C.R.A.F.T.

Creating Really Awesome Fun Things

Marble Fence

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Note: Happy New Year! I thought this was the perfect post to start off 2013! It’s bright and cheerful and made by my mama and brother! 

My mom saw this pin on pinterest a few months back, and then about one month later maniaced (perfect verb for my mama!) a marble fence. My mom is a doer. She makes things happen! She convinced my brother, who has a fence company to help her make a marble fence. (Zach’s fence company is called Aggieland Fence for anyone who needs any kind of fence or fence repair in the BCS.) If you’re new here, check out the first post about my parents backyard and how my mom made a bottle tree. You can see the bottle tree behind the marble fence in the pic below. See…
marble fence

 

Zach and my mom were the creators of the fence, and since I was not around to take good before or process pictures I’m resorting to the family archives. Just for fun, Steve (top pic) is my youngest brother, and Kelley (bottom pic) is my only sister. This was a long time ago. Steven is now 16 and Kelley is 25. Here’s the wrought iron fence before it became a marble beauty:

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marble fence

The fence debacle started because my parents wanted to be able to get a riding lawn mower and other big pieces of equipment into our backyard. The wrought iron gate wasn’t doing the trick. So, check it out:

marble fence

My parents decided to get rid of the gate all together and actually make the left side of the fence a removable fence panel. If you check out the before pics, both sides used to have an 18 in. brick footing.  Now, only the right side has a brick footing. So, here is how it all went down. My mom told Zach what she wanted and Zack made it happen. This is Zach’s first marble fence, pretty impressive, huh? The 3 things that make this fence stand out are:

1: The concave swoop

2: The marbles

3: The left side of the fence is removable

 I’m going to spill the beans about 1 and 2. If you want details about making a removable fence panel, you can email me and I’ll ask Zach and my mom.

How to make a concave swoop: Zach’s secret to making a perfect concave fence swoop is 1″ PVC sprinkler pipe (or any flexible, long material). Just lay it over the top of the fence, and adjust the swoop to your liking. Note: This is a 2 person job! When you’ve decided on the perfect swoop, trace the pipe line, and then use a sawzaw to cut along the line. Bam. Zach is a pretty handy with a Sawzall (here’s a link to the one he has)… If this is your 1st rodeo, I suggest doing a few practice cuts.

 

How to add marbles to your fence: My mom bought marbles online. Just make sure your marbles will let light shine through. You also need a rubber mallet  and a drill. Use a practice board to find the perfect size drill bit for your marbles. My mom used different sized marbles, and had to have different sized drill bits. It’s pretty simple, just drill a hole in your fence, and use the rubber mallet to pound in the marble. You want the marble to be snug as a bug.

Here’s the marble back side of the removable marble fence panel:

marble fence

Here is the backside of both sides:

marble fence

Another fun thing about the marble  fence is that it’s look changes depending on the sunlight and angle. I like this angle…

marble fence

Here’s a close up of the different sized marbles…

marble fence

Here is one more front view. See the bottle tree peeking over the brick pillar?

marble fence

marble fence

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Comments

  4. Love the Marble Fence! The way the angles change the sparkle of the marbles is really neat!
    I would love to have a bottle tree, but all my trees are full grown.Maybe I should buy a new sapling for the
    front yard!

    Reply

    • I have seen these bottle trees made out of scrap metal rods as well :0) … though the real tree would be nice.. it may hinder the trees growth… :0(

      Reply

  10. hello, it’s a great idea that i’m trying ton do myself. i have one little question, as the wood works how those the marble keep in their holes ?
    For a marble of 16 mm you use a drill of 16 or 15 ?
    Thanks for you answer !
    isabel

    Reply

    • I would suggest using the 15mm! Then use the rubber mallet to mak the marbles as tight as possible in the fence!

      Reply

  13. Hey Jamie! Just wanted to let you know that my neighbors and their kiddos did this over the weekend after seeing your post! It looks really cool, and the kids loved being able to help! They sent me a picture! I love when people actually do the projects that I post, so thought you might like to know! Keep being awesome!

    Jessica

    Reply

  14. Jamie! I seriously LOVE this idea! How awesome and what a great way to add some fun to a ordinary BORING fence! 🙂 Maybe my husband will go for this… not sure! 😉
    Thanks for joining us last week on Saturday Show & Tell; I’m featuring your Marble Fence this week!
    Mackenzie 🙂

    Reply

  15. Excellent instructable for both the marbles and the swoop! I am curious about what happens when the wood ages and shrinks. Do you think the marbles are stuck in firmly enough to avoid them falling out? Thanks!

    Reply

  16. Thanks for the tips! I’ve had this pinned for awhile but there was no tutorial. BTW, it’s called a Sawzall not a Sawzaw (actually the brand name of a reciprocal saw—sort of like Kleenex). Just in case folks try to google Sawzaw. I hope you don’t mind the correction.

    Reply

  18. I’d love to know how yall did the removable fence. We’re about to tackle that project ourselves so I’d like to know how yall did it. Thanks!

    Reply

  20. “…maniaced (perfect verb for my mama!) a marble fence. My mom is a doer. She makes things happen! ”
    I grew up with your mom, and this is a perfect description! Love, love, love, the fence !!

    Reply

  21. I took you idea and pused it up a level by doing this on both sides of a post fence that I used 2×6 between the front and back sides. On the top 2×6, I drilled some holes large enough to set a mason jar down into. Using the Mason Jar ring, I replaced the lid with the top part of some 2.00 solar lights. At night, the light is dim that escapes between the boards, but brighter where the marbles are. I’ve got some jealousy neighbors and it looks great!!

    Reply

  22. I’ve been wanting to do this for some time and this weekend is the one! We are putting ours around two sides of our eye sore of an air conditioning unit. We are going to stain the wood a little bit darker to blend better with the house! Looks beautiful….love it and the tree!

    Reply

  23. Thank you for sharing. It is beautiful. Your mom is a doer, just like me. The satisfaction is amazing. Enhancing the beauty that already exist in nature.

    Reply

  29. I saw this on pinterest and re-posted as well. I LOVE this idea and just replaced a fence so now I can do this. Is this your personal fence or just something you saw ? I am curious where you got the “right” marbles for the look that is shown here – with the sun shining and the colors transparent ? I want to do this …. if you did it, can you please advise and suggest how many marbles per fence panel ? Thank you !!!

    Reply

    • Jamie,

      It’s been a few years since you posted about this fence so how did it hold-up to the weather? Did the marbles fall out or did the holes split the wood?
      I’m in Massachusetts and would love to do this but think the marbles would crack in our harsh New England winters. Also, most years we have to paint on a wood preservative so the marbles would be in the way 🙁

      Reply

      • Hi Laura! The fence is holding up great! I will take pictures of it next time at my mom’s and do a little update! The marbles to occasionally pop out when the weather changes, but they are very easy to stick back in the holes! The marbles would likely be in the way, but you could pop them all out for a paint job and stick them back in!

        Reply

  32. WHERE did you get clear, colored marbles in different sizes?? I’ve been looking online for days to no avail!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  19. […] I saw this idea on pinterest several times and thought I’d share it with you guys in case you haven’t seen it yet. It’s an easy way to add some fun and whimsy to your backyard. Basically, you just need to drill holes in your fence and cram the marbles in. Make sure you only do this on fencing where you own the land on both sides LOL. Your neighbors may wonder what the heck is going on if you start drilling little holes in your fence looking on to their property. You can get creative too. Try writing a word with the marbles or doing a fun pattern like a star or a heart. There are a few tips you should know too. Head over to the C.R.A.F.T blog for a great post on how to marble your fence. Jamie has lots of great projects and tips throughout her blog as well so don’t forget to browse around! Here’s the link… Marble Fence […]

    Reply

  20. […] I noticed this concept on pinterest a number of occasions and thought I’d share it with you guys in case you haven’t seen it but. It’s a simple means so as to add some enjoyable and whimsy to your yard. Basically, you simply have to drill holes in your fence and cram the marbles in. Make positive you solely do that on fencing the place you personal the land on each side LOL. Your neighbors might marvel what the heck is occurring in case you begin drilling little holes in your fence wanting on to their property. You can get artistic too. Try writing a phrase with the marbles or doing a enjoyable sample like a star or a coronary heart. There are a couple of ideas you must know too. Head over to the H.J.A.C.T weblog for a terrific publish on learn how to marble your fence. Jamie has a lot of nice tasks and ideas all through her weblog as properly so don’t overlook to browse round! Here’s the hyperlink… Marble Fence […]

    Reply

  23. […] This cheap garden fencing idea can be made with only a few simple tools. The first step is to find marbles that allow for light to shine through them. You then need to take a drill and drill various sized bits into an existing wooden fence. Then you need to use the mallet to pound in the marbles. You should make sure they are snug. Voila! You have a beautiful marble fence that looks beautiful in the light. Get the detail of this diy garden fence […]

    Reply

  28. […] DIY Marble Fence from C.R.A.F.T. Crystal from Cooking with Crystal || Pinterest || Facebook Gypsy Quote from Sequins in the South Devin & Tara from Salt & Pepper Moms || Instagram || Pinterest || Facebook Panera Soba Chicken Bowl Copy Cat Recipe by Sweet Love & Ginger Aki from Minted Strawberry || Instagram || Pinterest || Facebook […]

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  30. […] DIY Marble Fence from C.R.A.F.T. Crystal from Cooking with Crystal || Pinterest || Facebook Gypsy Quote from Sequins in the South Devin & Tara from Salt & Pepper Moms || Instagram || Pinterest || Facebook Panera Soba Chicken Bowl Copy Cat Recipe by Sweet Love & Ginger Aki from Minted Strawberry || Instagram || Pinterest || Facebook […]

    Reply

  31. […] I saw this idea on pinterest several times and thought I’d share it with you guys in case you haven’t seen it yet. It’s an easy way to add some fun and whimsy to your backyard. Basically, you just need to drill holes in your fence and cram the marbles in. Make sure you only do this on fencing where you own the land on both sides LOL. Your neighbors may wonder what the heck is going on if you start drilling little holes in your fence looking on to their property. You can get creative too. Try writing a word with the marbles or doing a fun pattern like a star or a heart. There are a few tips you should know too. Head over to the C.R.A.F.T blog for a great post on how to marble your fence. Jamie has lots of great projects and tips throughout her blog as well so don’t forget to browse around! Here’s the link… Marble Fence […]

    Reply

  34. […] I saw this idea on pinterest several times and thought I’d share it with you guys in case you haven’t seen it yet. It’s an easy way to add some fun and whimsy to your backyard. Basically, you just need to drill holes in your fence and cram the marbles in. Make sure you only do this on fencing where you own the land on both sides LOL. Your neighbors may wonder what the heck is going on if you start drilling little holes in your fence looking on to their property. You can get creative too. Try writing a word with the marbles or doing a fun pattern like a star or a heart. There are a few tips you should know too. Head over to the C.R.A.F.T blog for a great post on how to marble your fence. Jamie has lots of great projects and tips throughout her blog as well so don’t forget to browse around! Here’s the link… Marble Fence […]

    Reply

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