Fences

After being asked to replace many pressure treated fence post ,  I new there had to be a better way.  I started looking in the Simpsons catalog for brackets to connect wood to galvanized fence post and quickly got sticker shock.  The design parameters did not include conventional brackets and using cedar 6' ( 5 1/2" x 5/8" x 72") fence boards for as much of the construction as possible to keep the cost down and have the fence look good from both sides.  Here is what I came up with.

 This drawing is the less expensive version on materials, but labor is a bit more.  This would be great for the Handy Homeowner to build themselves.   7" through bolts attach the fence to the post and stainless steel siding nails ( really need a compressor and siding nail gun) holds it all together.

 This is the before picture.

 The after picture.

 This is a dressed up version where the post are covered.

 For decorative reasons we added a false post cover in between the post.

The last design is the most expensive on materials, but easy on labor.  It can be built as the typical good neighbor fence by spacing fence boards 4" apart, this allows wind to flow through but not the most private. 

The above was based on 5' of height, 6' versions require three horizontal 2 x 4's (cedar, [Gods pressure treated])

and there is a typo in picture, the post are 2 3/8" in diameter and require a 2 1/2" hole be drilled in 2 x 4's. 

You can dress up the good neighbor fence by ripping a fence board in half and filling the void between slats.

When money is not an object and privacy is the goal, then build the version below.

 The vertical framing is there for creating a garden space on one side of the fence by alternating vertical and horizontal fence boards that were ripped in half.

 This is the future garden spot.

 Cap it with a 2 x 8 cedar that was run through the table saw to angle the top.  a 5/4 x 6 was ripped in half to finish off the sides of the 2 x 8.

Then the gardener came.

The above fence was coated with a product called cedar seal https://www.washsafe.com/products/cedar-seal , it goes on clear and will protect the cedar for ten years.  It allows the fence to gray uniformly without the black streaking that occurs without this product. You could stain over this finish if you like.

I hope this information helps you to make informed fence decisions.

This is a privacy panel in Semiahmoo