A wood privacy fence will last only as long as the posts do.

Wood privacy fences provide a homeowner with security, privacy and beauty. They also cost less than other types of privacy fences. Properly treated, a wood privacy fence can last for many years. It is the choice of posts that is critical when building a wood privacy fence. Wood posts will shorten the life expectancy of a wood privacy fence. Wood posts can rot out in less than 3-5 years. Steel fence posts can last forever. But steel posts also detract from the beauty of a wood fence. Now there is the VersaPost. It provides the strength and durability of steel with the beauty of wood.

The VersaPost is the most innovative steel fence post available. It functions as a line, end, corner or gate post without any special clips or brackets. The VersaPost is the steel fence post for wood privacy fences that is easy to conceal. With the VersaPost you can build a beautiful wood privacy fence that will last for years. No other fence post is as versatile. No other steel post is as easy to hide. The VersaPost is your best choice for wood privacy fences.

Compare the VersaPost with other fence posts for wood privacy fences.

Wood Posts:
Wood posts are usually cedar or pressure treated pine. Most commonly they are 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 inches in size.

Cedar is a naturally rot-resistant species of wood. A cedar post can make for a beautiful wooden fence. But even cedar posts will decay when in contact with warm, moist earth. And cedar posts are not inexpensive either. In fact, in many cases a cedar post will cost as much, or more, than a steel post.

Treated wood posts are usually made out of pine and then treated with chemicals to resist decay. This type of post is usually the most economical choice intially. The chemicals used are most often copper based because copper has anti-microbial properties. The most commonly used chemicals for treating fence posts are complex compounds that go by acronyms such as CCA, ACQ, CA or Copper-Nap. Some of these chemical treatments contain elements which are known to be toxic to living things. There is some concern that these chemicals can leach into the soil and water.

This fence is only a few years old. Look carefully and you will notice that the posts are already starting to fall over. For a longer lasting fence, consider using steel posts rather than wood.

Round steel posts:
This has been the standard steel post for wooden privacy fences for many years. The round steel posts used for wood privacy fences are usally 2 3/8" in diameter. Because a privacy fence must withstand wind pressure these posts have thicker walls than typical chainlink fence posts. They commonly are known as 20 weight and will have a wall thickness of about 0.865".

Steel will oxidize, or rust, in the presence of oxygen. Moisture can accelerate this process. Therefore steel must be treated to resist this oxidation. The treatment of choice it to place a coating of zinc on top of the steel. This process is known as galvanization. The zinc layer "sacrifices" itself and protects the steel from corroding. The more zinc that is applied the more resistant the post will be to corrosion. Because these posts are hollow they need to be capped to prevent water from entering, and remaining, inside the post.

It is difficult to attach a wooden stringer directly to a round steel post. Special brackets are attached to the post and the wooden stringers are then attached to the brackets. These brackets can be expensive and they are always labor intensive to install.

When you are finished you will have a fence that will last for years. You will also have some ugly looking steel posts (like the ones above) that either you, or your neighbor, will have to look at for years as well.

Hat-channel posts:
Hat-channel posts were developed to eliminate some of the drawbacks associated with round steel posts. The design is that of a U-shaped channel with flanges extending out on either side. The cross-sectional view resembles a top-hat thus the name "hat-channel". The hat-channel is an improvement over both the wood post and the round steel post. It has the strength of steel but does not require any brackets or cap. It can also be hidden from view by a cover board which results in a cleaner looking fence. The hat-channel post does however suffer from some serious deficiencies.

By its very design the hat-channel shape has a tendancy to twist when subjected to a lateral force such as wind. The flanges on the post are usually about one inch wide. This provides very little contact area for the fasteners that are used to attach the stringers. In windy conditions the post can twist enough that the stringers attached to the post can actually pull away. Over time the ends of the stringers can split resulting in a broken fence.

The flanges themselves are about 1/8 of an inch thick. Add the thickness of the screws and this is enough to cause the cover board to crack if it is not installed very carefully. And because the total width of the post is over four inches, there is very little room for the screws that are used to attach the cover board.

When installing hat-channel posts you ned to take care not to install some of them backwards. This has happened to more than one professional fence crew. Special clips are requred to use them for corner posts. End posts pose another difficulty because of the exposed flange on one side of the post. Gate posts require two posts that are fastened together. This results in a higher cost for both materials and labor.

And, hat-channel posts are also known to be very expensive.

Enlarge the following photo to see what can happen to the stringers with a hat-channel post over time. This fence was installed by a professional fence company and is less than three years old.

Mild Fence Company
3465 Highway 93 North
Kalispell, Montana 59901