How to Make a DIY Halloween Cemetery Picket Fence

This DIY Halloween cemetery picket fence is the perfect addition to your outdoor Halloween graveyard. Made with scraps of wood and PVC pipe, it’s inexpensive and easy to do. Add some low lying fog, DIY Halloween cemetery pillars and other outdoor Halloween decorations and you’ll have the best yard haunt in the neighborhood.

DIY Halloween Cemetery Picket Fence

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As some of you know, every year, I create a Halloween graveyard in my front yard.

In order to keep people from walking across the graveyard and tripping over the electrical wires, I always think it’s a good idea to have a fence around the cemetery.

In the past, I’ve done this quite successfully by installing some garden edging that I put string lights on to call attention to it.

But last year, I decided to go all out and actually make a Halloween picket fence specifically for my Halloween cemetery.

Since I only use it for Halloween, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time or money to do it.

So I came up with this easy DIY Halloween cemetery fence made with scraps of wood and PVC pipe.

Supplies

Materials

Here’s what you need for a 3 foot section of fence. You can modify the lengths to make longer sections:

2 – 3 foot long 3″ wide boards or plywood – to be used as the railing
1 8 foot piece of 1″ PVC pipe – for the end posts
2 10 foot pieces of 1/2″ PVC pipe – for the ballusters
#6 – 1 1/2″ wood screws
black spray paint
metal garden stake

Since this is a Halloween fence, you can use scrap pieces of wood and left over PVC pipe if you happen to have some laying around. I actually used 1/2″ pipe and 3/4″ pipe for the ballusters since I had some leftover from another project.

Tools

cordless drill
1 1/4″ drill bit
3/4″ drill bit
clamps
small drill bit
hammer

How To Make a Halloween Cemetery Picket Fence

Cut The PVC Pipe

Cut 2 3 foot 6 inch posts from the 1″ PVC pipe.

Then cut 5 sections of the 1/2″ PVC pipe for the ballusters. These should be about 3 feet in length, but I made them various lengths between about 2 feet 10 inches long to 3 feet 2 inches long.

Make The Halloween Picket Fence

To start, you’re going to drill holes in the boards for your PVC pipes to fit through.

At both ends of the first board, drill 1 1/4 inch holes that will fit your one inch PVC pipes.

Then drill three quarter inch holes (that will fit your half inch PVC pipes) about six inches apart along the surface of the board.

Once you’ve drilled all the holes, use the first board as a template for drilling the holes on the second board. That way you know the holes will line up.

To do this, position the first board over the second so that the edges all line up. Clamp them together and drill the same sized holes in the same positions on the second board.

After you’ve drilled all the holes, you want to put your PVC pipes into the holes on the first board.

The 1″ PVC posts at the end of the board should stick out about 6 inches past the board.

The 1/2″ PVC ballusters should stick out about 3″. But this will vary depending on how long you made them.

Then you want to repeat the same thing with the other board on the other end of the PVC pipes.

Now we need to secure the PVC pipes to the boards so that they don’t move.

To do this, drill small holes in the sides of the boards into each of the PVC pipes. Then install a screw in each of the holes that goes into the PVC pipe to hold it in place.

Paint The Fence

Next, you’re going to spray paint the fence black or grey or whatever color you want it to be from your graveyard.

You could even do multiple coats using different shades of black, brown and grey if you want a more aged look. But I didn’t get that fancy 🙂

I actually installed my fence temporarily in the backyard so I could paint it standing up (see the next step for the instructions). That way you don’t have to worry about waiting for one side to dry before you start the next.

Install The Fence

To install the fence, we’re going to pound garden stakes into the ground.

I cut the stakes to about 2 foot lengths. But you can vary the length depending on how far into the ground you want them to go (the deeper they are, the more sturdy your fence will be).

Then hammer the stakes into the ground where you want your fence posts to go, so that it sticks up 6 to 8 inches above the ground.

Finally position the 1″ PVC pipes over the garden stakes and your fence is up!

Now all you have to do is decorate it with some crows, chains or whatever other Halloween graveyard props or decorations you want for your cemetery.

Other Outdoor Halloween Ideas You Might Like

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This post was originally published on August 17, 2019 but was updated with new content on November 1, 2023.