DIY Marble Fence

My mom saw this pin on Pinterest a few months back, and then about one month later had herself a DIY marble fence! My mom is a doer. She makes things happen! She convinced my brother to help her make a marble fence. 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.
Zach and my mom were the creators of the fence, and since I was not around to take good before or progress pictures I’m resorting to the family archives. Just for fun, the below pictures are of 2 of my siblings, Steven and Kelley. This was a long time ago. Steven has no graduated from college and Kelley has 2 kids! Here’s the wrought iron fence before it became a DIY 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:

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 pf the fence 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?

Three things that make this marble fence stand out

1. Marbles in the fence
2. The concave swoop
3. The left side of the fence is removable

I’m going to spill the beans about 1 and 2, but I can’t help you with how to make a removable fence panel. That was the handy work of my brother!

What you need to make a marble fence

• Marbles (Be sure the marbles you use allow light to shine through)
• Rubber mallet
• Drill and drill bit

How to make a marble fence

Step 1- Practice board

Use a practice board to find the perfect size drill bit for your marbles. My mom used different sized marbles, and had to have a different sized drill bit for each marble.

Step 2- Add marbles

It really as simple as finding the right drill bit, drilling a hole in the fence, and then using a rubber mallet to gently secure the marble in place. You want the marble to be snug as a bug.

One thing to be aware of is the marbles will fall out as the wood swells and shrinks due to temperature change. It’s not hard to stick the marbles back in place! Here’s the marble back side of the removable marble fence panel:

Here is the backside of both sides:

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

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

Here is one more front view. See the DIY bottle tree my mom had made peeking over the brick pillar?

How to make a concave swoop in a fence

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 reciprocating saw to cut along the line. Bam. Zach is a pretty handy with a reciprocating saw, but If this is your 1st rodeo, do a few practice cuts. (Here’s a link to the reciprocating saw he has).

What do you think? Do you love the DIY marble fence? Do you like the concave swoop? I’d love to hear…