DIY Rainbow Fence

In my backyard, between the She Shed and garage, there’s a bit of field fence that showed the neighbor’s yard (and their weeds) perfectly. It wasn’t a big deal- they’re never back there, but as we redid our backyard and put our hammock over here, we wanted a little more privacy. Here’s the before and a tutorial on how we made our DIY rainbow fence. 

how to make a DIY rainbow fence

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. P.s. I’m trying to build that page up, so if you’d subscribe, I’d really appreciate that!

SUPPLIES

• Finish Screws $10
• 14 Tongue and Groove Cedar boards (for the fence planks) $124.18
• 2 Cedar Posts $21.14
• 6 Fast Setting Concrete Mix bags $23.88

Total- $179.20

Paint-

1. Ultra Pure White 2. a mix of Ultra Pure White and Beloved Pink 3. Beloved Pink, 4. Shy Smile, 5. Ballet Rose, 6. Coral Fountain, 7. Lamplit, 8. Corn Stalk, 9. Frittata, 10. Frosted Sage, 11. Spring Reflection (discontinued, close match Azalea Leaf), 12. Country Weekend (discontinued, close match Willow Hedge), 13. Serene Breeze (discontinued, close match Misty Isle), 14. Casade Green (discontinued, close match Ocean Boulevard)

If you need paint, you can get a sample paint pot for $3.27 each and it’ll be way more than enough.

Stain- Thompson’s Waterseal $31.49

Total- $74

Tools-

• Post Hole Digger $49.98

step 1

Start by digging the holes for the posts. This was by far the WORST part of this job- it’s slow and hard work. If we do any more fences, we’ll be renting an Auger from Home Depot. But this one we dug by hand until it was 24″ deep. Then the post went into the hole.

step 2

Next, it’s time to prep the post for concreting it. To do this, use stakes and braces to keep the post level.

This is the concrete we used. It was super nice because we just poured it in the hole. We used 3 bags per hole. There’s a graph at the store that told us how many we needed for the size of our hole and number of posts. 

After the concrete is poured into the hole, fill it with water. The bags will say how much water to use. We needed 3 gallons.

You just pour the water over the concrete and then let it set. It’s super nice because you don’t need to mix it and then pour it (which is a pain to clean up and adds a step).

step 3

And now it’s staining/painting time! For the stain, I used Thompson’s WaterSeal (exactly what I used on the pergola). I chose to stain the back so the neighbors have a neutral fence :).

For the paint, I mostly used the same colors as my rainbow stairs. Below are the exact colors I used on this project. I found having a different brush for each color was fastest since the boards needed 2 coats. I put them under a wet rag between coats to keep them from drying out.

1. Ultra Pure White 2. a mix of Ultra Pure White and Beloved Pink 3. Beloved Pink, 4. Shy Smile, 5. Ballet Rose, 6. Coral Fountain, 7. Lamplit, 8. Corn Stalk, 9. Frittata, 10. Frosted Sage, 11. Spring Reflection, 12. Country Weekend, 13. Serene Breeze, 14. Casade Green

step 4

Finally, installation time! The bottom board is the trickiest- I wanted to make sure it was perfectly straight so the rest would be level. I used 2 screws on each plank to secure it. For my boards, I used board and batten which means they snapped together nicely. 

On the left side of the fence, there is an opening to the front yard, so the fence is L shaped to keep my dogs in the yard. They are screwed into the back of the left post.

after

Ta da! There’s a quick before and after! Isn’t it SO FUN?! I know that technically it might be too much, but it’s 10′ and I just really love it! This is in one back corner of my backyard and you get a glimpse of it and it’s like a fun surprise!

Right now I styled it with a few plants. I eventually want to find a long bench to go here. I figure that’ll be perfect for sitting. Or I can bring out plants from my she shed that I’m growing to expose them to the elements before planting them in the spring.

Sources- Chairs and Table are vintage / Art / Garden Stool / Brass Planter / Baxter the wicker dog / Doormat

I love this little moment! It makes me SO happy with the rainbow fence in the backyard! So much better than the field full of weeds- right?!

Here’s the little corner with the l shaped fence. I love how it looks! It adds so much character! We added a brick walkway over here. We ran out of bricks so we filled in the rest with gravel. The bricks were found around our property- they were probably a fireplace in our house once. They were found around our property so fingers crossed that we can dig up some more!

I really how the fence looks next to the She Shed!!! It’s my rainbow dream!

Anyway, this was a really fun project! I love not seeing the neighbor’s yard. But most of all I love all the color it added! And, of course, I can always paint over it if I ever get sick of it. I adore it now! What do you think?

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