fence material question

[mopar]

hi, looking at installing a fence for property line and looking for peoples experience with different materials. the fence style for now is split rail. we are currently looking at cedar would like to hear pro's and con's for this and other materials.also another question is how far in the ground would these post go?

[MDSteve]

All of my fencing is post and board with cedar posts $4 and oak boards 16' 4$. I usually put them in about 36" my top rail is 54" high. I only have about 5 acres of pasture fenced so far. I was thinking about using the PT landscaping ties for posts on my next section because they look better but I am not sure how they will hold up over time.

Steve

[mopar]

thanks, how long have the cedar post been in the ground? is the fence still holding up well?

[fivestring]

Locust makes good posts that last a lot longer than cedar.
At my great-grandfather's place, they have a fence that was built in the late 1800's of locust. Those posts are as solid today as they were 100 years ago.

[MDSteve]

I have only had my posts in the ground for 8 years. I am hoping not to have any repairs for another 12 years and then possibly start repairing any bad posts. All of the Amish and most of the horse farms here use cedar posts.

Steve

[Bird]

I don't know anything about locust, but that sounds good. I've always heard that nothing lasts like Bois D'Arc (also known as Osage Orange, hedge apple, horse apple, and goodness knows what else).

[mopar]

thats good news, so i should be able to expect 20 years with the cedar post in the ground? i could live with that but not 5 years and have to be replacing fence.would 15-20 years out of a cedar fence be unrealistic?

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
would 15-20 years out of a cedar fence be unrealistic?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure no fencing expert, but what experience I've had with cedar posts that I cut myself on the farm, and a professionally built western red cedar fence I had built in town leaks me to think about 10 years would be more realistic.

[herbenus]

I think a lot depends on "where". In my area, humidity is high, and temperatures are never real cold. Termites eat any wood near ground. I would say ten years is good estimate for cedar and maybe a little longer. But under the right climate, that cedar might last 40 years.

By the way, I have some landscape timbers used in a fence before I moved in. I'd guess they've been in about 11 years and still standing. But I don't have any livestock either. If I did I would probably replace them.