Can I DIY Install an Iron or Aluminum Fence on My Own?

Nervous that installing an iron or aluminum fence is too much to take on?  Don’t be!  90%of our customers do their own installation!

One of the questions we routinely get asked is “can I install an iron or aluminum fence on my own?” The answer is a resounding YES!! Of the thousands of orders we’ve sold, roughly 90% to 95% of those were regular homeowners that decided to go DIY route and tackle the fence and/ or gate installation on their own.

Those beautiful photos all over our website and in our Knowledge Center Photo Gallery? Almost all of them are from DIY homeowners that did the fence or gate installation themselves and were so proud of the outcome that they sent us pictures. And we love getting them sent in too!  Its always rewarding for us to start off with a person maybe a little nervous about installing the fence or gate on their own and end up with photos showing what an awesome job they did.

 

 

Now, you may be worried that all these DIY homeowners that tackled the installation on their own were the “Bob Vila type” that this kind of thing came naturally to.  Sure, we had some of those folks, but a large majority were average folks with average skills.  Maybe they had done some landscaping at their house.  Or tackled a kitchen renovation.  Or even bravely took on a piece of dreaded Ikea furniture and got it assembled with no parts left at the end.  Wherever you fall in that spectrum, you are more than qualified to tackle installing your own iron or aluminum fence with the right planning and patience.

You are probably asking yourself how this could be so easy to do.  Don’t I need a professional installer?  Not really.  Making it easy to install starts with a good set of instructions. Unlike our competitors that give you a half or one page synopsis of how to install the fence, we’ve put together a comprehensive set of installation instructions with photos, tips and tricks all to make the installation process easier for the average person.  For 2015, we’ve also began shooting helpful videos that will soon be posted on a video gallery on the site.  In the meantime, you can also check them out on our You Tube channel.  Between our detailed installation guides and new videos, it’s actually rare for us to get calls or emails from customers with install questions.

An Overview on Installing Our Stronghold Iron® Fence

Let’s start with our Stronghold Iron® fence and put a few installation fears to rest that folks seem to routinely have:

• The panels come fully constructed and finished.  No welding is required to install

• No special tools are required to install it.  Other than a drill to drive your bracket screws in and a rented post hole digger (for those not wanting to go the manual digging route) you can tackle everything with basic hand tools

• Need less than an 8ft wide panel?  No problem!  The iron fence panels can easily be trimmed to width using a simple hacksaw and then sliding your mounting bracket on

To install our iron fence, you simply take one of the iron brackets and slide it over the horizontal rail of the fence. You then place the fence panel and bracket up against the post and secure it to the post with a self-tapping screw.

 

An Overview on Installing Our Infinity Aluminum® Fence

Now let’s move over to our Infinity Aluminum® fence and put a few installation fears to rest that folks seem to routinely have:

• The panels come fully constructed and finished.  These are not those poorly built cheap aluminum panels you see online that you have to put together yourself out of a box

• No special tools are required to install it.  Other than a drill to drive your post-to-rail screws in and a rented post hole digger (for those not wanting to go the manual digging route) you can tackle everything with basic hand tools

• Need less than an 6ft wide panel?  No problem!  The aluminum fence panels can easily be trimmed to width using a simple hacksaw and then notching the rail so it fits in the post (also easily done with a hacksaw, bandsaw or Dremel-type tool)

To install our aluminum fence, you simply insert the fence rail into the punched hole in the fence post and then secure the rail to the post by drilling the supplied self-tapping screw through the post and into the rail.

 

 

What About Installing Driveway and Walk Gates? 

Since driveway and walk gates can have different hinge and latch options, its a little harder to give a general overview as each configuration can install a little differently.  However, the matching walk gates and the larger driveway gates are still DIY friendly.  We’ve had many DIY homeowners install a large arched driveway gates including optional automated openers with no problems whatsoever.

You can take a look at our ‘Gates Only’ install guides on our installation page or check out the various videos and blog posts we have done on gate hinges, latches and general installation.

 

Benefits of Doing the Installation On Your Own

Besides being easy to do, there are other benefits when you tackle the installation on your own:

• You will probably cut the project cost in half by installing it yourself!

• Unlike an installer that wants to finish your installation and rush off to the next one, you can take your time and get everything correct and looking the way you want it without tearing up your yard or landscaping

• Don’t deny the perk of being able to brag about a job well done.  You can proudly step back and tell your family and friends that you installed the fence or gate on your own and show them how great it turned out

In Conclusion…

So there you go folks. Installing an iron or aluminum fence really is easy and is something you can handle on your own. If you’ve got any questions, we are always here to help!  Leave us a comment below, give us a call at 800-261-2729 or shoot us an email at [email protected].

Want to see more?

Check out our video we did on if you can install the iron or aluminum fence on your own…