The new house is underway. Foundation done, they should start framing next week. The builder thinks he can have it done by Christmas. I think that is optimistic but who am I to judge.

The house is a craftsman ranch on a 2.23 acre wooded lot.

I will have about 800 feet of fence to install. I have built fences in the past so I have some experience. I plan to rent a bobcat with an auger bit to drill the post holes in the concrete North Carolina clay.

I need to keep our Lab in and we are planning on having a pool installed in 2018. Pool regulations require the fence to be at least 4 feet tall with the vertical members no more than 4 inches apart.

Option 1 - Split Rail with wire mesh to keep the dog in. Once the pool begins put up a black aluminum fence around the pool. This is what my wife wants. The split rail fence is in 10 foot sections. Split rail is $5.61 per foot. 80 holes to dig. probably 80 feet of black aluminum fence needed once the pool is done.

Option 2 - Wood Picket Fence. 8 foot sections built with 2x4x8s between each post and pickets screwed into the horizontals. I will hang each picket no preassembled panel. Cost about $4.16 per foot. 100 holes to dig.

Option 3 - Black aluminum fence. 6 foot panels. 133 holes to dig. 12.40 per foot.

I think the black aluminum is the best looking. Other than the additional holes, it will go up the fastest. but it is 3x the cost.

The house I am moving from has 400+ feet of pressure treated wood picket fencing that I built 7 years ago. I have had to replace a few pickets each year and two of the 2x4s and one rotted out fence post. We left it natural and it has that nice weathered gray look.

What is the experience installing and maintaining these fences. Is the Black aluminum worth triple the money?

I am not fond of option 1. But I am open to comments as to why this might be best. SWMBO really likes the idea...

If you have the funds, I'd go aluminum. Less maintenance, none of us will be getting any younger, and since it's brandy-new housing, I assume you plan to be there a long while.

Buy once cry once.

If you plan on staying for 10+ years, you might as well do aluminum. My Split rail fence is rotting all over (it was there when I bought the house). I've had to support most of the posts with metal ones to keep it upright until I can afford to redo the entire thing.

What about vinyl fencing?

Make sure you have a tamper/pry bar for any rocks you encounter. Stakes and string line to have all your posts line up.

If you go with the split rail fence, have a chainsaw to make any cuts you need to make. Around here, the "chicken wire" needs to be on the outside for a pool and inside for a pet. It prevents people from climbing in and pets climbing out. We found galvanized staples at Home Depot to fasten the chicken wire to the posts and rails. Also, landscaping fabric staples to use along the bottom in the ground to prevent pets from pushing the bottom out in between the rails.

Wire mesh over split rail is gonna look kind of chicky chack

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arfmel,

If you can afford go aluminum. It will never be cheaper than it is today. My wife and I installed a wood fence years ago and it looked great but it required maintenance we were replacing boards after the first few years. Finally about 4 years, we took it down and put up a metal fence. It looks great. I only wish we had done metal first.

If you are installing a pool - make sure you leave gate clearance (double wide) so trucks/small bobcat can get back in there for the sitework. Pulling up fence posts is not fun.

PVC/vinyl or aluminum. If you're going to be there a while, go with the aluminum you want

How would you do the self-closing gates if wood?

or aluminum.

If you would end up going with vinyl, make sure you get the vinyl that is reinforced with aluminum. That keeps it from going wonky over time.

As far as your original options, I also vote aluminum. It may be several times the cost, but it will also last several times as long with zero maintenance.

quote:

Originally posted by ChuckFinley:


or aluminum.

That's beautiful. I love stone walls.

Yeah well, if the op is complaining about the price of aluminum, he'd have a heart attack when he finds out what that stone wall costs!!!! It is beautiful though

quote:

What is the experience installing and maintaining these fences.

If you mean the econo-cut 6'x 4" cedar slats on 2x4 supports, ours went an honest 20 years with absolutely zero maintenance, no finish.

Now they are serving as dandy kindling in our wood stove.

Replaced supports with more treated 2x4s, reset a couple of the fence posts for better stability, and screwed on nearly 300' of the econo cedar again.

This one will outlast our concerns.

Anyone use steel posts instead of wood for a typical wood fence (1x6 con heart redwood vertical boards abutting each other, 2x4 stringers, posts 8 ft apart)?

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
Anyone use steel posts instead of wood for a typical wood fence (1x6 con heart redwood vertical boards abutting each other, 2x4 stringers, posts 8 ft apart)?

If you use PT 4x4"s the fence posts should last as long or longer than the fence itself. Here the better fence builders sink a 4x4 every 4', not 8'. The fence lasts a lot longer.....

Also the new trend down here is they're doing a shadow box design but using 2"x6"s mounted horizontal instead of verticle it looks really good actually. Horizontal plank fence.

Sort of like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/6a/7...3900034d6897902e.jpg

quote:

Originally posted by JimmyRayBob:
How would you do the self-closing gates if wood?

I took chain link fence posts and sank them in the ground behind the wood posts where the gate openings are. I then lagged them to the posts and hung my gates on them. I also used chain link gates as I didn't want them to sag. Damn near every wooden gate you see sags and doesn't close right or looks like shit and I didn't want that.

If I remember this afternoon, I'll post a picture of the fence and gates I installed.

find a marine wood supplier for the posts and order 2.5CCA (for salt water full immersion). its what old pressure treated was. probably be able o get away with 0.8 (fresh water and sometimes submerged)

will keep the posts from prematurely rotting and not terribly more expensive than the mass marketed stuff

When we first built out here in 2002, we had about 1 acre (of a six acre lot) fenced with 6 ft chain link. 6 ft because we have sighthounds. Chain link is not legal for pool containment in Yavapai County, but we don't have a pool anyway. It's not legal because it can be climbed. After living out here amongst lots of horse people, we discovered another type of fencing that is used primarily for horses, and it is called (at least here) "No climb". The fence costs the same per foot as chain link, and is much stronger (welded top rail), and we think more attractive. The wife just decided she wanted the dogs to have access to more of our yard, so she just had 2300 ft of no climb installed, to enclose about 4 acres. It ties into the existing chain link enclosure, and gives us lots of options for dog containment or relaxed containment. The fence wire is available at places like Tractor Supply, but the fencing contractors use a much stronger gauge of wire that they get from fence supply places.