fencing

If you're going to do that, buy pressure treated timber - it'll last several times longer than non-treated.

Floor boards will contract and expand differentially and the resulting gaps will look rubbish.

dg

How about a 100,000 volt electric fence - this might quickly convert your local 'angels' into real angels - if only it was legal :-)

The answer to that is to chamfer the edges, so that the gaps look intentional.

As Grunff says, pressure treated timber will last far longer, but I would also suggest that, if you do use that, also use a nail that will last too. I made a couple of gates over 20 years ago with pressure treated timber and bronze ring barb nails, from my local yacht chandler. Apart from needing to replace some of the weather edge along the top, they have hardly needed any maintenance since I put them up.

Colin Bignell

It's viable, but why can't you just use featheredge board?

be snipped-for-privacy@thai.com! Shop all amazing products and get our special offers!

snip

All wood will adjust to seasonal variations in humidity. Pick the right type of fencing (I don't mean fencing material but the method of construction)and it will cope with this problem

Paul Mc Cann

I have found galvanised nails very effective. I usually predrill for them to reduce the chance of splitting and also to ease the strain on the already planted posts

While I would definitely agree re pressure treated posts and for any part that will be in contact with the ground, we have some fencing where the intermediaries, which are well clear of ground level, are just softwood (re-claimed, I'm a tight b*****d), have survived 15 years so far with nothing more than a soaking of creosote annually, if I remember.

Paul Mc Cann

Or scrap wood like mine. :-)

Round here rough sawn pressure treated is extremely cheap - pennies more than non-treated. You put it up and for get about it for 25 years or so.

I reckon creosoting all our fences/gates/other outdoor timber would take the best part of a week. I'm really not prepared to spend one week per year doing that (that's 2% of the year!!).

Unless you're very careful and use a jig to make sure all the boards are identical, rounding off the tops is likely to look a right bodge IMO. The idea of shaping the tops of fencing boards and posts is to shed water and so protect the end grain from rot damage. It would look much nicer, be more effective and be a lot simpler to just cut the boards straight across and nail a preserved chamfered batten along the top edge.

Also, It's much easier and better looking to mark and cut the top edge of fence boards after they're fixed using a chalk line, especially if the top edge isn't level. You could even mark out and cut a curve, using a loose line.

I go along with jerrybuilt's suggestion to use feather-edge - much better than T&G with its grooves that hold moisture.

Peter

I think I'd go for stainless steel screws, no hammering required at all and with a good cordless driver it doesn't take much more time.