How to Build a Backyard Removable Fence for your Dog

DIY Temporary PVC Fence for My Dog

4/22/2020

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Steph needed a fence in her backyard for the dog. Unfortunately, her backyard does not lend itself to traditional fencing. She has a tiny, I mean tiny backyard, with no grass but has lots of trees and bushes. Two sides of the yard border the neighborhood green space which is overgrown with lots of bushes, weeds and huge trees! Putting in a traditional fence would mean taking out much of the landscaping and even then it would have been difficult with the trees and their root systems.

So, for many months she used a very temporary, makeshift fence that most of the time would not stay up! Fortunately Mac is a sighthound which means if she sees a barrier she doesn't try go over it or push it aside.

But it was time for a more permanent, temporary fencing solution.

Materials/ Tools:

(4) Everbilt 1 in. x 3.3 ft. x 25 ft. Green Plastic Garden Fence (Home Depot)
(4) 1/2 in. x 10 ft. #4 Rebar (Home Depot)
(7) 1/2 in. x 10 ft. 600-PSI Schedule 40 PVC Plain End Pipe (Home Depot)
(2) FORMUFIT F012EEC-WH-10 PVC External End Cap, Furniture Grade, 1/2" Size, White (Pack of 10) (Amazon)
(3) 12 oz. Satin Deep Forest Green General Purpose Spray Paint (Home Depot)
DIABLO 5-1/2 in. x 30-Teeth Metal Cutting Saw Blade with Bushings (Home Depot)
RYOBI 18-Volt ONE+ Cordless 5-1/2 in. Circular Saw (Home Depot)
Husky 1-1/4 in. Ratcheting PVC Cutter (Home Depot)
Husky 7 in. End Nipper (Home Depot)
DEWALT Carbon Fiber Tacker (Home Depot)
RYOBI 40-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Battery Leaf Vacuum/Mulcher (Home Depot)
Zip Ties (Home Depot)

A makeshift fence in the backyard for the greyhound.

This "fence" actually kept Mac in the yard! Yeah, we were surprised as well.

Cutting metal with a Diablo metal cutting blade.

We are using rebar, PVC pipe and plastic garden fencing. Here Steph is cutting down the rebar into sections that are two feet each. She's using a Diablo metal cutting blade on a circular saw. We set up those pieces of wood on the right to keep the rebar supported while it was being cut. ALL the PPE is needed for cutting metal! Be sure to watch the video in the "what we learned" section to see what happened when Steph wasn't wearing all the gear!

Cleaning the PVC pipe with mineral spirits prior to spray painting.

Ug, this PVC was dirtier than usual. Not sure why, but it needed cleaning before we did any cutting or painting. I'm using mineral spirits which did a great job removing the dirt. It's important to work in a well ventilated space. That's why I'm working close to the open garage door.

Using a Husky ratcheting PVC cutter to cut the one inch PVC pipe.

There are many ways to cut PVC, but since this was a smaller diameter pipe, we decided to use the Husky ratcheting PVC cutter. It is easy to use, cuts well and less messy than using a miter saw.

Painting the PVC with Rust-Oleum spray paint.

All the cut PVC and caps got painted with Rust-Oleum forest green flat spray paint.

Securing the garden fencing with zip ties.

To build the fence, the rebar is pounded into the ground, topped with a PVC pipe section, and the fencing is secured with zip ties. This makes everything removable should Steph want to take it down at some point.

This is the BEST tool! It's called an end nipper and it's made by Husky. It cleanly and easily cuts the extra zip tie tails off. After cleaning up the zip ties, they were sprayed with the same color spray paint as the PVC.

Using the DEWALT Carbon Fiber Tacker to secure the fencing to the gate post.

The last step was to staple the fencing to the gate post.

Using the Ryobi 40-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Leaf Vacuum/Mulcher to clean up next to the fence.

Although we like the fence, it has created a bit of a problem as leaves tend to collect at the base of it now. Steph got this Ryobi leaf muncher/vac for her birthday which easily takes care of the problem!

The fence blends in so well with nature. We like the look.

Update- 1 Year Later. How is it holding up?

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

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