What Material Is Used On Wood Fences?

For all of our wood fences we quote cedar material and a pressure treated kickboard unless asked for different material. The advantage to this material on your wood privacy fence is that cedar naturally resists wrought and decay and it also looks much nicer. Cedar wood also accepts stains easier and the finished product looks much better when compared to staining treated wood. The only part of the fence that is not cedar is the kickboard placed at the bottom of the fence. This particular piece of lumber is used to lift the pickets off the ground and add another point of stability to the fence. Kickboards should always be placed directly on top of the ground, in some cases where there are major changes in elevation the kickboard could also be a couple inches in the ground as well. The pressure treated kick-boards are also a nice substitute for a retaining wall for your fence to set on top of as opposed to building a wall out of stone.

Fasteners have a huge part to play in wood privacy fences. When connecting 2x4s or the 2x6 kickboards wood lag screws are used to attach the wood to the post collars. We like to use the Simpson 1 piece post collar. This specific post collar is placed on the post and then tightened onto the post by a special screw placed in the collar to tighten and loosen the collar. From then on 2" wood deck screws are used when needed, IE securing caps to 2x4's or attaching 2x4's in stair stepped fence scenarios. These screws are not used often but are a great resource when needed. Pickets are nailed in place with a nail gun and 1 3/4 or 2" ring shank galvanized nails. Since these nails have ring shanked grooves in the nails it makes it more difficult for the wood to pull apart or fall off the fence.