Fence Posts Question

[stormy]

What, if anything, can you do to fix the wooden posts that have twisted and turned their way away from the fence. Would hate to have to cut them off and redo the whole thing.

I also see a lot of people now using the metal chain link fence posts instead of the wood posts. Should I redo the fence with these?

[CenTexDave]

I assume you're talking about the pickets, not the 4x4's.
If they have twisted like that it is most likely due to being warped. Nothing much you can do, in my experience with the same problem, except pull them off and nail up new ones.
I had this experience a couple of years ago. I had to replace my entire privacy fence because after 15 years it was all rotted. Tore the entire thing down, replaced the 4x4's with cast iron oil pipe and went to Lowe's and bought 180 "pressure treated" dog eat pickets. After two years a lot of the pickets were warped. The previous fence, constructed when the pool was put in, was cheap white pine but never did warp.
I replaced the warped pickets with cedar wood pickets and have had no problem. Costs quite a bit more, but they last.

[christine]

Like Dave said there is not much you can do for that.
but if your replacing your fence & you still want the privacy without useing wood. they now have new fences that are plastic type matterial...they still look like wood & last a very long time. & Yes it is pretty sturdy.

[GUARDIAN]

Over the years we have noticed that if warped post are bought and installed that they will warp a lot faster than ones that are straight.

But if you have warped wooden posts you can cut the post 12 inches up and attach a new wooden post ontop of the old one and secure it on 3 sides (the picket side, the left and right side) with 24 inch tall 2x4 and use bolts to attach them.

A lot of people prefer wooden post over the metal 2 3/8 post due to the fact that that if you would like a wooden privacy fence than they dont want to look at a metal post ever 7.5' to 8'. And yes they last longer but by the time you need to replace the post, the runners (2x4) and pickets will also need to be replaced. Installation Cost for metal 2 3/8 post plus the brackets will be more than 3 times the cost of wooden 4x4x8.

[CenTexDave]

That's what kind of upset me - no, really upset me. I bought these pickets from Lowe's and they were delivered bundled and wrapped on a pallet. They all were nice and straight when delivered and when I put them up.

[GUARDIAN]

We recomend that if you replace your pickets spend the extra $0.60 and buy the cedar pickets. The new treated Pickets warp within a week thanks to the new ACQ Treatment. Plus the Cedar Pickets will last longer.

[CenTexDave]

Thanks. This was a few years ago, so I don't know if they had that ACQ treatment or not. But cedar is the way to go.

[poundpup]

We recomend that if you replace your pickets spend the extra $0.60 and buy the cedar pickets. The new treated Pickets warp within a week thanks to the new ACQ Treatment. Plus the Cedar Pickets will last longer.

Thanks, We just finished redoing our fence last month. We bought the pine, because we had good results with previous pine boards (years ago) that lasted a long time and did not warp.

The boards we bought this time are already so warped, it isn't even funny. Since we painted our fence in a ranch brown, the warped boards stick out like sore thumbs. The craftsmanship is excellent, but the material sucks! We even hand selected each board for the lack of knot holes and overall straightness!! Worst experience yet.

So question... Our old boards used to straighten themselves when it cooled down - will these "warp back" ??

[GUARDIAN]

Un fortunally they will not go back to the way they where. I would recomend to replace the boards that are to bad with cedar pickets. And stain the boards prior to installation.

As a company we try to stay away from using the treated pickets. Due to the fact that warped picked stand out more than good quality.

[CenTexDave]

Quick question for you, Guardian. What about redwood as a pickett? Or would it be too expensive?

[stormy]

Great advice! Thanks so much!! Well, I believe the posts were straight, but not sure how straight as some of the posts have done this, and some haven't! :) We'll give your advice a go!

Thanks Again!


Over the years we have noticed that if warped post are bought and installed that they will warp a lot faster than ones that are straight.

But if you have warped wooden posts you can cut the post 12 inches up and attach a new wooden post ontop of the old one and secure it on 3 sides (the picket side, the left and right side) with 24 inch tall 2x4 and use bolts to attach them.

A lot of people prefer wooden post over the metal 2 3/8 post due to the fact that that if you would like a wooden privacy fence than they dont want to look at a metal post ever 7.5' to 8'. And yes they last longer but by the time you need to replace the post, the runners (2x4) and pickets will also need to be replaced. Installation Cost for metal 2 3/8 post plus the brackets will be more than 3 times the cost of wooden 4x4x8.

[CenTexDave]

It might cost 3 times as much (don't really remember, know it was more expensive than pressure treated 4x4x8's) but I had them put in the ground in 1993, and they're still in there solid as a rock.

[Night Owl]

It might cost 3 times as much (don't really remember, know it was more expensive than pressure treated 4x4x8's) but I had them put in the ground in 1993, and they're still in there solid as a rock.

Shouldn't that be solid as a fence post!!!!:)

[CenTexDave]

It is a solid fence post. All this fencing stuff made me go out and look at this fence and, yep, got more warped pickets. Think I'll replace it with a brick wall topped with concertina wire.

[GUARDIAN]

Well it is posible to get Wester Redwood Cedar pickets, and yes they intend to be about 1 to 2 dollars more. But it will last just as long as regular cedar just looks better.

[GUARDIAN]

Yes you can also use the Wester Redwood Cedar pickets but they are in general 1 to 2 dollars more than the regular cedar pickets. They have more of a red tone but last just as long as the regular cedar pickets.

[THEMEANOGRE]

As to privacy fence over chain link. Check with your city inspector. Cove has an ordinance about "public nuisance" items in the yard. Swimming pools, trampolines, etc should be hidden from casual view by privacy fencing to lessen the attraction factor to children.

[GUARDIAN]

Well they do sell western Redwood Cedar pickets, they are in general 1 to 2 dollars more expensive than the regular cedar pickets. The main differance is only the redder tone but the life time is about the same.