Horizontal slatted wood fence

I need to build a fence along the north and east side of my house. The total length is about 240 feet. I prefer stone fences but the cost is just prohibitive, I am not a fan of vinyl PVC fences or metal fences, so I started to look at wood fences and bamboo fences. The standard 4'x8' HD vertically slatted board fence do not appeal to me and after looking at books and web site I found something that is close to what I am looking for - something clean line and simple.

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I think construction wise, it is the same as the standard wood fence. Set

4x4 PT posts at preset intervals into concrete. Then screw the slats horizontally one by one. I assume the slats would have to be cedar or teak in order to withstand the extreme hot/cold/rainy weather of south Florida? Perhaps the slats can be stained darker...or perhaps the slats may be screwed such that it is flushed with the posts, and the posts be painted to achieve a framing effect. Not sure what size these slats are...2x1? or 2x0.5? Do they have to be pressure treated or not? Just have to find a lumber yard that can sell me a lot of these at reasonable cost. I don't think I can use the cheaper PT furring strips? or can I? Those probably do not have the nice color and may be knotted or warped too much I would think.

Any idea or comments welcome.

MC

Reply to
miamicuse
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Teak??? And you're worried about what stone would be?

Cypress would be another alternative...

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Can't tell exactly what the dimensions are there, but I'd guess on the order of 1 to 1-1/2" wide and a little less than full 1x thickness--half to 5/8, maybe. Don't look like are full-thickness 1x. Is thicker (and would have to be) than the slatting like for a lattice-work fence, however.

Those are obviously PT -- look at all the knot and it's starting to bow/twist/warp already and I'd suspect the pictures were undoubtedly taken within a relatively short time after completion.

Virtually anything you put up that is that light weight a material is going to move a lot unless it is very straight-grained, good quality material (read--expensive!).

As for making such an animal, it would definitely be time-consuming but as for the material, I'd make it more substantial and simply rip material down from 1x6 or 1x8, the selection being made to get an even number of pieces of whatever width seemed to most nearly match what I wanted as the look. For selection, if it weren't almost prohibitively expensive any more, I'd suggest redwood. Don't know what you could get cypress for down there. Cedar would be an alternative. To use PT would require hand selection of every board and controlled long term drying before using to have much of any chance that it would look like anything other than spaghetti in a year, imo.

Reply to
dpb

What is the purpose of the fence, and how long do you need it to last? How long do you intend to be there? How much of a hurry are you in?

Reply to
Goedjn

of a trellis. and very prone to damage from kids, whatever running into it. a few years of FL weather should produce lots of warping and turning. at 240' feet, am i correct to assume that this is on the property lines? The only thing substantial would be the posts, IMO.

A neighborhood kid climbing up a panel would reduce it to rubble. even a dog could damage it easily.

yes it looks good, if you don't mind lack of privacy. But it doesn't appear to be *durable* at all.

lee

Reply to
lee houston

good point. : (

Reply to
miamicuse

If I widen and thicken the plank to like 3"x1" will it be more durable? I don't know about cypress I am sure cedar is available locally but not cheap.

MC

Reply to
miamicuse

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