In the interest of making this a job that one guy could accomplish in on summer (with unpredictable weather and leaving plenty of time for family and friends), I took the “easier” route of leaving in the posts… So far I don’t regret it. True, I might later.. but right now they’re holding up nicely…

But I DO have a question that’s actually been bugging even more about installing my own fence… And, as fence pros, maybe you guys can help. Here’s my question:

Screws or nails?

I put up my fence with 4 inch deck screws (ones made for pressure treated wood)… Do the professional fence installers use screws or nails to attach the fence sections to the posts?

I’m curious to know your answer and your reasoning… Thanks!

Do yourself a favor and treat the ENTIRE fence once a year with a water sealer and your posts and fence should last another 8-10 years (may have to replace a post or two).

Still a good looking job for a homeowner!

Keith

I’m a big fan of not over-spending or “over-improving” things just for the sake of it.

Here’s the way I figure it: the previous fence probably lasted a good 8 to 10 years. The fence posts are still, over a year since I did this project, pretty rock solid. I’ve seen no sign of rot, mold or even weakening of the posts so far.

As far as I can tell the fence was one of the cheaper types (stockade style is almost always the least expensive) and I have doubts as to whether it was water-proofed at all.

So if the fence lasted 8 years or more with practically no protection or pressure treating at all, then I have to think the fence posts (which are obviously pressure treated for ground contact and weather protection) will probably last a good deal longer.

The original fence was installed by a fencing professional, which means the guy probably used solid posts, good cement and did everything “right.” The one thing fence guys don’t often have control over: the quality of the wood fence panels that the customer picks.

Putting in new posts would have probably cost me another couple hundred bucks (not a big deal) and easily have doubled (or tripled!) the time it took me to finish this project. So being faced with the idea of not replacing the fence at all (too much time) or replacing it within my time and budget constraints I chose to do it this way.

Of course a professional fence guy is going to criticize this technique: it encourages people to pay their fence installer less money :-)

Thanks! It was A LOT of work and ended up taking me most of the summer to put the whole thing up. Next time I’ll either space it out so I just replace one section per summer or, if the posts aren’t still holding up, then I’ll hire professionals to take them out and put in new posts. That’s the ONLY reason I decided to do this on my own. Putting posts in is tricky, but not impossible. Taking out 30+ fence posts that have been cemented in place just isn’t my idea of fun… Thanks for the kind words!

Great work and an informative article on the process!
Keith

Thanks! Your porch looks great, too! I wanted to go vinyl, I really did… but that would have ended up costing me about four times as much as the wood when all was said and done. Next time I might go for it, but for the moment I figure I can probably get a good 8 – 10 years out of this wooden fence.

But this time, I’m replacing it with vinyl privacy fence. Wood needs too much babying in my part of the country to hold up and keep lookin’ good. Luckily, I’m only covering about a third the ground you did. Not doing whole yard, just separating from back easement.