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One of my favorite aesthetics is natural cedar in a temperate mountain climate.
I've talked to many different people about privacy fencing over the years, and there's been as many opinions as ideas on what the perfect fence is. Metal chainlink lasts longest and is the most secure, but privacy is minimal, even with privacy screening added.
Cedar plank board is most commonly what people desire. The cedar looks good, lasts a long time, and provides both visual and auditory privacy, to a degree. But then you have the dilemma of posts, and finish. 4x4 pressure treated and no stain is hands down the most common, if nothing else because it's the cheapest. Often ppl will even use fir or pine instead of cedar, even tho it doesn't last as long.
Well, that's what my old fence was.... Let's take a deep dive together and explore what makes a good fence!
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You all know this classic look:
The gray, decaying husk of a fence. The boards have shrunk so much that you can see straight between them, and the ends have rotted away, leaving gaps for animals to traverse freely.
Then they start to really degrade and the posts themselves rot through, usually right at the base where they were concreted into the ground.
This is why I hate the 4x4 post fence. If you're going to use 4x4's, you're better off putting them in with compacted aggregate gravel, not concrete. Only in certain conditions, such as high wind load in very wet soil, do you need concrete, really. When put in properly, concrete makes a good foundation. Poorly done concrete, however, just rots it faster!
You're actually better off going deeper and just putting dirt straight back in the hole, rather than being shallow with a big concrete boot on, just below the surface, that pools water on top. Leverage will still just push that fence right over.
But I digress.... š
The reality is, 4x4 PT is just not a great long lasting fence post. I would rather use a 6x6 PT post and have a really solid fence that lasts!
There's another option, however, and we already identified it: metal posts.
Metal posts might cost a little more, but they last forever! One downside to metal posts is that they usually require expensive brackets to attach wood boards to them.
But there's a new game in town...
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