Cypress or Pressure Treated Pine for Fences in Fla.

Where in Florida? Cypress trees live in water covered swamps mostly. I have a furniture piece from cypress (old).

What ever you do, consider the water table.

One of the 4 companies should know this. What works in N. FL may not be the same in S. FL or even Key West.

Pressure treated develop a lot of cracks and generally look bad after a few years. It weathers to a light gray color. Cypress doesn't crack near as bad, but it does turn much darker, even bleeding through stained coatings. Cypress is a little more expensive than PT but not much. I've been told that cypress lasts very well when used in wet locations (docks & piers), but not near as long in dry locations (fences). I built my cypress fence last year so don't have any way of knowing it that is true or not.

Red

A lot of the legends of cypress came from a time when they were using heartwood. Now most cypress is sapwood and not near as durable. The problem with PT is you usually end up with ACQ and that is not that great either. The posts in the middle of a fence run should be OK but I would drive a few miles to the shore and buy "salt water treated" 6" poles from a marine lumber supply for my "dock" posts if you are swinging a driveway gate. They will be 2.5 CCA (yes that poison stuff you can't buy) They will last 30-40 years and nothing will eat them. Just don't let your kids lick them.

Four fence companies and various opinions. Based on this thread and how we weighed what the four companies said, we are going with the cypress and with only the gate posts concreted.

Supposedly cypress holds up a bit better -- considering warping, durability, etc. The company we chose said that posts tend to get brittle of the years and as they move slightly they could break. The gate posts need the concrete for stability and will have steel bracing. One company gave a discount for cash -- made them competitive, but was a turn-off to people who had taxes deducted from our salaries.