Large Scale Central

NT/OT Need Fence advice, Wood or Vinyl, the Good the Bad and the

General Discussion
#1

Title says it all - I need Fence advice, Wood or Vinyl, the Good the Bad and the Ugly I have to replace an existing wood and deteriorated wood fence between myself and my next door neighbors backyards. I can replace it like for like with wood, the Home Despot has 8’W x 6’H redwood fence panels for $59 but also has 8’W x 6’H white vinyl panels for $49 and offers installation which for time sake I would probably do. But I wanted to get some opionions about what expoeriences others have had if they have recently replaced their fences. Some things to consider: 1. Dogs, both of us have them, some are more friendly than others but so far no attempts to dig under or chew thru. Its the Chew Thru issue I’m wondering about, especially with the vinyl fence 2. Wind, we can get some very very strong winds in winter after a storm, 60mph strong. 3. Ground, concrete on my side, dirt on the other, fence posts are currently on the other side which doesnt bother me or neighbor but might make post hole digging a little tough under the concrete. 4. Height, will be 6 feet tall, I know some ofs ya dont any fences at all but thats not the neighborhood I lives in. 5. Time of Installation, whats been faster? as both of us have pooches who cannot be kept in solitary confinment for days while the fence area is open, hence my consideration for pro installation. 6.For the vinyl, UV protection, had any fade or UV deterioration, I dont want to spend a fortune only to find I found out where Aristo got that fabulous plastic in their first generation track ties. :slight_smile: I am leaning heavy towards the vinyl but I know I could install the wood myself with a little help. So let me know and thanks for any advice. I need to deal with this before years end.

VS

If anyone has any alternates I’d like to hear about them, please no chain link, I like my neighbors, but I dont necessarily want to see them feeding their dog while in their skivys. :lol:

#2

Wood, hands down. The vinyl fence looks like plastic (since it is), and, IMHO, looks cheap.

#3

I like wood like Bob, but if you can afford it vinyl will last longer though! Regal

#4

Vinyl looks like crap after a year of two, unless you are fastidious about cleaning it. Plus I see a lot of it cracking here and there. Sooooo…wood is my vote.

#5

Also - small rocks and even acorns from your mower can put a nice hole in the vinyl stuff.

#6

I agree wood is the way to go

#7

I like the look of wood, but really dislike the upkeep. Went with powder coated aluminum myself (faux wrought iron)

#8

I’ve had two redwood fences at the same site for 43 years and am at a point again where the current one needs complete replacement sooner than Victor’s I think. My neighbor installed steel posts on his side some years ago to prop up rotten wood posts, and they worked fine. Now a strong wind will probably blow out many of the rotten panels. I won’t even consider vinyl, but have any of you thought about replacing fence panels with Trex??

#9

Art the Trex fences look like wood and are very durable as they are solid not hollow like vinyl from what I’ve read but the prices I saw were like $24 a linear foot. That’s a mighty expensive fence!

#10

Vic, my HOA got rid of every wooden fence in our development (2900 single family homes) and IMHO it sure made the neighbor look a lot more “neat”. The vinyl today is much better than that of the past ans as far as UV, they make that part of the formula when the extrude it. Out biggest concern was, what to clean it with if the idiots tagged any of it! Was a little bit more expensive. When my redwood fence across the rear of my yard is ready to go, I am replacing with vinyl. You should research any warranties for the different manufactures. Just my opinion.

#11

Wood is definitely best. Here is a shot of my fence when I had it installed two years ago.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/16%20Briarvue%20Lane/100_1443.jpg)

The pre-built fence sections you can buy are cheap and NOT well treated. They will deteriorate within a year of two. My fence was built on site with higher quality treated wood. The costs are basically the same. - Buy a cheaper fence and replace it more often. - Have a high quality fence built on site by professionals and enjoy it for many years.

#12

Trex hands down, love the stuff and their products are easy to install.

BTW, you can get REAL Trex products from a private/contractor lumber yard Vs. the lower quality Trex products made for the Big Box Stores for equal or less money!

#13

either wood or corrugated roofsheets.

i have doubled as insurance inspector for 13 years, and learned that all those plastic boards get brittle very quick in sunny weather.
even without direct sunlight (ceilings of porches)

if your neighbour agrees, put angles as posts, connected by band-iron. then fasten the corrugated roofing with poprivets.

#14

I like wooden fences, but don’t like rotten wooden fence posts. To me the ideal situation is a wooden fence on metal posts set deep in concrete.

#15

How deep?

#16

After reading all this I’m considering redwood panels w/ steel posts. Vinyl being prone to holing has me concerned as I use alot of power garden tools so it would only be a matter of time before something happened. Also wood pieces are replaceable, vinyl would require entire panel replacement …if you can find the same panel 5 years from now.

#17

We have wood fencing on steel posts, no complaints. The original fences were wood on wood posts, not good! The wooden posts rot or get eaten, but the steel posts last and last.

Don’t have any experience with vinyl. I’ve seen a lot of people putting up vinyl fences recently, and they look pretty nice now but I want to see how they look after a decade or so.

#18
David Russell said:
How deep?
Knowing you are making a joke, but answering honestly - probably about 30 inches to 3 feet. Out here on the prairie a lot of solid or semi-solid fences get pushed out of alignment quickly by strong winds. Soft saturated ground also contributes a lot to the fence become crooked and loosing its new look.

We have a 6 foot cedar fence incorporated on to a cyclone fence and it has stood pretty true for 33 years, now. Get hits constantly with strong southern winds.