Materials

• The first decision to make when building a homemade PVC fence is on the size of the PVC pipe that best fits your design. Typical wooden fences are made with fence posts that are larger than the rails; you can do the same with PVC. PVC pipes are joined together with connectors. The size and shape of the connectors needed to make a fence depends on the fence design and on the size of the pipes. If you choose to use large two-inch diameter pipe for the vertical fence posts and 1.5-inch diameter pipe for the horizontal fence rails, the cross and T connectors will need reducing couplers in order for the pipes to fit. You can avoid the extra work and expense of adding reducing couplers if you make the fence from one size of PVC pipe.
  
  Plan the overall length, height and design of the PVC fence before making the materials list. Determine how many horizontal rails each section of fence will have so you'll know how many connectors to purchase. To make a section of fence that includes one two-inch PVC post on each side with two horizontal fence rails, one across the top and once across the center, you'll need two cross connectors and two T connectors. If each section is four feet long and the overall length of your fence is 20 feet long, you'll need five sections. Of the five sections, the two end posts will not need crosses for the center rail and T's for the top rail. The end posts will need T's for the center rails and elbow connectors for the top rail.
  
  

Cutting and Connecting PVC Pipes

• The simplest way to cut PVC pipe is with a PVC pipe cutter available from a hardware store. Hacksaws also work, but they're more labor-intensive. Homemade PVC fences require many cuts and the pipe cutter may come in handy for other PVC projects.
  
  Joining PVC pipes to the connectors is a two-step process. Pipes fit into the connectors, so first apply PVC primer to the outside of the end of the PVC pipe and to the inside of the connector. The primer prepares the PVC to accept the glue and takes about 10 seconds to set up. After the primer sets up, spread PVC cement to the same areas and insert the pipe into the connector. Hold the material steady for about 15 seconds to give the cement time to set up.
  
  Build the homemade PVC fence one section at a time by joining the connectors to the pipes to construct the posts. Once you have two posts, connect them together with horizontal rails to finish the section.