Cedar posts VS treated
Is it worth the extra money for cedar posts and stringers? It will be about 1K more if use all cedar material Vs. cedar pickets and treated posts and stringers. IMO no. Ceder is naturally rot resistant, but I have seen many ceder decks rot out in less than 5 years. Treated will last for 20+. My cedar posts in NJ lasted about 5 years, now that you mention it TI. I have removed some old pressure treated that was doing fine, old, but not sure how old. Bud Kevin, I don't think cedar is worth the additional money, especially for support members. For pickets, I think it is fine. I'd go PT for support and stringers. Larry that was my next question. I don't really want the green look of a PT fence and that is why I was going cedar. When I lived in fla I built a fence and bought all PT 4x4s except for several cedar 4x4s that a builder gave me. I lived there 10+ yrs after erecting the fence and while I had to replace every cedar post, all of the PT posts held up fine. Cedar does stain nicer than PT but if you let the PT weather for about 6 months, it will loose the green and stain nicely. So with the cedar posts failing I'm wondering if I should give pt pickets more thought. I don't think so. The cedar won't be in contact with the earth and should weather out better. PT on the other hand looks good short term, but is a tighter wood and can warp and bend with you down the road. I thought I read on here within the past six months or so that PT wood isn't as green as it used to be because they aren't using one of the chemicals used to treat it anymore? Our fence was built within the last 6 years completely out of PT. The fence is a lovely shade of grey now. There are a few different opinions to be shared when it comes to wood and their compositions... Pressure treated fences are usually thinner ... The pickets , typically thin in design. Sold in larger home improvement stores it is a usually considered the cheaper, more affordable option over a spruce or cedar line of materials. Pressure treated posts over Cedar posts.... I choose Pressure treated over Cedar because although a cedar post has its own natural resistance to insects, it does not resist rot. Rot is just something that happens to wood when in direct contact with soil. When moisture is added to the soil there really is not much way of stopping rot. Unless of course you have a pressure treated post. The pressure treating design somehow stops, or slows down the absorption of moisture into the post. I am not sure how the whole process works, but for the most part all I can say is that in my 25 something years of fencing I have seen a few poles rotted out.. Cedar and Pressure treated the same. A cedar post that was installed in a typical post and rail fence some 30 or 40 years ago can often be seen still standing, in somewhat ok looking condition today. Most people remove the fence, replace the fence because the top , above ground portion of the fence is just looking all completely worn down. In removing these Cedar posts from the ground the posts prove to be completely intact, from soil to surface. Cutting them in half to throw them on the truck for disposal sometimes it is amazing to see a post that is nearly 40 and more years old and still in good standing.. no rot, or minimal rot. That is the way things used to be. That is the way a tree was a bazillion years ago before forced feeding, fertilizers and whatever else came into play. Then a tree grew in the forest until cut down. Then a tree took a 100 yrs to grow, 20 minutes to be cut down and in the ground planted for a fence post another 30-50 yrs before someone decided it was not nice enough to look at anymore. Now a days things have changed.. The same Cedar tree with a 12 inch diameter grows in 10 yrs.. takes the same 20 minutes to cut down and it rots in the ground anywhere between 5 and 20 years.. Much to depend on the weather conditions upon its new placement. The old wood was dense, heavy... and for the most part, just plain strong. The new wood is light, sometimes a 4 x 4 x 9 ' post could be held with one hand at side. A pressure treated post in your typical 8 foot length would need 2 hands carrying it over the shoulder in order to walk with it.. The long answer is just my opinion based on some of my own findings over the years of my fencing... The short answer is this, Cedar is not what it used to be. Because of that I would surely choose a Pressure treated post over a cedar post any day of the week. But, on the flip note.. I would never choose pressure treated materials for an above ground application. Pressure treated pickets.. Are typically thinner.. cheaper and they resist rot... They are designed to resist rot. But the fence is not going to rot above ground. The fence may be eaten by bugs.. but it will not rot.. Not a rot other than maybe a dry rot.. But I believe that pressure treated fence is not a very attractive color to deal with. Also, pressure treated pickets seem to dry out faster. They become very brittle.. cracking more easily over time. There is much opinion to my post, but in my opinion I would say,when it comes to using pressure treated 4x4 posts over Cedar 4x4 posts, Yes..all the way for the Pressure treated. When it comes to the Cedar application above ground, I would choose Cedar materials for pickets and back rails (Your term....Stringers) over pressure treated any day. Adding in the other woods available in other locations around the country, In this neck of the wood we use alot of Spruce... But Cedar verses Spruce is a whole other conversation.. And where there is my opinion, there is always the cost factor to add in. In that, We all do what we need to do in order to survive.. I hope that I have helped somewhat... Gregs Fence NJ~ Thanks for the reply Greg! It does help. I think Greg hit the nail on hte head - cedar isn't what it used to be. A fence post made of eastern red cedar will last a very long time. I grew up on a farm with barbed wire fence supported by red cedar posts that are still there 50 years later. My house lot abuts an old pasture with cedar fence posts that the farmer told me were 70 years old. However, cedar sapwood does not have anywhere near the resistance of heartwood. The problem is availability. Another natural option is black locust. I have a couple hundred feet of split rail fence with black locust posts. The kind of fence sold in lumber yards. The fence is 30 years old and I have replaced most of the rails that were made of some kind of junk hardwood. However, the posts are as solid as the day I put them in the ground. I've found this thread helpful since I'm planning on replacing my privacy fence. Total, it's not a very big fence, about 200 total feet. My design is such that the 4x4s will be visible from the street. That is, the pickets will be placed between the posts rather than just being placed on top of the posts (I hope that makes sense). I like the visual interest this design affords. I do plan on staining the fence a slightly darker color (like a tobacco color). I think my plantings in my back yard will look nice against a darker background. My concern/question regards using different materials (cedar pickets + PT pine posts). With staining, will this look awful? Or will staining minimize the difference in materials? I guess I could buy a single picket and post to test stain it to see.... But I do value your opinion on this discussion with my particular caveats. Thanks. Welcome to the forums Darrell! A lot depends on the stain you use. Generally the PT won't absorb as much stain as the cedar. The thinner or more transparent the stain is, the bigger the difference will be. Sometimes a 2nd coat of stain on the PT is enough to make it look fine. Those that are extra picky might want to use a slightly different stain on the PT. If you were using a solid stain - there wouldn't be any noticeable color difference between the 2 woods.
Related Posts:
Cedar vs treated
Cedar vs TreatedWe don't know which way to go. Cedar is expensive compared to treated but aren't afraid to sink some extra dollars into the deck if in the long run we'll be better off. What are th...
Boat flooring marine grade ply vs pressure treated
Boat flooring - Marine Grade Ply vs. Pressure TreatedHello. Thanks in advance for any info. I'm replacing the front floor platform on my 1994 17' side console boat. I was going to use Marine Grade...
Cedar siding
Cedar SidingHey guys. I've got Cedar Shakes for siding. My issue is that it tends to start turning black after a year or so. It gets some sort of grime on it. I have to pressure wash it every summ...
3 week old cedar fence warping pickets
3 week old cedar fence warping picketsHello, about 3 weeks ago we got a 6 foot cedar privacy fence. Posts are pressure treated pine as well as rails. Rails are 2x4 bottom middle and top. Problem i...
Cedar shaker shingles over siding
Cedar Shaker Shingles Over SidingCan cedar shaker style shingles be installed over regular exterior wooden siding? Is there anything special I should know before talking to a contractor? What is t...
