privacy fence

[ADC]

which is better - steel posts or pressure treated wood posts?

[Chuck]

Steel

[I-zheet M'drurz]

Bah! Rust. Paint. Upkeep.

Wolmanized. Spray with Thompson's every 5 years. Vertical surfaces = little or no water penetration, even if totally untreated.

[HaroldA102]

vinail coated wood

[occupant]

How long do you want the fence to last? How sturdy are the steel posts? I would go with treated wood myself.

Also remember that unless the privacy fence is 10 feet high, it only hides the criminals from pubic view. Your choice.

ADC wrote:

[<sweat=]]

precast concrete, but avail only thru installers :-(

[xrongor]

steel is much more forgiving of a bad installation and will ultimately last the longest, but properly done the wood will last a long time. make sure you put a point at the top of the posts so water can drain off. if you leave it flat it will greatly shorten the life of the posts.

randy

[Joseph Meehan]

Define exactly what "better" means to you. It is a very personal term.

Wood is "better" at some things steel at others. Quality (another of those personal terms) ranges of both produces means some steel will be "better" than some other steel as will wood.

I suggest you consider that most residential fencing today is wood. I suggest you check your local codes and deed restrictions and you may find that you must use wood.

[HA HA Budys Here]

Assuming you're referring to galvanized steel posts, the steel will last longer. If left unpainted, they generally detract from the warmth and effect of a wood privacy fence.

Wood posts will last a lot longer if they're set in holes and backfilled with fine gravel, rather than the soil excavated from the same hole, or concrete. Every fence post I've replaced rotted at the base where it meets the ground.

[default]

If you want a concrete post, you can make your own. It's not freaking rocket science.

[HA HA Budys Here]

I was wondering myself if rebar is used, or maybe fiberglass?

[bosumo]

[Harry K]

Fully agree. Metal is much better. I have never set at PT 4x4 post that didn't rot out in about 10 years.

Harry K

[default]

Well, when the DoD put in the jet fuel pipeline to BNAS, (now NASB, for some reason) they used 4 chunks of what looks like #2 rebar, and made square, slightly tapered monoliths shaped like the washington monument, about 6' tall, and planted them about 30" deep. Those have lasted longer than I've been alive, with only some spalling where they whack them with a batwing mower. Depending on relative costs, I'd do that, or use a cylinder of hardware cloth.