Wood Fence

[Rson]

For those of you that have wood fences, How long do they last?

I have a crazy neighbor that insists that they need to be replaced, I disagree.

[PEC]

i've had my ceder fence for 12 years so far - i get it resealed every 3 years or so.. still looks great (also have metal posts).

[groovyone]

Mine is the cheaply thrown up POS new home fence that is awful. 6 years in and sections of it will need to be replaced. I have been doing the boards on an as needed basis, but many of the 2x4s do not appear to have been the proper weather treated ones and they are rotting.

I should have sealed it when we moved in. It might have helped.

[todd_a]

I have seen them last 30 years, but also have seen some go to pieces after 5-10. Depends on how they are treated or if they are. Also, the posts will rot since they contact the ground so, if you are going cheap on the treating, at least get good treated posts.

[JohnT]

I've lived here for almost 20 years, and the fence has been replaced once. The original fence was a cheap builder-grade; the current one is better treated and still looks good after several years.

The weather and sun take a toll on wood fencing. If you do in fact need a new one, I recommend going with steel posts. Diamond Fencing installed them a few years ago when my neighbors and I had our fence replaced. That way, when a panel needs replacing, it's much easier and less expensive in the long run.

[SCone]

More to do with the post than anything else. Wood post rot in the ground, steel in concrete will last forever. Mine was put together using screws so anytime a board is damaged it's easy to replace.

[epoh]

Our fence is probably about 15yrs old and is overdue for replacement. It was not pre-treated or sealed, so I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has.

[ggeen]

Mine is on year 10 but I did a lot of patching to fixed broken posts due to 75mph winds. I replace with metal posts in concrete. Don't seem to have any problems after that. Now it is just a matter of replacing cross members and occasional pickets as they rot or the neighbors dog chews/scratches through them.

[EDIT]
In the real estate circles their is a guideline that if pickets face you, it is your fence and are responsible for the upkeep. If the fence faces your neighbor, you see the cross members, it is your neighbors problem to fix.

This convention came about because of shared fences. It is also common custom to share the expense of the repairs. Ask your neighbor if he is willing to pony up half the bill.

[ronocnikral]

you may want to see if the fence resides solely on your property. if so, tell your neighbor to build their own fence. if not, tell you neighbor to fix their fence.

[Rson]

Fence is on the prop line

[epoh]

Originally Posted by ggeen

In the real estate circles their is a guideline that if pickets face you, it is your fence and are responsible for the upkeep. If the fence faces your neighbor, you see the cross members, it is your neighbors problem to fix.

Interesting.. none of our fence has the pickets facing us. We've got the cross members all the way around. Our neighbor on one side replaced most of his fence, but not the piece between their yard and ours. We would have happily paid half, but they never asked us about it.

[jerrykr]

Here's a tip a good friend told me about, I wish I had done last time I replaced mine.

With all the old panels off the posts, install a horizontal treated 2x4 run right under where the middle horizontal boards will be on the panels.

Makes it much easier to just lift the panels up onto the 2x4s and screw everything to the posts. Also that horizontal 2x4 run will prevent the panels from sagging as they age.

As stated, go havies on the $$ costs with your neighbors.

[kenw]

I've built and rebuilt several over the years. Wood should last longer in Keller than it does in Houston....If it is the original fence by the builder, 10 years or longer is common even here. Ours of cheap pine lasted 20 in wet and wild NW Harris Cty in incredibly humid conditions. When it died, the entire fence layed down at once....all the posts had snapped. Sure it hadn't won any beauty contests for years but it kept the dogs apart. I built one myself of cedar in Waco in 1980 and most of it still stands today without any sealing at all.

Personally, repeatedly sealing a fence after installation is largely a waste of time since you cannot seal the bottom edges and that's the entry point for moisture.

Best solution for getting some opinions on whether it needs to be replaced is to post some pictures.

[Rson]

I should note that this same neighbor called the cops when my mowing service mowed a strip of her lawn.

Bitch is crazy

[kenw]

Originally Posted by ggeen

[EDIT]
In the real estate circles their is a guideline that if pickets face you, it is your fence and are responsible for the upkeep. If the fence faces your neighbor, you see the cross members, it is your neighbors problem to fix.

This convention came about because of shared fences. It is also common custom to share the expense of the repairs. Ask your neighbor if he is willing to pony up half the bill.

where ever I've lived it has always been that if is is on the property line, we all split the costs proportionally regardless of which way it faces. The exception is fences that are deliberately built off the line or setback.

example: My neighbor replaced all of his fence after Ike. The % that I shared I split w/him, same for his 3 other neighbors. However there was some that was only his (gates, side wings) that were 100% his to pay for.