Installing Fences on a Grade

Fences on sloped land are typically installed using one of two methods: raking or stepping. In a raked fence, each section of fence is sloped so that the pickets are not square with the rails; the rails remain parallel with the ground, and the tops of the pickets follow the slope. Another alternative for a slope is to step the fence. In a stepped fence, the rails remain level, but each section starts at ground level so that the top of the fence looks like stair steps. One drawback is that a stepped fence leaves an increasing gap under each section on the downhill end. Depending on the size of the gap, a stepped fence may not keep pets in the yard.