redwood vs pressure treated fence posts

buffalo ny: this may save you some money. this may depend on your climate, soil moisture, and drainage travel. easiest answer sometimes comes from the permit office or local fence company. careful of the type of pressure treating it may be limited in your area regarding kids and pets. you may need to check your survey for placement, and your town for limits and right-of-ways. regardless of how long your fence has been around, fences are often excluded from front yards, intersections, and even some neighborhoods by zoning. since life and cost per year are probably concerns, you'll want to read more at:

You want a rot-resistant post?

Steel posts in a concrete base with wood 4x4 bolted to the post.

In my area the CCA green treated wihich I dont think is made anymore is fine after 30 years, redwood would have lasted 10, I never saw brown treated

I assume by brown you mean creosote treated. I've never seen fence material treated with that. Plus it's very toxic for yard use. (Creosote is now a restricted use pesticide). That leaves the green (ACQ) treated wood, redwood, or cypress. If you live in the NW, redwood may be an option but the last time I inquired at my local lumber yards I was told "no one stocks it anymore, and if ordered be prepared to pay VERY high prices." If it were me, I'd use treated 4x4's and cypress boards/panels.

KC

Answers to some of your questions depend, in part, upon where the fence posts are locate.

Are the in southern Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama, Florida?

Are the posts in Alaska? High desert country in the Great Basin?

All different sets of bugs, different precipitation and ground water issues, different teperrature cycles and different freeze / thaw issues regarding ground water.

Also, of course different soil types with different watrer retention issues.

All of these have a bearing on wood post longevity.

Can you tell us more about the climate, soil type and geographical location?

Universaly, the plastic / ? PVC ? posts will hold up well, but it doesn't sound like that will fit in with your CC&Rs.

Thanks.

If you can get it, plain locust heartwood will last 50 years :0

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

...

black locust, that is...

So will Osage orange...

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Just had my fence built. Heartwood redwood fence with the brown treated pos t and a six inch 2x6 kicker of treated wood. And there are some corrosive material in the treated wood. So the framing was done with coated screws. M ake sure they mix your concrete and not just dump and add water at hole. An d last, make sure the concrete is mounded around post, not to hold water. Hope this helps, DK , CA

replying to RR, Jim wrote: I used treated posts one time. I had to replace every post I planted. They all warped and/or twisted. I'll never use treated again. I used cedar usually and they lasted 20+years. Our local home depot just ran out of the cedar posts, so I used red wood because I heard the same about redwood. I know many decks which used redwood last long.

Correct! I have a 30 year old redwood fence that is doing fine. The key to wood longevity is to avoid moisture, so I did NOT sink the redwood 4X4's into the ground. I dug post holes, filled them with concrete, and sunk Simpson heavy duty galvanized post bases into the wet concrete. The post bases elevate the wooden posts above grade by a half inch or so. Every year or two I spray the bottom of the 4X4's with wood preservative and they are doing fine---=no termites and no rot. Now, after 30 + years, some of the Simpson galvanized bases are rusted out, but I have a fix for that, too. Home Depot has inexpensive and rugged stainless steel shelf brackets that look like triangles with pre-drilled holes. Attach one of these to either side of the 4X4 post and, using tap con screws, secure it to the concrete surrounding the rusted post base. It will last longer than you will.

Correct! I have a 30 year old redwood fence that is doing fine. The key to wood longevity is to avoid moisture, so I did NOT sink the redwood 4X4's into the ground. I dug post holes, filled them with concrete, and sunk Simpson heavy duty galvanized post bases into the wet concrete. The post bases elevate the wooden posts above grade by a half inch or so. Every year or two I spray the bottom of the 4X4's with wood preservative and they are doing fine---=no termites and no rot. Now, after 30 + years, some of the Simpson galvanized bases are rusted out, but I have a fix for that, too. Home Depot has inexpensive and rugged stainless steel shelf brackets that look like triangles with pre-drilled holes. Attach one of these to either side of the 4X4 post and, using tap con screws, secure it to the concrete surrounding the rusted post base. It will last longer than you will.

Home Depot sucks donkey diks.

We’re using redwood tree trunks that we will sink in post holes with concrete for fence posts. My question is, should we scrap the bark off or does the bark protect the wood from rot?