Project guide
Digging and setting a fence line
Every hole on a fence line is a chance to find something expensive. Locates first, then the only two numbers that matter: how deep the posts go and how far apart they sit.
TYPICAL 40 FT · 3 DAYS · POSTS 6 AT 8 FT · LOCATES FIRST, ALWAYS
The sequence
How the job actually runs
In order, with the tool each stage needs. Skip a stage and it comes back as the stage after it.
- 01
Locates. Louder here than anywhere.
A fence line crosses everything that comes into the house. Five business days, free, legally required, and the one page on this site where it goes first.
- 02
Find the property line
Not the old fence. A survey pin or a surveyor. Rebuilding on somebody else's inch is a conversation you do not want.
- 03
Set the layout
String the line, mark the posts at even spacing, and put the gate posts in where the gate actually needs to swing.
- 04
Auger the holes
About four feet deep for frost. An auger on the machine turns a day of digging into an hour, where the machine can reach.
- 05
Set and plumb
Clear stone in the bottom, post in, plumb both ways, brace it, then backfill in lifts and compact each one.
- 06
Rails and boards
Mitre saw work, not cut-off saw work. Let the posts cure before you hang weight on them.
How big, how long
The three sizes people ask for.
Day counts are for one or two people working at a homeowner’s pace, not a crew’s. Book the longer number.
Typical jobs
| Gate and return | 20 ft | 3 days |
|---|---|---|
| Side yard | 40 ft | 3 days |
| Full back line | 80 ft | 3 days |
Tools this job uses
- Toolcat
- Plate compactor — ask us
Anything marked “ask us” is a machine in the yard that is not on the rate card yet. Send the request with your dates and we will tell you what it costs before you commit to anything.
The planner
Your numbers, not an average
Tell it the size and it works out the material, the days and which machines you actually need — including the ones you do not.
Tell it about the job
Lineal feet, end to end.
What that takes
40 ft fence line · 6 posts · two of you
- RUN
- 40 lineal ft
- POSTS
- 6 at 8 ft
- SPOIL
- 0 yd³
- GRAVEL
- —
- BOOK
- 3 days
About 4 ft deep — frost, not preference.
Small, but it has to go somewhere.
Clear stone in the bottom of each hole. Ask your supplier for the bag count.
Estimates from average jobs — ground, grade and weather vary. When in doubt, book the extra day: it is cheaper than a second delivery. And order your stone before you book the machines.
The tools, and the ones you can skip
| Tool | Verdict | Days |
|---|---|---|
| ToolcatAuger attachment availability changes — ask us before you plan around it. | Worth it | 2 |
| Plate compactorBackfill around a post in lifts, or the post moves the first spring.Not on the rate card yet — ask us and we will tell you what it costs and whether it is free. | Worth it | 1 |
From experience
What people get wrong
Three feet is probably fine.
About four feet for Simcoe frost. Shallow posts lift, and a lifted post takes the rails with it.
Digging before the locates come back.
Wait. A struck gas line is an evacuation, and a struck cable is a bill.
Rebuilding on the line of the old fence.
Find the pin. The old fence was somebody's guess too.
Backfilling in one lift.
Lifts, compacted. A post backfilled in one go moves the first spring.
Setting gate posts the same as line posts.
Gate posts carry a swinging load. Bigger, deeper, braced.
Before you dig
The parts that are not optional
One sentence and one link each. We rent machines — we do not read by-laws for you, and none of this is legal or engineering advice.
Book your locates first. Free, and it is the law.
Ontario One Call is free, and a locate is legally required before you dig. Submit the request at least five business days before you plan to start — infrastructure owners have five business days for a single address, and there is no guarantee they use fewer. Book it the day you decide to do the job, not the day the machine lands.
Ontario One Call — locate requests for homeownersThe auger is an ask, not a promise.
Attachment availability changes week to week. Tell us the fence line when you send the request and we will confirm what is on the machine before you plan the weekend around it.
Be clear about this
What we do not supply
The machines move material around your site. They do not haul it to the curb and they do not bring it in. Sort this out before you book anything.
- Posts, rails and boardsFrom a lumber yard. Order the posts a size up for the gate.
- Concrete or clear stoneWhichever you set with. Clear stone drains; concrete does not.
- Spoil removalSmall piles, but forty holes add up. Have somewhere for it to go.
- A surveyIf the line is not obvious, that is a surveyor's job, and it is cheaper than moving a fence.
- The mitre sawCutting rails is not cut-off saw work. Bring the right tool.
Questions
The ones we get asked
How deep should fence posts go in Ontario?
About four feet — roughly 1.2 metres — is what local builders use for frost in Simcoe County. Confirm against your municipality, because it varies and it is not a number worth guessing on eleven holes.
Do I really need locates for a fence?
Yes, and this is the job where it matters most. Digging a fence line is the single most common way a homeowner hits a buried service. Ontario One Call is free, legally required, and takes at least five business days — book it the day you decide to build.
How far apart do fence posts go?
Eight feet on centre is the standard for a board fence, six if the panels or the wind exposure call for it. Set the gate posts to the gate, not to the spacing.
Can the Toolcat auger my post holes?
Where it can reach, yes, and it turns a long day into a short one. Attachment availability changes, so ask us before you plan around it.
Showing our work
Where these numbers come from.
Anything marked [VERIFY] is trade convention we have not yet put in front of a supplier. It is good enough to plan against and we would rather say so than dress it up.
- [VERIFY] Trade convention — not yet confirmed against a supplier or a published standard
- Ontario One Call — locate requests for homeowners
Next
Related guides, and where we work
Running a drainage trench
A drain is a slope with a pipe in it. Get the fall right and the rest is shovelling; get it wrong and you have buried a very expensive puddle. Read the guide
Building a small retaining wall
A retaining wall is a drainage project wearing a masonry costume. What holds it up is the base, the buried course and the clear stone behind it — the block is just the face you can see failing. Read the guide
Renting in Innisfil
Inside the flat-rate delivery core — one trip covers drop-off and pickup. Equipment in Innisfil
Renting in Angus
About 25 minutes from the Barrie yard, quoted flat by distance. Equipment in Angus
Tell us the dates. We will confirm by text.
Pick the machines, send the request, and we will handle the hauling.
kempenfeltrental@gmail.com · 7am–7pm, 7 days