Board fencing? Explain like I'm five, please

[Simkie]

We have all 3 or 4 board fencing around here, in various states of disrepair and falling apart and just not done right in the first place. I would love to rip it all out and do it right in one fell swoop, but that’s not in the cards, so we’ll do it right as it dies and replace it piece by piece.

I believe all the fencing is pine. Some treated, some not. Mostly painted, although it needs to be done again and wasn’t done well to start. Some posts are 6x6 (not many) some are 4x6 (I think the stuff that was professionally done) and there are way too many 4x4s out there for my liking that the previous owners cheaped out on (seriously, who thinks it’s a good idea to hang a GATE on a 4x4??? :sigh:)

The boards are a mix of 1" and 2". The one bys are pretty much all rotting and falling apart in ugly ways and MAN do they flex a whole lot.

I figure we’ll replace rotting or just inappropriate posts as needed with 4x6s and boards with 2". Should I use oak for the boards? Can I use rough cut? What’s best for the posts? And how do I FIND fencing materials?

[danacat]

1" boards will flex if the posts are too far apart. 2" boards are really too thick + more expensive.

1" oak IMO is your best choice – posts not more than 8’ ft. on center. Rough cut is great but it’s a PIA to paint-- you really have to scrub the paint in. They don’t call it rough cut for nuthin’! If you don’t paint, the oak will turn that weathered, natural grey color over time, which is nice too, unless you’re not a fan of the weathered look.

I personally like round posts – but one of my paddocks (a repair job) has a line of 4x6 posts – I think they are oak as well – they look good and are obviouslya lot beefier and better than 4x4’s – so you could go that route and use 6x6 treated for your corners and gate posts.

It’s not easy finding ‘horse’ fencing – but it is out there.

[Simkie]

My posts are 8’ apart and the one bys flex like a diving board. Maybe it’s just the wood type.

I don’t particularly like the painted look, particularly white…it just mildews and looks gross. Wouldn’t mind leaving it unpainted at all, but I bet that will look particularly trailer park-y until we replace enough of it!

So how does one find fencing materials?

[mmeqcenter]

@Simkie

So how does one find fencing materials?

Home Depot
Lowe’s
Tractor Supply
local farm supply stores
Craigslist

[Simkie]

@mmeqcenter

Home Depot
Lowe’s
Tractor Supply

Rough cut? Oak?

Not at my local stores.

Sure, if you want 4" round posts and privacy fencing…

Asked a local FB group and got some lines on lumber mills that look promising.

[mmeqcenter]

A 10 second search shows that Home Depot has 4"x6" and 6"x6" posts. Available at my local stores. I provided suggestions based on my experience. You’re asking a general forum with people from all over the world, I’m not going to search in your specific area for you.

[Zu_Zu]

LUMBER COMPANY •
Oak - special order - have boards put through ‘finisher’ to smooth - prevent tearing blankets and accept paint.

or

pipe and cable fencing is more durable and less maintenance.

Fencing is expensive and in order to be safe and durable requires professional installation
as a whole project as opposed to piece by piece. IMHO

[Simkie]

@Zu Zu

Fencing is expensive and in order to be safe and durable requires professional installation
as a whole project as opposed to piece by piece. IMHO

:lol:

Can I bill it to you, then?

[Hilary]

I got my boards from a sawmill (rough pine), 1x8" by 10 feet. PT posts from HD or Lowes. Mine are 4x4. 6x6 is too big unless you are trying to fence elephants. The gate posts are bigger. Fence post digger for your tractor. I was able to borrow one, but you can rent them if you don’t want to buy. Also use your tractor bucket to press in the posts.

Of course you can do it yourself, it just takes longer.

I use solid stain rather than paint. You can re-do it without needing to scrape and it helps the board last. My fence lasted over 10 years.

[Simkie]

Oh, we already own a PTO post hole auger. This isn’t our first fencing rodeo…just the first time with this particular type. Should be LOTS of fun redoing posts with the rocky soil here. Previous owners didn’t even try in some places…just built feet out of concrete for some posts. Hadn’t ever seen that before!

I’m surprised to hear that your 4x4 posts do okay, Hilary! The ones here are largely bent or rotting or otherwise just kind of crappy looking. Maybe they weren’t treated at all? Wouldn’t surprise me with these sellers and their various other “cost cutting” measures :lol: What made you go with 8" rails? Do you like them over 6"? I think everything we have is 6" but would have to go check to confirm.

There’s a lot of fence out there that’s okay. But there are also a LOT of rails in particular that need to come down and be replaced. Eventually we’ll clear more land and really rip out and redo fencing, but now it’s catching up with some maintenance that’s been deferred way too long!

[IPEsq]

Another vote for stain vs paint. Oak will be better than pine. Cedar is also not a bad choice. But availability and cost is going to vary. Cedar slip board looks so nice.

[ElementFarm]

it’s not available many places (and probably not allowed in New England) but creosote works fabulously for long-lasting fencing. It requires no painting or staining, and is impervious to water/rot for ~30 years. If creosote is not available, then I agree to should use opaque stain instead of paint – it weathers better and more naturally-looking, and then you don’t have to worry about re-painting over flaking paint.

We get our materials from a local sawmill that specializes in fencing. They offer materials in various treatment options and fence types. Lowes and Tractor Supply also sell basic fencing material.

Our fencing is either in 8’ or 10’ sections. For perimeter we use no climb wire hung on half rounds, with a top sight board. Cross and interior fencing is 3-rail on full round posts. We do use heavier posts for gates, and we sink all gates and corners +1 in concrete.

For us, our fencing runs about $7/linear foot to do it ourselves. Not counting the PTO auger we had to buy.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

Gumtree that fencing looks nice.

We took down oak board fencing. It was all 8’ 1x boards on 8’ spacing. The boards were sagged and the ends were split and cracking. The boards themselves were in good condition and would have lasted many years more if not for the ends of the boards breaking down. I still have a stack of them, for whatever use 7’x1" warped boards are good for. It seemed a bit DIY and sadly their investment did not last long due to the inferior installation.

It sounds as if oak fencing boards might not be on a shelf waiting for you, and if you buy some then the more you buy the more reasonable the price.

Synthetic fencing doesn’t look as nice but it’s available in brown and 4 years in ours still looks “new”. I would never use the white synthetic with the inevitable green stains. The downside is that repairing it is not very DIY friendly. The upside is that repairing it has been inexpensive.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

Locust posts are definitely the best. 2nd best would be half rounds of yellow pine. They are about 8" diameter.

The only fence boards I will use are 1.25" x 6" x 16’ oak. <3 Stagger the boards so all do not end on the same post. You can’t get any of this stuff at Lowes, tractor supply, etc. It needs to come from a local farm store/sawmill. Our Southern States would often have the half round posts, but not the oak boards. We found the boards at a farmer’s co-op.

[ASB_Stars]

Locust IS fabulous, but hard to come by. I have 4 board on 6" by 6" for my cross fencing. Yes, I used 8’ boards, however, the heft of the posts makes it work, and I am no fan of lifting 16’ oak, anymore. Pressure treated gets eaten like popcorn. Cedar is brittle, and if a horse hits it, in explodes.

The oak boards you can buy from the mills around here are “5/4”, meaning that they are an inch and a quarter thick. You need to use at least a 12 penny nail, and I like mine dipped, because they just go in better. My cross fencing is doing fine after 8 years of abuse. I do have electric on the top two boards.

[trubandloki]

@ElementFarm

it’s not available many places (and probably not allowed in New England) but creosote works fabulously for long-lasting fencing.

Is Creosote available to buy anywhere in the US? I thought the average person could not buy it anymore.
As far as I know I can not buy it here in NY. Last time I could was in some year that started with 19, not 20.

@ElementFarm

It requires no painting or staining, and is impervious to water/rot for ~30 years

I have some very fond childhood memories of repainting the fences at the lesson barn with a new coat of creosote. Everything got redone every few years. We went home smelling quite nasty and not overly easy to clean (because creosote is hard to get off your skin).

[IPEsq]

I don’t think you can buy creosote anymore. It is the best for longevity, though.

I agree with gumtree on the 16’ boards for nailed fencing. I totally forgot about that. For 4 board, you stagger the posts the ends are nailed onto. It does make a big difference in preventing the sagging, bowing, warping.

Been a long time since I helped my dad repair farm fencing. I think we were using creosote still back then if that’s any indication!

[dsedler]

We had our fencing done 10 years ago. The posts are half round treated pine. The rails are rough cut poplar. 99% of our fence still looks great and is holding up just fine. The other 1% is back in the woods and due to the constant weeds growing up and not a whole lot of sun to dry up the moisture that gets on it, those sections look much darker than the rest. However, everything is still sturdy and very secure. I do walk around twice a year and look for any nails that might be working their way loose. My horses pretty much leave it alone, other than the section around their sacrifice area, so I do have electric running on the inside.

I don’t know if poplar is available around you or not. I would suggest calling a fencing company and asking them where you could buy the material, if you don’t know of any lumber mills near you.

[costco_muffins]

We used 4" pressure treated round posts from the local farm store and had the local lumber yard get us a run of 16’ 1x6" rough cut. That was the only way we were able to get the rails we needed - they didn’t come in stock but took about a month while we waited for the one fellow who mills to get in fir and do a run for us.

[Simkie]

Gumtree, THANK YOU! As always, you’re just a veritable wealth of information. I really appreciate the detail.

I went walking through all of my fenced areas marking all the boards and posts that are most urgent–that’s about 55 boards and perhaps a half dozen posts. I’m not sure how to deal with the lower field…it’s all wiggly 4x4 posts. I guess we’ll pull off some boards and see how deeply the posts are set and go from there. Sounds like oak boards and locust posts are the way to go, if I can find locust? Just standard PT posts if not?

I’m not sure how to approach the white paint. I’m NOT a fan! :lol: But leaving the crappy paint job and putting up a bunch of natural boards might be a bit too trailer park even for me. Thoughts on using that fence coat stuff to make it all black? Has anyone used it?