A Fence built by Texas Roof and Fence
We use only the best materials while saving our customers money. At the end of the job, you get a high quality Cedar fence for what most will install a standard Spruce fence. We use #2 Western Red Cedar. Be careful when a fence company tells you just “Cedar”. There is Cedar that comes from China and even Brazil that will not last in our weather in Texas.
Our fences consist of the following:
1. Steel post concreted in at least 30″ in the ground. We generally let our post set overnight if the ground has a lot of clay in it. This allows the concrete to leach into the clay dirt around it giving it a stronger hold. Our post are thick walled post. On our 8 foot fences, we generally use commercial grade post set every 6 feet. This make for a very strong fence. High winds in our area can actually push fences over and bend the thinner walled post.
2. Cross braces or “Runners and Rails”. We use treated 2×4 runners instead of the old 2×3 spruce or pine. These last longer and are pressure treated to ensure many years of wear and tear. We also install Cedar runners with a small additional cost. If you have the runners on the inside of your fence, you may want to consider these for thier beauty because the treated pine will not have the same coloring as the Cedar rails.
3. We use only #2 Western Red Cedar. While spruce or pine makes for a pretty fence at first, it doesn’t last for very long. In the North Texas area. You only get 7 to 9 years with spruce or pine and it will start turning gray after about 2 years. With a Cedar fence, you can get up to 15 to 18 if you do maintenance every 5 years or so. We wash and re-stain fences after 5 years to get additional life out of the fence and save the customer money. Beware of the Cedar that comes from other countries. Stick to the wood from the good ol USA for a top quality fence.
4. Fastening your fence. We use “Ring Shanked” nails that do not back out of the wood over time. Some companies use screws. We have found that screws often split the pickets or cause them to bow. Over driven nails can sometimes do this as well. We use Duo fast nail guns and perform daily maintenance of them to ensure that nails are driven the correct distance into the wood we install.
5. Staining and Sealing. If you want your fence to last for many years, then you have to stain and seal it. There are 2 ways to go if you choose to have a stained fence.
- To have the wood “pre dipped”. This is a process that dips the pickets in stain and allows the wood to completely soak up the stain material all the way through the wood. This is the best form of stain and it’s cleaner than spraying around plants and back yard decor. There is NO MESS at all!
- Spraying the wood is another way and cheaper alternative to dipping. The only drawback is there will be over spray involved. This will harm plants and flowers so special precaution has to be taken when spraying a fence.
We use only the best stain in the industry to maximize the life of the wood. Remember the simple rule: the darker the stain the longer the wood last. The pigment in the stain is what protects the wood from UV rays and weather. So the darker colors have the most pigment in them.
Fence Selection Guide
The choice of fencing must never be undertaken lightly, for serious consideration must be given to its appearance and construction. Strength is very important, especially in exposed, windy localities. A fence is only as strong as its supports, and particular care must be taken to see that these are not only substantial but inserted securely.
Most fences are supplied with strong posts, usually 4-6in (10-15cm) square, depending on the type of fence that has to be supported. Sometimes concrete posts are supplied; these are extremely strong, although a little more cumbersome to install. It is very important to see that concrete posts are inserted deeply and firmly. Metal post are also a great options. These post are extremely strong but cost much less than concrete
Strength of timber also depends on the prevention of rot, and unless cedar wood is used (except for posts), all timber should be treated with a suitable preservative. We use a few different sealers. Our most common one is an all natural oil with color pigment added to it. The wood last longer and it usually does not need to be re-sealed for around 5 to 7 years depending on weather. Unless this is done, there is the danger of stem and leaf scorch and its use is not generally recommended where plants are to be grown against or near a fence.
A safer treatment consists of the use of copper naphthenate preservatives such as the green, horticultural grades of Cuprinol or Solignum.
Types of fencing
The terminology for wood fences can be confusing. Below is a list of fencing types in the North Texas area.
- Board by Board- Also called “Side by Side”. It is exactly how it’s described. Pickets are placed next to each other and nailed. This is a good privacy fence but you can see between the pickets up close. We do hundreds of these a year and they are one of our most common fences. These can be done using 4 or 6 inch wide pickets 6 to 8 feet tall.
- Board on Board- This fence is installed with a gap between the pickets and then a cover picket installed over the gap. This is the most private fence. We always install the 8 foot version on this fence with commercial grade post every 6 feet. This type of fence will catch a lot of wind since it is basically a 8 foot wall of wood. Our fences are still standing every year after the strong spring wind storms, so we know how to build these! These can be built using ONLY 6 inch wide pickets. The 4 inch will split! We can install this fence in a 4,6 or 8 foot configuration.
- Shadow Box- These fences are great for properties that are in very high wind locations. The shadow box fence has staggered pickets placed on each side allowing wind to blow directly through them. Looking head on, you can’t see through this type of fence, but at an angle, you can see directly into yards, If you’re looking for privacy, this is not the fence you want. These do make great inner fences around gardens and pools.
- Custom Fencing- We can build almost anything customers can come up with. We have built many custom fences tailored to our customer’s wants and needs. Call us on these types of fences.
- Ranch Board- This is a fence that is basically posts and 2×6 slat or runner boards stack 3 or 4 high. These are usually used to keep live stock contained and are a safer alternative to barbed wire.
- Pipe and Cable- This is a fence that has drill stem post set with cable stretched through them. This is a STRONG fence to contain live stock. These are more expensive then the wood but last about 500% longer when maintained.
- Barbed Wire- Traditional barb wire fencing to contain live stock. These fences can be install relatively cheap and will last for years and years.
- Chain Link- These are the old fences we grew up with. They last forever but do not give you that great curb appeal that a wood fence does. We can get this in a lot of different colors that are coated using a colored rubber material.
Above is just a few of the fencing types we install. If you see something that’s not there, just call us and we will custom build what you need. Remember to check out our gallery of the fences we install. We put up new pictures as we build new fences. Let’s make yours one of them.