How to Make Putting Up Fence a G-Rated Task

Cooper Tools Heavy-Duty Fence Pliers BMC-3276

My dad was a quiet man, a man not much given to “blue” language;neither of which traits I confess I didn’t fully inherit. However, there were a couple of incidents that could usually make my dad loose his cool and mutter an oath or two (and not always under his breath, either). One of those things – for both of us, in fact – is a good shot on the thumb with your hammer.

Got a Fence in Your Future? You Need a Post Level

Irwin Tools Magnetic Post Level

The house and all the trees survived the big wind, no problem – but like several of our neighbors we came outside after the storm to find several sections of our six-foot privacy fence leaning drunkenly into the yard. That meant a trip to the local BigBox hardware store for new cedar pickets, stringers, a few bags of cement, and half a dozen 4-by-4 posts. I had everything else I needed, including my Irwin Tools Magnetic Post Level. 

I bought mine years ago (back when they were still bright green) because I got sick of trying to get my posts vertical with just a carpenter’s level. Now I use it whenever I set a post for a deck, a fence or mailbox, a bird feeder pole, or anything else that has to stand straight.