re:Fencing: alternatives to treated lumber
Edna M Weigel (eweigel@juno.com)
Thu, 24 Jun 1999 13:40:48 -0700
When we started building fences, the locals and the experts at
hardware and feed stores all said we had to use expensive corner posts,
but I found an old booklet on fencing that described a method which we
modified to our satisfaction.
Our fence is supported on metal T posts of various grades. For
the corners and adjacent to the corners, we made sure we used the heavier
grade of T post and set them no more than 8 feet between the corner and
its nearest neighbor. We then took an 8 foot redwood rail (nominally 2x3
inches--sold for redwood fences), notched each end to fit the T posts,
fastened some wire near each end, and secured the rail near the tops of
the posts. Then we wrapped 9 gage wire from the bottom of the corner
post diagonally to the top of the next post and back to the bottom at the
corner. We used a stick (scrap 1x2) to twist the 9 gage wire to pull the
adjacent post toward the corner. This effectively kept the corner post
from sagging as we tightened the fence wire. (Sometimes we had to give
the 9 gage wire a few extra twists as we pulled the fencing tight just to
keep the corner post vertical.)
Any rigid post or beam could work in place of the rail for the
brace. In one case, we ran out of rails and used an ordinary 2x4. They
are exposed to the weather but are not in contact with the soil so should
last indefinitely in our arid climate. The rails were satisfactory
although a few bent shortly after installation, so don't look as nice as
they might.
This method also works to brace gate posts, for which we usually
used 4x4 cedar lumber from Sutherlands or Home Depot.
Happy fencing. Edna
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