Do it Yourself: Re: [DIY] Fence Pickets

22 June 2014

Re: [DIY] Fence Pickets

Usually a home store will also have a treated picket.

Not positive but I'm not sure the diameter of the screw will matter too much, although you may not want to go too thick for fear of splitting the wood (dependent of how close to the ends or edges of the pickets you are installing the fasteners).

Tannins in cedar will deteriorate most fasteners quickly and cause "bleeding" (streaks below the fastener). Best fasteners to help prevent that is stainless steel which are expensive. You can also try hot dipped galvanized (not to be confused with electroplated galvanized). Also there are deck screws which I believe are basically a longer lasting version of the "Primeguard" coating.

On Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 1:04 PM, odddoll@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Hi,

The cruddy fence that came with my house is losing pickets right and left. I'd like to replace them instead of putting back up the fallen ones, as well as replacing some others. Many are warped. Replacing the whole fence would be nice but it's not possible right now. My question is, what type of wood do you recommend? My choices seem to be cedar or redwood. I saw one that was stained "white wood" but I don't want the stain anyway. I live in central California where we have mild winters and summers that are completely dry with extreme heat.

Also, I was told to use 1-1/4" screws. What diameter do I need? Galvanized? And can I insert them into the same holes the nails were in or should I drill new ones? The pickets aren't very wide, but I think I can get new holes in there.

Thanks,

Marianne