Material for Fence Rails


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Old 05-27-15, 10:45 PM
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Material for Fence Rails

I'm wanting to build a 6' high cedar dog ear fence. I am going to have 3 rails; top, middle, then a base rail that's made of pressure treated lumber. What material do I use for the middle and top rail? The local lumber yards don't have cedar 2x4s, only the dog ear cedar pickets.
 
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Old 05-27-15, 10:50 PM
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Standard SPF (spruce, pine, fir) 2x4s should be fine. Paint them with the same material you will use on the finished fence; translucent stain, pigmented stain, clear wood finish or paint before assembling the fence and then again when you paint the entire fence.
 
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Old 05-28-15, 02:54 AM
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"Standard SPF (spruce, pine, fir) 2x4s should be fine" - provided they are pressure treated
Once stained it will match the posts and other rails, might be slightly different than the cedar but acceptable.
 
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Old 05-28-15, 10:29 AM
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Mark, he already stated the bottom rail will be pressure treated. I see no reason to use pressure treated on rails that will be three to five feet above grade as long as all six sides are well sealed with stain, paint or other treatment.
 
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Old 05-28-15, 11:28 AM
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While I can't say how wood fares out west, here in the southeast white pine [even stained] doesn't hold up great on a fence ..... but PT wood does. Also the cedar will take stain a little different than the PT, adding a 3rd type of wood would bring another slight difference to the stain job.
 
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Old 05-28-15, 01:42 PM
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I'll certainly bow to your local experience in this matter. My fence is original to the house and therefore about 28 years old. I don't know what kind of "natural" finish was used on prior to my moving here but I have done NOTHING to it since I moved here in December of 1999. It looks like it has never had any kind of preservative and it sure as heck isn't pressure treated but neither do the rails show any rot. Posts, yes where they are in the ground (and the posts ARE PT) as well as the bottom of the boards where they are in or very near to the ground but not the rails.

As always, every statement I post is my personal opinion based upon my personal experiences.

BTW, the original poster is in California according to his profile.
 
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Old 05-28-15, 08:58 PM
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Thanks for help all! I do live in CA for what it's worth. Rails aside, there are several cedar fences that have been put up in my neighborhood that haven't been painted or stained. I know that cedar is naturally resistant to decay to a degree. Is it wise to paint or stain it to extend its life or is leaving it untreated OK?
 
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Old 05-29-15, 03:31 AM
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While some woods fare well without the protection of a stain, IMO they'll last longer and look better when stained ...... but then I am a painter

Stain is generally preferred on a fence because there is less prep work involved, especially when it comes time to apply the next coat. Paint will last longer but requires primer and will likely need scraping and spot priming when the coating fails.
 
 

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