of your fence. We lined the wood up with the new 4×4″ post, giving a 2″ overhang towards our side of the fence. Install them with the 3″ decking screws.

For the bottom trim, use the 2×2″ wood. Install just below your bottom cedar boards along the length of the fence. Pre-dill holes to avoid splitting the wood. Use the 3″ decking screws.

All lines should match up with the cedar planks, center on the 4×4″ posts.

Before and After Photos

Here are some photos that show the before of what we were looking at before installing our DIY horizontal privacy fence extension, and after!

The next step in this project is staining the fence. You can read more on what stain colors we considered where I share a side by side comparison of 6 popular neutral grey and brown Behr stain colors applied to raw cedar. And you can find out what color we finally decided on for our fence!

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