Alex Horvath
04-04-2016, 9:52 PM
Hi,
I'm building a privacy fence which consists of top and bottom 2x4 rail with 1"x8" vertical overlapping redwood fence boards.
I don't like to use the dadoed top and bottom rails because I see a fairly high fail rate given that they are weak. I'm also being a bit anal since my original builder redwood fence required regular, frustrating repairs beginning at 10 years and completely failed at 20 years in an arid climate.
So what I have done in the past is use pressure treated 2x4's for rails (no dado) and nail 3/4" x 1.5" cleats on both sides of the fence boards/rails to lock them in (essentially making a 1.5" deep dado).
I cut the cleats from premium pressure treated 2x6 doug fir.
This time I noticed that the pressure treatment only goes in a 1/8" or so from the edges.
I could go with redwood cleats but it seems that small pieces being so soft just don't last.
Perhaps I could hit the pressure treated cleats with a quality fence paint before install?
I'm using the brown PT 4x4 posts and rails so I'm not going to be color coordinated in any case and I won't be painting the fence.
Is there a big difference in above ground longevity between doug fir vs. redwood?
After all, the rafter tails and eaves on a house are painted doug fir and seem to last forever.
Thanks
I'm building a privacy fence which consists of top and bottom 2x4 rail with 1"x8" vertical overlapping redwood fence boards.
I don't like to use the dadoed top and bottom rails because I see a fairly high fail rate given that they are weak. I'm also being a bit anal since my original builder redwood fence required regular, frustrating repairs beginning at 10 years and completely failed at 20 years in an arid climate.
So what I have done in the past is use pressure treated 2x4's for rails (no dado) and nail 3/4" x 1.5" cleats on both sides of the fence boards/rails to lock them in (essentially making a 1.5" deep dado).
I cut the cleats from premium pressure treated 2x6 doug fir.
This time I noticed that the pressure treatment only goes in a 1/8" or so from the edges.
I could go with redwood cleats but it seems that small pieces being so soft just don't last.
Perhaps I could hit the pressure treated cleats with a quality fence paint before install?
I'm using the brown PT 4x4 posts and rails so I'm not going to be color coordinated in any case and I won't be painting the fence.
Is there a big difference in above ground longevity between doug fir vs. redwood?
After all, the rafter tails and eaves on a house are painted doug fir and seem to last forever.
Thanks