Hey everyone.

So late last year in an effort to reclaim the backyard from my 2 dogs I started building a 5'H x 10'D x 24'L pen. Over the past few years the yard has become an unhealthy, weed infested dust bowl and it's getting difficult to keep the dogs and the house clean. I installed the posts and plan on using concrete molds for the base instead of pavers. I find myself stuck on the next step because I think I should have added 3-4" of topsoil first which will be needed for new grass. As it stands now I have the posts planted from 57-61" above ground level but after the soil is added I'll lose a few inches and I need 5+ ft for the fencing and post caps.

Should I dig up all the posts and try resetting them after added the topsoil or should I just put up the fencing and have the bottom below ground level once the soil is added?

I've linked pictures to get an idea of what I'm dealing with.
backyard wasteland

Thanks in advance.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ejs1970,

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Those dogs at some point are most likly going to try and dig under that fence. If they run into the below grade frncing they'll stop digging after a while.

I had 2 dogs that constantly dug under the fence. and ruined the grass bordering it, I stopped them by placing hardware cloth down before resodding ( i imagine chicken wire would also work ) The material was laid flat and extended 2 ft. from the fence.then the sod was laid on top.The doge tried digging but soon got tired of snagging their claws in the wire and in two weeks the digging stopped

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm not worried about the dogs digging due to the concrete floor in the pen as well as 4"x4" timbers as a border.

My main concern is not having enough space for the fencing after adding topsoil. Sounds like I'll be ok to put up the fence and then add the dirt.