Tall Fences for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCVI

rails, eight-foot fence

A (not) surprising number of the freelancers who pounded out post after post at content farms like eHow.com and HubPages.com liked to pretend that they possessed vast experience in the topics they covered. Take eHow's Denise Sullivan, who "after a long career in business" claimed expertise in "business, law, gaming, home renovations, gardening, sports and exercise." No kidding: every one of those areas! If, however, her expertise in law matches the level of knowledge displayed in the HomeSteady.com post "How to Build an 8-Foot Wood Fence," people who've followed her "advice" just might be in jail...

Sullivan's clear lack of experience shows up many times in her post, not least of which is her failure to recognize that an eight-foot fence needs more than one rail set on top of the posts and a second near the ground. Assuming a picket fence using the treated lumber Sullivan specifies (as opposed to cedar), the level of warping might astound the poor fool who thought Denise was giving "good" advice.

No, Denise, an eight-foot fence should have at least three rails and preferably four.

Along with that particular dumbassery, Sullivan's list of instructions included several other problems; problems such as

• Cutting "several 2-inch by 4-inch boards" at a time to make the rails; in clear ignorance of the high probability that the rails will need to be of slightly different lengths.
• Telling readers to set posts in "quick-dry cement" before suggesting that they "Use a level to make sure your posts are straight up and down." Dumbass, you make sure the posts are plumb (the word that means "straight up and down") and brace them in that position before you add the cement!
• It appears that in Denise's vast experience, all the posts magically project from the ground exactly the same distance...

No, folks, this freelancer's "expertise" did not extend to building fences of any height, much less a fence that probably exceeds local code in most jurisdictions. All that (and more) means that this freelancer is more of a Dumbass of the Day than an expert.

DDIY - FENCES