Materials and construction

See here for information on joints and fixings.

Wood

Tanalised or Celcurised softwood is recommended (European larch, pine, Douglas fir, Western red cedar). See here for information on timbers and preservatives. Softwoods are lighter to transport than hardwoods, and are easier to cut, drill and nail. Hardwood is more durable, but is better used only if tools and transport are available to easily deal with it.

Joints

BS 5709:1979 recommended mortised joints for rails (this standard has been revised (BS 5709:2006) and no longer contains timber dimensions or construction methods). These are strong, but need special tools to construct. The rails are also difficult to replace if vandalised or accidentally broken, without loosening the fixing of the stile posts. Mortises can be made by the timber merchant, and are best assembled in the workshop, drilled and dowelled, and taken prefabricated to the site. This in itself may be a disadvantage, both for transport, and if variable site conditions require an unexpected alteration.

A more practical alternative is to use a rebated joint, which can be assembled on site, and replaced or altered as necessary. Although easier to cut and drill in a workshop, this can be done on site. The joint can be fixed with a coach bolt or with a length of studding fastened at each end with a washer and nut. A neat and secure finish is given if this is counterbored and tightened with a socket. Studding can be cut to length with a hacksaw.

Stiles with nailed rails are easiest to assemble, but are not as robust or durable as jointed and bolted stiles.

Steps

The step should not rest on a rail, or a see-saw action can develop as the step supports settle into the ground with use. Allow a gap of at least 50mm between the step and the rail beneath it. The step should overhang its support by about 40mm, to help protect the top of the support from wear and weather. The easiest method of fixing is to drill and skew nail using two 125mm galvanised nails at each end. A more secure fixing is made by using a coach screw. Although a counterbored finish is neater, it does collect water which hastens rot. The protruding head helps give grip if the step is muddy or wet.

Finishing

Always weather the top of the posts so that water runs off quickly, and chamfer to give a smooth finish for the hand. A surform is the easiest tool to use. For those with the tools and time available, attractive handholds can be made; a satisfying job if you consider the number of times it will be appreciated over the years by those who climb the stile.

The top rail and step should also be chamfered for a perfect finish.

Hole digging

There are various ways of digging holes for stile posts and step supports, depending on the type of ground.

1. Post hole borer. This is the most efficient tool to use in loam or clay-loam soils without stones or roots.
2. Rabbiting spades or draining spades are long-handled, narrow-bladed tools useful for hole digging.
3. Crowbar. This is often needed to break up stony ground or lever out rocks.
4. Shuv-holer. This is useful in loose sandy soil, or for removing debris from a large hole dug with a spade, but it is a rather heavy item of equipment to carry far.

Try and dig the hole neatly, with vertical sides. It should be of a diameter just large enough to use a punner or rammer to compact the spoil around the post. A punner with a D shaped head (available from Drivall) is useful for ramming a square post into a round hole.

Pile the debris up on an opened up fertiliser bag, so that it is easy to shovel up and re-use. A hole of 750mm depth is normally needed for the stile post, and 500mm for the step supports.

Put the post in position, and ram soil around the base with a punner. Carefully fill up the sides with soil, ramming securely in layers about 50mm deep. If the ground is too rocky to fix the post securely, concrete must be used (see below and here for further information).

Apart from the standard tools described above, various improvised tools have been made for stile construction, which may give some useful ideas.

1. Scaffold pole with old pick-ended mattock head jammed in one end, and useful for cutting down the sides of holes to keep them straight.
   
2. Punner, made of plumbing pipe, with T or elbow section at one end.
3. Cut-down trowel, old tins etc for removing debris from narrow holes.

Concrete

This is best used as a dry mix, as sufficient water will be absorbed from the ground to activate the cement. If a wet mix is needed, perhaps for use near the surface of the ground, the easiest method is to take the cement and aggregate to the site in a fertiliser sack, add the water, and roll the bag around on the ground until thoroughly mixed.

A mix of one part cement to 4.5 parts all-in aggregate (maximum size 20mm) is suitable. If mixed wet, a maximum 0.75 part water will be sufficient. Try to keep the stile out of use for a few days, if at all possible.

General procedure

This describes the procedure for erecting a wooden step- over stile, taken to the site in kit form, and bolted together through rebated joints. This is probably the best method of stile building, as it combines the efficiency of workshop production with relative ease of transport.

1. Dig holes for stile posts to the required depth.
2. Lay posts and rails on the ground, assemble with coach bolts or studding, but do not fully tighten nuts.
3. Set posts into position, check uprights and rails with spirit level, and tighten nuts.
4. Ram soil around posts using punner or other suitable tool, compacting it in layers.
5. Dig holes for step supports, positioning them so that the step projects about 40mm beyond the support.
6. Set step supports in position. Level, using step and spirit level. Ram securely.
7. Attach step to supports using nails or coach screw.
8. Chamfer step and top rail. Weather and chamfer handhold.
9. Attach wire or fill wall gap to make the boundary stock- proof.Any barbed wire that comes within about 100mm of the stile should be debarbed. This is easiest done with two pairs of pliers.
10. Lay surfacing material on the ground where people step off the stile to prevent muddiness and erosion.

Post driving

Some groups prefer to construct stiles by the simpler method of knocking the stile posts and step supports into the ground. This depends on the factors discussed here, and on the cost of the materials being used. A sawn hardwood or treated softwood stile should always be positioned as described above, whereas a stile of split chestnut, costing perhaps a fifth of the price and with an estimated life of only 10 years without repair, can well be knocked into the ground. Cheapness and speed of construction may outweigh the disadvantage of lower durability.

An alternative is to set the stile posts in dug holes, but use pointed step supports which can be driven into the ground to save time.

Note the following points concerning post-driving:

1. Do not weather the post until after it is driven in, or it will be difficult to get the post straight. Any damage to the post top can then be sawn off.
2. Roughly chamfer the top edge of the post before hammering it in, as this lessens the chance of it splitting.
3. Use a mell or Drive-all. If there is nothing other than a sledgehammer available, protect the post top with a tin can or a small piece of wood nailed to the top.
4. Make a pilot hole with a crowbar or short stake. The top of the short stake thus takes most of the damage, and starts the hole so the top of the stile post is easier to reach when this is driven in to its final depth.