This fence firmly establishes a boundary, yet leaves the view unrestricted. Because the rails are not joined permanently to the stone posts, replacing them is easy. For the posts, the rectangular shape of ashlar is easier to work with than irregular rubble.
Time: Several days for a fence with 6 or 7 posts.
Skills: Good stone-laying skills.
Caution: Check building codes to see if you can simply run waterproof, underground-feed (UF) cable in the ground or if you need to protect cable with conduit. Also find out how deep the cable needs to be.
Step-by-Step
Dig footings and trench.
Check building codes to make sure you place the fence correctly in relation to your property line. Carefully plot the location of the stone posts. If you will be using 8-foot-long poles, you'll want the facing walls of the posts to be no more than 7-1/2 feet apart to provide support for the rails.
Begin by laying out and digging footings and the trench for the electric cable. Stake the corners of the fence and, using a mason's line stretched between the corner stakes, check for square. Stake the corners of each post.
Dig footing holes below the frost line or at least 32 inches deep. Dig them as you would for a column footing, but make them as large as the stone posts will be. For posts with no lamppost, pour footings to within an inch of grade.
Install a lamppost.
Use the footing hole for the lamppost also. Dig the footing hole and a trench at least 12 inches deep for the electric cable. Run the cable to the post(s), making sure the cable entry hole is above the level of the concrete footing. Stabilize the post with bracing and pour in the concrete.
Build the posts.
Build the ashlar stone posts. Make the posts from 42 to 48 inches tall. Leave the inside of the posts hollow. Insert rails loosely into the openings as you lay the stones, making sure rails are parallel to the ground. Use large stone pieces to cap off posts.
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