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Wood rail fence

Trail_Time
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Oct 20, 2005, 5:44 PM

Post #1 of 10 (1096 views)
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Wood rail fence	Can't Post

I am putting up a bunch of wood rail fencing. I have a choice of oak or pressure treated pine. The Oak is a little cheaper. What are the advantages of each. Which should last longer? Opinions?

CJuneau
Bronze Member

Oct 20, 2005, 8:43 PM

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Re: [Trail_Time] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

I am a fan of oak. Let it weather a season and then coat it well with an exterior latex and I think it will do better than PT pine. Is the PT the CCA or the new variety?
Christina

Trail_Time
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Oct 20, 2005, 10:17 PM

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Re: [CJuneau] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

The PT is ACQ not the CCA.

(This post was edited by Trail_Time on Oct 20, 2005, 10:19 PM)

FFC_Fencing
New Member

Oct 21, 2005, 6:55 AM

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Re: [Trail_Time] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

There are a few distinct differences between oak and pine for fence material. The most obvious is the density of the wood. Oak is a much harder and more dense wood. This can provide a bit of an advantage if there is a chewing problem. Southern Yellow Pine, while being a bit softer, will accept treatment better and there fore last much longer than oak. We prefer Treated southern Yellow pine, as it will warp less and last far longer.

As far as the difference between CCA and ACQ treatments...Wow, don't get me started. The scientific facts are that CCA is far superior in all aspects of preservation of wood. It also is completely safe for any use for which it has ever been used. ACQ is very highly corrosive to metal fasteners and has no long term testing on its effectiveness as a preservative. Before anyone starts to post about the "Arsenic" in CCA let me just say there is NO proven scientific evidence that there is any danger from this preservative. This is another example of public perception taking precedence over science.

Trail_Time
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Oct 22, 2005, 10:19 PM

Post #5 of 10 (1039 views)
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Re: [FFC_Fencing] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks. Just as I thought. No chewers, so I'll likely go with the PT for longevity. BTW - The posts are CCA and the rails ACQ.

jc7622
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Oct 26, 2005, 1:03 PM

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Re: [Trail_Time] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

I am also about to install a wood rail fence and have been thinking about PT pine or oak.

Chuck, am I understanding you correctly that you think PT pine is a better choice than oak? That surprises me, but you are the expert and not me. Would it depend on whether the planks are CCA or AQC or is it the better choice regardless? There is wood rail fence (oak) down the road from me that is about 100 years old and it still looks good.

Does anyone know a good source for posts and planks. I met a man recently that told me he ordered a truckload of materials from someplace in Kentucky at quite a bit less than the local suppliers, but I have lost his contact info.

Also, Chuck, do you think it is better to pound the posts in or auger and then set them in concrete?

John Coleman
Edmond, OK

CJuneau
Bronze Member

Oct 27, 2005, 11:25 PM

Post #7 of 10 (975 views)
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Re: [jc7622] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

jc7622,
Although you didn't ask my opinion, I will give it anyhow regarding pounded posts vs. augered/cemented! I have both on my farm, aged 20 years. I also have had new pastures put in at my farm, utilizing both techniques. In areas that experience freeze/thaw cycles, I certainly think that pounded posts fair better than augered with cement. Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and experience. The bare post presents less of a wedge effect to frost heave than a cemented post. The rim of cement will also slowly expose over time and it becomes an eyesore and harder to cut/trim around. IMO, of course!
Christina

jc7622
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Oct 28, 2005, 11:47 AM

Post #8 of 10 (962 views)
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Re: [CJuneau] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

CJuneau,

I welcome all opinions. I don't have much of a heaving problem where I live, but I am thinking that a pounder would be a good investment. I have about 400 posts to set for a fence that would have to be set in concrete. I also have about 500 to set in a vineyard that will have to backfilled and tamped by hand. We set about that many last year and it was a lot of work, and they are not real firm. I think I should buy a pounder.

Trail_Time
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Oct 31, 2005, 7:40 AM

Post #9 of 10 (944 views)
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Re: [jc7622] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

I have 700-800 posts to do. I have done the auger thing in the past with good results, its just very time consuming. So with as many as I have to do, I am going to buy a post driver. From everyone I talk with they work great... as long as the soil is moist and you do not have a lot of rock. So I guess I'll get to find out soon enough.

FFC_Fencing
New Member

Nov 2, 2005, 6:19 AM

Post #10 of 10 (926 views)
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Re: [Trail_Time] Wood rail fence [In reply to]	Can't Post

Trail_Time: We use a post driver exclusively. There is a great time savings over augering, but the real advantage is in how solid the posts are immediately after being installed. They are very secure and there is none of the wobbling that can be seen in posts that have been dug in and not tamped correctly. The one disadvantage to driving posts is that it is much more difficult to get the posts installed in an exactly straight line. As the posts go in they can sometimes start to trail of to one side or the other. With enough practice on the driver a good operator can overcome this and set a real good line of posts. (about 700 should do :-)

Drivers are pretty dangerous and should be used with real care. We tell our guys that the only thing good about them is that if they take your arm off, it will be so quick that you won't feel it. Choose the driver by the "pounds of impact" it produces not by the weight of the hammer. The good units use a fairly heavy weight but throw that weight down using big springs. The springs bring the weight down with great speed and the good drivers can produce over 100,000 pounds of impact, that's enough to drive a RR tie into hard clay.

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