New fence and options

[CID]

Hello. I'm looking to replace the fence at my home, and have several options to think about if having it installed by a professional. I prefer hiring a professional, mostly because I want it done right, plus I have existing fence material to be removed, and I don't want to deal with having it hauled off.

The existing fence permeter size is 315', and is 6' tall, with a double-door gate and a single-door gate. I only need the single-door gate when it's replaced. My first quote is from a large company, and it amounted to ~$30 per foot for pressure-treated vertical board 6' tall.

My choice (if I had all the money I wanted to spend on this) I think would be composite, but is that better than vinyl, the same or just different depending on taste? What are the pros and cons to each of these choices, including how it stands up with time vs. pressure treated lumber?

Thank you, Carol

[Robert Allison]

First of all, treated fencing would be my last choice for a fence material. Although one would think that treated would last longest, it does not make for a pretty fence. Treated tends to warp and twist much more than other lumber. It may look good at first, but you will soon see warped and bowed pickets that will have to be replaced. You can minimize this by going with 3 or even 4 rails instead of two, but you can still expect to see a few warps bad enough to need replacing. The warping tendency is so great that I would also recommend screws instead of nails for a treated fence. In fact, I prefer screws for any type of fencing, but you have to pay for the extra material and labor.

That said, cedar or redwood would be a better material as it is more stable and lasts a long time. Composite would be better still, but be prepared for sticker shock. Composite usually runs from 2 to 3 times as much as cedar. Vinyl would probably be OK, but it, too is expensive. I just don't really like the look and feel of vinyl, but that is a matter of taste.

[dpb]

CID wrote: ...

I pretty much concur w/ Mr Allison on the aspects. I'll note that the vinyl I've seen here in a hot climate have tended to hold color better than I initially expected (whitew haven't yellowed much) but they all, I think, have sagged between posts and otherwise shown signs of the flexibility of vinyl with time. Whether they would hold up better/longer in a more benign environment I can't say.

I'd caution about not retaining a wide entrance at least somewhere through the fence, though -- you never know what need might eventually arise. Even if one side is essentially never used, it's a whole lot simpler when, say, the A/C or pool or roofing or whatever guys need something just a little bigger than the one gate opening in/out to have it able to be opened...

I've not seen any of the other composites as fencing for a long enough time as yet to judge, but as Bob says, if you price it, be prepared to make even the vinyl look inexpensive.

We just re-did the one around the church parsonage a weekend or so ago

-- went back w/ the dog-ear cedar pickets. The previous had lasted probably nearly 40 years. Was even able to reuse a significant fraction of the stringers which were also cedar except the bottom one which had more damage from the sprinkler system, apparently, so the longevity is quite satisfactory imo.

[tksirius]

Vinyl around here (NY) goes for around 90 -100 per section. I bought my own stuff and installed it to save a few bucks. Turned out ok. I would NOT recommend using the Home Depot or Lowes stuff. Its crap. The newer vinyl fences have metal supports of the bottom rail to prevent sagging. So far so good but was a pain in the

*ss to > CID wrote:

[CID]

I'm glad I posted this here because that has never been brought up. My existing fence really isn't very old (about 10 years) and it is badly warped, rotted and just plain falling apart, hence the need for a new one.

Thank you for the information, Robert. I'll look into cedar or redwood, and using screws for the installation. I appreciate your input.

C

[CID]

I'll keep that in mind. The double-wide entrance used to be used for a camper owned by the previous homeowner.

40 years! Great!

I appreciate your input, and the ideas. Thank you.

C

[Brian]

I'm guessing you are simply removing the sections and keeping the posts. If not, I would suggest cementing the posts. A lot of people do not cement. Cement helps keep the wood posts from rotting and if you are in Florida - Hurricane Proof. Kidding about that, but seriously we had a fence up for 20 years and the sections fell down a couple times, but the posts that were cemented never did. We put them in about 32 inches for a 4x4x8 post using an auger.