Wood Picket Fence – What is It?

Great question I get all the time. So what exactly are we talking about when we hear wood picket fence. In our context here wood picket fence is a natural wood fence with 2 or 3 backing rails and narrow pickets from 3′ – 6′ high. Of course the posts are natural wood and set in real concrete. If your fence company mixes their “CONCRETE” off the back of a trailer instead of using REAL CONCRETE where else are they cutting corners? Your post concrete is the foundation for your fence!

Natural wood picket fence will have hundreds of variations to choose from such as picket height, picket topping, picket spacing, multiple pickets with multiple spacing, arches, swoops, waves, dips, scoops….

Remember, that any style can be repeated with just about any lumber choice out there. The choice in lumber really depends on your geographic location, as we learn next!

Wood Picket Fence – Cedar vs. Pine Comparison

You have decided to purchase a decorative picket back yard fence, now which lumber is best for you? Which fence will hold up the longest? Can you get all the same styles in any lumber? All great questions, let’s take them one at a time!

In East Tennessee market area we are located in the TERMITE BELT! This is a huge swath of geography including Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi where termites flourish. As the termites flourish here in these Southern States so do the TERMITE PEST CONTROL companies.

Subterranean Termites are natures clean up crew, and in this geographic area the temperatures are moderate year round, with wet moist conditions, creating the ideal conditions for the termite expansion. You see, the subterranean termite colony will have between 1 million to 2 million termites and the worker termite (the ones doing the damage) will fan out from the colony up to 300 yards (3 football fields) looking for cellulose (wood food). Once found other termites will follow. The subterranean worker termite eats cellulose 24 hours a day seven days a week and lives for 2 years! That’s a lot of work for 2 years. The queen termite is pumping out replacement worker termites to continue to feed the growing colony.

The subterranean termite is called that because most of the damage done by this insect is below ground and out of site. By the time you see evidence of the termites the damage has already occurred.

Over the past 10 years there has been a lot of the Knock Off Cedars installed in the metro area. Not a Western Red Cedar but a Knock Off Cedar by the name of red cedar, white cedar, swamp cedar, atlantic cedar cypress cedar, swamp cypress, spruce cedar and so on.

One word of caution to all you would be wood picket fence buyers out there…do some homework first!

This Knock Off Cedar is not a REAL WESTERN RED CEDAR and does not have the same properties and naturally ocuring chemicals present in the OLD GROWTH WESTERN RED CEDAR. The Knock Off Cedars are historically highly susceptible to subterranean termites here in East Tennessee. We receive calls every week with homeowners complaining about this cedar fence product. Now don’t get me wrong! These Knock Off Cedar fences are beautiful fences when first installed, they just cannot stand up to the subterranean termite problems. So if you see these fences in your subdivision and they are leaning or in worse cases you can see the termite damage … call a pest control company to check your home for termite infestations. Just because the termites are in the fencing around your home does not mean the termites are in your house…yet. They will continue to forage and your home is a prime target for the termites.

So now the question is, if you can get all the same styles and shapes in a termite treated lumber why would you use a knock off cedar that has a history of termite infestations? Sun UV rays will cause ALL lumber to fade out to a gray coloring in a year or less. By staining a fence you are adding a color treatment on either product.

So does it make any sense to introduce a product next to your home with a known history of termite infestations?