Experience with PVC fence?

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Does anyone have any experience with PVC fences? We're thinking of replacing a current fence (full wood privacy with a lattice top) since half of it blew over over during the winter. I am leaning towards PVC due to the low maintenance aspect of it. We got an initial price per section for each of two grades - one is 6' sections, held together with brackets, and the other for a heavier gauge 8' section with nicer joinery for a cleaner look (no brackets - some sort of mortise and tenon at the post).

Any advice or experience you'd like to share? Things to watch out for or to be sure are addressed? Any experience with pricing? I am definitely have it it installed, since it's a bigger project than I woud feel comfortable attempting these days.

[Joe Pelonio]

No experience, but a development built nearby about 5-6 years ago has it all the way around, on the main roads, so I pass it every day.
Looks kind of tacky to me, think vinyl siding but glossy. It's white, maybe they have other colors or some texture that would be an improvement?

[Larry Frank]

I had a 6 ft high 140 ft PVC fence put in a year ago and I think it looks nice and is no maintenance. We recently had a bad storm with 80 mph or better straight line winds and the fence came through with no damage. I had 40 ft pine trees on one side of the fence with two knocked over, two leaning and two more having the top 20 taken off. The installer put the PVC posts in 8 inch holes and poured dry concrete mix in and later watered the holes.

I would check a couple of things including where your property line is and if you need a building permit. I had to have a survey done because the neighbor built a shed across the property line and was not happy with the survey results or with the fence.

[Matt Meiser]

I put a couple sections of 2-rail fence in at our old house, still there and looking good about 9-10 years later at 45MPH from 100' away. We had some installed around our heat pump last year to screen it from view by a local fence company. One of the references they gave us was our neighbor across the street who had something like you describe installed a few years ago. I went over and looked and talked to him about it. We get a LOT of wind and its holding up very nicely.

There's a huge difference between what we had professionally installed and what we could buy at a big box store. I think the stuff I bought 10 years ago was comparable to the pro stuff.

Ours and our neighbors' isn't as glossy as some I've seen.

[Greg Portland]

Does anyone have any experience with PVC fences? We're thinking of replacing a current fence (full wood privacy with a lattice top) since half of it blew over over during the winter. I am leaning towards PVC due to the low maintenance aspect of it. We got an initial price per section for each of two grades - one is 6' sections, held together with brackets, and the other for a heavier gauge 8' section with nicer joinery for a cleaner look (no brackets - some sort of mortise and tenon at the post).

Any advice or experience you'd like to share? Things to watch out for or to be sure are addressed? Any experience with pricing? I am definitely have it it installed, since it's a bigger project than I woud feel comfortable attempting these days.You definitely want the PVC mounted on solid posts (i.e. PVC sleeve around pressure treated wood 6x6 or 4x4 depending on size, etc.). You can get away with going every-other post on straight runs & the posts don't need to be full height. The corners and posts around gates need to be solid though. My house has a PVC fence and it's nice from a maintenance standpoint; just pressure wash it clean 1-2 times a year. Make sure that the post caps are glued on (not just set or snapped in place).

Looks-wise there has been a lot of improvement; just keep in mind that the glossy is going to be the easiest to clean. White PVC -will- stain if exposed to certain berries or dirt for extended periods of time. However, the staining is -less- than you'd have from a wood fence.

In terms of durability, it holds up fine against my pressure washer & direct sunlight. It doesn't hold up that well against my wife's car though :-).

[Brian Tymchak]

The house we bought in 2004 has a PVC/vinyl privacy fence (beige in color) around the patio. Was done by the original owner, so I don't know how it was constructed, but it is solidly built. It held up while hurricane Ike blew through (77 mph gusts in central OH), whereas my roof didn't...

I don't do any maintenance on it, other than to hose it down when mud or mulch spash up on it. Maybe I should be though. It looks a bit dull, probably from UV exposure. Time for some Armor-All??

Like someone else mentioned before, I personally think it looks a bit tacky, but my wife is just fine with it. I might replace it with a wood privacy fence when I do the little deck for our patio door but then I would be adding to my already too-long list of maintenance tasks. One thing I did notice about it, it creaks a bit in the wind, but it's not overly noticeable.

[Bryan Slimp]

I know that you have to be very careful if you use a string trimmer around it. My brother worked for a lawn service for a while and he said that they had some issues with guys hitting the same spot, weakening/grinding away the PVC, and eventually causing it to chip and break.

[glenn bradley]

The cedar side fence and gate blew down the month I bought my house. California's famous Santa Ana winds, eh? I replaced it with Vinyl sections and a gate and have had no trouble . . . some more of the cedar fencing blew down over the years though ;-) I don't know that I would want a lot of it as part of my curb-appeal view but, it is cheaper now than when I bought it and works well. The panels go on sale frequently but, the odds and ends and hardware really add up.

[Larry Edgerton]

I agree with Joe. A plastic fence does not have that certian something that a wood fence has, character I guess you could call it. But.....

I can see the benifits, that being no maintainance. I hate the ones with the brackets, looks like it came from WalMart. The morticed ones look more like a wood fence, but the sheen gives them away. Wonder if there is some way to degloss them?

I always want to work with wood, but good wood is hard to find and expensive. The last few years I have been making reproduction exterior parts out of Azek, I paint them and no one but me and the customer knows the difference. Doesn't rot, warp, blister and holds paint well if you use the correct products, so other than it stinks when machined, I guess plastic is OK if it is good enough to look like wood. An irony to be sure....

On that weed wacker thing, just had an idea. Find some rubber, maybe the right size innertube, which could be had for nothing used, and stretch it over the fence posts before the rails are on so that it comes up from the dirt about 4"s or so, and then the weedwacker will have a wear surface.

I hate landscapers, they screw up a lot of my work!

Larry

[Greg Portland]

I know that you have to be very careful if you use a string trimmer around it. My brother worked for a lawn service for a while and he said that they had some issues with guys hitting the same spot, weakening/grinding away the PVC, and eventually causing it to chip and break.I have a large Stihl string trimmer and hit my posts all the time with commercial thickness line. The posts are definitely thicker and can withstand the punishment from the string. I would not want to hit the panels with the trimmer. I'm sure there are low quality posts that could easily chip or crack... just another thing to consider when selecting the quality level of your fence components.

[Larry Frank]

When I had my fence installed I asked about having wood posts inside. They said is was not necessary with the thickness of the PVC and the size of posts. They guaranteed the fence for 100 mph winds. As someone mentioned, there is a big difference between the fence you can buy at the big box stores and what some professionals install.

Given the storm and winds that I had, I can not argue with the results of not using the pressure treated posts inside the PVC.

[Eddie Watkins]

I had a PVC rail fence and a pergola for probably 10 years with no maintenance. We had a tornado last year that with 200+ mph winds and it tore the pergola off the house but it was in one piece. The lag bolts pulled out of the concrete which allowed it to flip over but the PVC was all in one piece. The posts had a steel sleeve in them with the lag bolt thru the bottom into concrete. The fence didn't fair so well. The flying objects broke the slats apart but most of the posts survived unscathed. I had no metal or wood inside the fence posts. The new pergola I put up has posts with rebars drilled into the concrete and filled up about four feet with concrete. It seems to make the structure much more stable than the steel sleeves eliminating the creaking when the wind blows.
I bought all my supplies from a PVC fence company because I thought their stuff was better quality than the box stores.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the advice and the stories/experience. The note about the landscaper with the weed whacker is interesting, I never would have thought of that.

[Greg Portland]

When I had my fence installed I asked about having wood posts inside. They said is was not necessary with the thickness of the PVC and the size of posts. They guaranteed the fence for 100 mph winds. As someone mentioned, there is a big difference between the fence you can buy at the big box stores and what some professionals install.

Given the storm and winds that I had, I can not argue with the results of not using the pressure treated posts inside the PVC.Larry, my gates sag (i.e. the PVC bends) unless I have the surrounding posts filled with wood or concrete. You are correct about the durability, the fence will bend but not break. The sections with gate problems were there when I bought the house so the quality level is unknown (except that they take a beating from the trimmer).

[ethan Brown]

It's good idea to replace Wood fence to PVC fence. I have also replace chain link fence to PVC fence, it's better than chain link fence. It is low maintenance fence. Great experience It's good

[Brian Elfert]

Also look at composite fencing too. None of the glossy look of PVC/vinyl and more colors too. The same companies that make composite decking usually make composite fencing too. Some of it has texture like rough sawn wood.

[Dave Anderson NH]

WARNING PVC becomes very brittle and is very easy to snap, crackle, and pop when the temperature gets below freezing. This obviously only becomes a problem during the winter.

I will strongly agree with all of the comments about avoiding the chintzy stuff from the big box stores. It is nowhere near the quality of the stuff the professional installers and fence specialty places use. The pro stuff BOTH looks better and is far more durable.

[Patrick Walsh]

I put up a cellular pvc/vinal/composit fence a few years ago. Even though i am a carpenter/home builder i contarcted Walpole Woodworkers to do the job. I looked at 4-5 different companies and Walpole Woodworker highest end product was night and day in comparison to even other high end contractors. The coat was almost ransom like but worth it in the end.

The product is a thicker gauge both post and pannels and a much more robust look. It has sharper edges more akin to wood than the home center rounded over glossy plastic look. It is also a much more matt finish but still shiny enough to keep clean with a hose or power washer a couple times a year.

The briittle in the cold comment is something to consider as is potential breakage and repairs. For instance i have neighbors with young children and their kids balls and toys bouncing off it send cringes up my spine everytime i hear it as i know how hard it would be to replace a pannel should one break. Even the heavy gauge i payed all this money for coule still be easily broken.

I wanted a forest green high end wooden fence when i put this in and still kinda do. The carpenter and builder in me just did not want to add all the mintnace of a awooden fence to my already long list of home maintenance. I like things kept neat tidy and maintained. Painting a fence is a drag be it if ypu do it yourself or contract someone to do it.

For the most part i love my fence. Yes i wish it was more natural looking. Keep in mind a white fence will do some degree dictate what colors you do and do not paint your house in the future. This might be my biggest gripe as i like more natural looking homes that blend with the landscape. Bright white trim and fencing juat is not very natural. The white will limit your choices!

[Larry Frank]

I am not certain about the cold weather. It gets well below zero with high winds and blizzard. My PVC fence is still standing.

[John M Wilson]

It's good idea to replace Wood fence to PVC fence. I have also replace chain link fence to PVC fence, it's better than chain link fence. It is low maintenance fence. Great experience It's good

All good advice, but note the Original Poster asked this question 5 years ago, and the thread was resurrected by a brand new member.

[Rich Riddle]

Our neighbor installed it between our houses in a very short section. The wife planted vegetation to block the view. It might have a lot of function, but it's certainly poor form. Doesn't look bad with vegetation on it though.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Larry, The issue with cold weather is primarily impact. Hit any PCV product at well below freezing temps and it will crack if not outright shatter. You also need to allow for both expansion and contraction over whatever temperature range you run into in your area.