How to Install Star Pickets — Tips, Spacing & Depth

Star pickets are the workhorse of Australian rural fencing. They're quick to install, cost-effective, and when done right, they'll hold your fence together for decades. But "quick to install" doesn't mean "no technique required." Here's how to get the most out of your star pickets.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SIZE

Star pickets come in several lengths, and the right choice depends on your fence height and what you're fencing:

  • 165cm: Good for standard sheep and goat mesh. Once driven to the correct depth, you'll have about 115-120cm above ground.
  • 180cm: The all-rounder. Works with most mesh heights and gives you room for a top wire above the mesh.
  • 210cm: For taller mesh like 8/115/15 exclusion fencing or horse mesh. Also handy where you want barbed wire well above stock height.
  • 240cm: Specialist applications — tall exclusion fencing, deer, or where ground is soft and you need extra depth.

We stock all these sizes in both black bitumen and galvanised finishes. Our 165cm black pickets are $8.50 each, 180cm at $8.40, 210cm at $13, and 240cm at $11. Galvanised options run from $10 to $12.50 depending on size.

HOW DEEP TO DRIVE THEM

The general rule is one-third of the picket should be in the ground. So for a 180cm picket, that's 60cm below ground level, leaving 120cm above. In practice, most fencers drive them 400-500mm deep for standard applications.

In soft or sandy soil (common in parts of the Central West after good rain), go deeper. In rocky ground, you go as deep as you can without bending the picket — sometimes that means pre-drilling a pilot hole with a crowbar.

The key is that the picket shouldn't wobble when you grab it and push sideways. If it does, it's not deep enough.

DRIVING TECHNIQUE

Manual post driver: This is the traditional method — a heavy steel tube with handles that you lift and drop over the picket. Rhythm matters more than brute force. Keep the driver straight, lift it smoothly, and let gravity do the work. Trying to slam it down harder just tires you out faster.

A few tips for manual driving:

  • Stand with your feet either side of the picket, not behind it
  • Keep your back straight — lift with your arms and shoulders, not your lower back
  • Wear gloves, safety glasses, and steel-capped boots (non-negotiable)
  • If you hit rock, stop. Don't try to bash through it — you'll bend the picket

Powered post drivers: If you're doing any serious length of fencing, a powered driver (petrol or hydraulic) saves your body and gets the job done in a fraction of the time. Worth hiring for big jobs if you don't own one.

WHICH WAY DO THE LUGS FACE?

This trips up a lot of first-timers. The lugs (the raised bumps on the Y-profile) should face toward the stock — that is, toward the side where the mesh will be attached. This means the flat back of the picket faces away from the paddock.

Why? Because when stock push against the mesh, the force pushes the mesh into the lugs, which grip it. If the lugs face the wrong way, stock pressure pushes the mesh away from the picket, and your clips have to do all the work.

SPACING — HOW FAR APART?

Standard spacing for rural fencing:

  • Flat ground, light stock (sheep): 6-7 metres
  • Flat ground, cattle: 5-6 metres
  • Hilly or undulating ground: 4-5 metres
  • High-pressure areas (yards, laneways, corners): 3-4 metres

Tighter spacing costs more in pickets but gives you a stronger, straighter fence. On flat runs with good mesh and proper strainer assemblies, 6m spacing is perfectly fine for most applications.

Quick reference for pickets per kilometre:

  • At 4m spacing: 250 pickets/km
  • At 5m spacing: 200 pickets/km
  • At 6m spacing: 167 pickets/km
  • At 7m spacing: 143 pickets/km

KEEPING THEM STRAIGHT

Nothing looks worse than a fence with pickets going every which way. Here's how to keep them in line:

1. Set your strainer posts first

2. Run a string line (or sight along the fence) between strainers

3. Mark your picket positions on the ground

4. Drive each picket while sighting along the string line

5. Check each one from the side as well — they should be vertical, not leaning forward or back

If a picket goes in crooked, pull it out and re-drive it. Don't just leave it and hope the mesh will straighten it up — it won't.

CLIPPING MESH TO PICKETS

Once your mesh is run and tensioned, clip it to each picket using fence clips (wire clips that wrap around the picket and mesh). A clip gun like the OCG-1 Brushless Cordless Clip Gun makes this job massively faster — we'll cover that tool in a separate post. But even with manual clips, the process is straightforward: one clip at the top of the mesh, one at the bottom, and one or two in the middle depending on mesh height.

Star pickets are simple, reliable, and affordable. Get the basics right — correct depth, correct orientation, sensible spacing — and they'll serve you well for years. Pop into Outback Fencing Supplies at 76 Astill Drive in Orange if you want to see our range in person or need advice on quantities for your job.

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