brin
Super Member
Most folks use pressure treated wood Bird, You used standard wood as I recall your post...big difference but each to his own. I know what has worked for me over the years !
New privacy fenced installed today. Easiest way to stain??
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Most folks use pressure treated wood Bird, You used standard wood as I recall your post...big difference but each to his own. I know what has worked for me over the years !
Bird
Rest in Peace
I suppose you're right, Bob, about using pressure treated wood, but most of the fences I've seen built in this part of the country were not pressure treated. Western red cedar used to be very common, but I think it's gotten a bit too expensive for most. But regardless of which wood is used, I think they all turn gray and look terrible in a short time unless some kind of stain/sealer/paint is used.
Great suggestions everyone, thanks. It's interesting how widely opinions differ on this Subject. I suppose it may be partly because paints/stains/sealers are constantly evolving for various reasons. One brand and make of stain may not be the same as the can bought a couple months prior even though the label is the same. Also, I assume the true test, would be the test of time. Given these two factors, it really complicates things IMO. I am left more confused then when I started lol. Maybe I should be looking at a sealer and not a stain perhaps, I don't know. One thing is for sure, I'm going to roll the dice with some kind of product. Definately not a fan of the greying, natural look. :drink:
Bird
Rest in Peace
Our daughter and son-in-law bought a house with a fence built by an idiot in my opinion; low bid for the home builder I guess. But the wood was untreated and landscape timbers used for fence posts, set in the dirt; no concrete. It was less than a year old when just a moderate wind blew it down, broke the rotted posts off at ground level. They had a complete new fence put up with galvanized steel posts set in concrete, and instead of applying a sealer after the fence was built, the wood was supposedly dipped in a sealer, then dried. It looked great to start with, but after a year, it already needs another coat and the kids don't know what kind of sealer was used.
Our former next door neighbors also bought a bigger house about 5 miles west of us and the builder over there built the fences with landscape timbers for fence posts. The little thunderstorm we had about this time yesterday knocked down their fence along with 5 of their neighbors' fences.
Quick, but destructive | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News
Our former next door neighbors also bought a bigger house about 5 miles west of us and the builder over there built the fences with landscape timbers for fence posts. The little thunderstorm we had about this time yesterday knocked down their fence along with 5 of their neighbors' fences.
Quick, but destructive | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News
radioman
Super Member
you want it to last? first thing you gotta do is introduce some air space- the sandy soil you seem to have is a little bit too close to the wood. Airflow will allow wood to dry quicker after a rain allowing wood to last longer.
No matter what application you use, stain, paint oil based- you are still looking at reapplication every so many years to keep it fresh and last longer. One application for a lifetime will not cut it.
If you really want to make it last long with paint or stain, you would do it with a roller and paint brush. The brush is to get the paint/stain in the cracks and roller to get uniform,even coat. using a sprayer will get the job done, but IMHO, you will not be able to get the cracks as well the brush can and you will be using more paint/stain then you should.
No matter what application you use, stain, paint oil based- you are still looking at reapplication every so many years to keep it fresh and last longer. One application for a lifetime will not cut it.
If you really want to make it last long with paint or stain, you would do it with a roller and paint brush. The brush is to get the paint/stain in the cracks and roller to get uniform,even coat. using a sprayer will get the job done, but IMHO, you will not be able to get the cracks as well the brush can and you will be using more paint/stain then you should.
smfcpacfp
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I think the best way to stain is to apply with a rag, but the easiest way is to hire it done. 
/pine
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A lot of non pressure treated fence panels are made from Cypress...Cypress will develop a natural gray patina that over time becomes a very desirable finish...
even a Cedar or Redwood fence will mold etc...
even a Cedar or Redwood fence will mold etc...
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beenthere
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The gray to black color is from mold, and a spray of bleach solution will clean it right up.
Natural weathering of the untreated wood from the sun rays will break down parts of the wood, leaving just the cellulose on the surface which traps rain and helps the mold.
A semi-transparent penetrating stain will help protect the wood from the sun breaking it down.
Natural weathering of the untreated wood from the sun rays will break down parts of the wood, leaving just the cellulose on the surface which traps rain and helps the mold.
A semi-transparent penetrating stain will help protect the wood from the sun breaking it down.
/pine
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Cypress has natural preservative oil, cypressene, that means no further chemical treatment is needed unless the cypress lumber is in direct contact with the ground. The oils in cypress heartwood make it one of the most durable woods when exposed to moisture conditions causing decay, it's also extremely resistant to insects.
Unlike Cedar and Redwood (which also have high natural oil contents)...The oil in Cypress also makes it highly resistant to fungus/algae...lime common mildew and mold...
Unlike Cedar and Redwood (which also have high natural oil contents)...The oil in Cypress also makes it highly resistant to fungus/algae...lime common mildew and mold...
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wroughtn_harv
Super Member
Eight years and more than a couple of face to faces and I've finally found something to disagree with Bird about.
I like the grey.
My fence has never been treated and it's seventeen plus years old. It's western red cedar. It's a little like me, crusty with character and still able to do what it's supposed to do and look good doing it.
I build fences on occasion. This is what I know. First the treated wood is for marketing. Second is wood rots first from the end grain. So you protect the end grain and you delay the rot. I always run a two by on top of the fence. It provides strength for the fence because it gives it lateral strength. It also protects the end grain. I try to keep the bottom of the pickets off the dirt and use a skirt rail I guess you would call it.
If you want a fence that will last forever consider a teak one. I built one at a golf course in Ft Worth made of massanadaruba, it's like epay. It's an ironwood, won't float, really, sinks like a brick. The next best material is cypress. Then comes the cedars. I just built one a year or so ago where I used eastern red cedar. It was gorgeous until the client stained it. Now it looks like western red cedar and everyone else's stained fence.
Bird's right about the builder's fences. They're terrible. A subdivision near my house was put in with landscape timbers and prefabbed white wood panels. The pickets were three eighths of an inch thick. Five years later the posts are rotting and breaking. The pickets are bowing and breaking too.
If you're going to use treated lumber there's a couple of things you need to consider. First is you need to accept that it's really about marketing, sorry. Even more importantly you need to go against human nature when choosing your material. We naturally equate weight to value for the most part. That is the worst thing to do when choosing treated lumber.
The reason is water is what's giving you the weight. You want the lightest boards available because you want as little of the water as you can get. The reason is for the most part they treat the worst grades. When the wood dries then it goes wherever the grain and cut direct it. Wet the boards look great and straight. When they dry then they bow and cup and split etc and so on.
Most of the cities in north Texas won't allow wood posts period for wood fences. That's because wood rots and breaks so easily when it's the wrong kind of wood to be used for fence posts. You have to use galvanized pipe, well, at least it looks like galvanized pipe for posts. You can't buy real pipe posts at any of the box stores anymore. The cost is so high and yet it's cheap when you look at what you get and what it costs to replace a piece of muffler tubing sold as a fence post.
The only one who is going to tell you to immediately seal your fence is the person selling sealer.
The first couple of pictures are of a western red cedar fence with a hidden locker installed.
The next ones are of the massanadaruba fence.
The last ones are of an eastern red cedar and some gate details.
I like the grey.
My fence has never been treated and it's seventeen plus years old. It's western red cedar. It's a little like me, crusty with character and still able to do what it's supposed to do and look good doing it.
I build fences on occasion. This is what I know. First the treated wood is for marketing. Second is wood rots first from the end grain. So you protect the end grain and you delay the rot. I always run a two by on top of the fence. It provides strength for the fence because it gives it lateral strength. It also protects the end grain. I try to keep the bottom of the pickets off the dirt and use a skirt rail I guess you would call it.
If you want a fence that will last forever consider a teak one. I built one at a golf course in Ft Worth made of massanadaruba, it's like epay. It's an ironwood, won't float, really, sinks like a brick. The next best material is cypress. Then comes the cedars. I just built one a year or so ago where I used eastern red cedar. It was gorgeous until the client stained it. Now it looks like western red cedar and everyone else's stained fence.
Bird's right about the builder's fences. They're terrible. A subdivision near my house was put in with landscape timbers and prefabbed white wood panels. The pickets were three eighths of an inch thick. Five years later the posts are rotting and breaking. The pickets are bowing and breaking too.
If you're going to use treated lumber there's a couple of things you need to consider. First is you need to accept that it's really about marketing, sorry. Even more importantly you need to go against human nature when choosing your material. We naturally equate weight to value for the most part. That is the worst thing to do when choosing treated lumber.
The reason is water is what's giving you the weight. You want the lightest boards available because you want as little of the water as you can get. The reason is for the most part they treat the worst grades. When the wood dries then it goes wherever the grain and cut direct it. Wet the boards look great and straight. When they dry then they bow and cup and split etc and so on.
Most of the cities in north Texas won't allow wood posts period for wood fences. That's because wood rots and breaks so easily when it's the wrong kind of wood to be used for fence posts. You have to use galvanized pipe, well, at least it looks like galvanized pipe for posts. You can't buy real pipe posts at any of the box stores anymore. The cost is so high and yet it's cheap when you look at what you get and what it costs to replace a piece of muffler tubing sold as a fence post.
The only one who is going to tell you to immediately seal your fence is the person selling sealer.
The first couple of pictures are of a western red cedar fence with a hidden locker installed.
The next ones are of the massanadaruba fence.
The last ones are of an eastern red cedar and some gate details.
