Its natural appeal has made wood the first choice for most homeowners for many years.
For over 40 years, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic has become more prevalent in landscaping.
Unlike wood fencing, vinyl fencing doesn’t rot, doesn’t warp, and never needs painting.
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Some home centers now stock vinyl fencing components and preassembled panels in a limited range of colors.
Some vinyl fencing is now even textured to resemble wood.
These days, nearly any fencing style can be constructed in vinyl.
The material ranges from ranch-style rails to New England pickets or tall solid-panel privacy fences.
Wood Fence
With wood fences, the materials are simple and easy to define: wood.
Different types of woods are used, often cedar, soft pine, redwood, and cypress.
Most wood used for fences can be left unstained and untreated.
Western red cedar, for example, starts red but quickly weathers to an attractive silver-gray.
Wood can be painted, but it’s usually best to coat it with a fence preservative.
Preassembled fencing panels at major big-box home improvement centers are moderately priced compared to wood.
Many people will find real wood’s warm colors more attractive than vinyl plastic fencing.
Wood is a versatile material that can be left to weather naturally or stained or painted however you want.
A wood fence can becustom-builtto make it unique to your landscape and readily adapted to uneven building sites.
Older vinyl fences and less expensive new products have a shiny, somewhat artificial surface.
When building with mass-produced vinyl panels, it is hard to get a designer look.
Except for dirt and moss, white vinyl fencing will stay white year after year.
Unlike wood, vinyl cannot be easily painted a different color if you want to change its appearance.
Some of vinyl’s liabilities are gradually removed as manufacturers offer additional colors and have now introduced textures.
For any fence, digging post holes and setting posts is challenging.
After that, the posts must be set in concrete.
Working slowly and in discrete stages, as with any large project, will make the work easier.
Plan to take your time and be incredibly diligent in the layout and installation of the posts.
Remember that wood and vinyl fencing installations usually require municipalbuilding permits.
Most communities’fence lawstreat vinyl and wood equally regarding installation requirements.
Easy maintenance greatly outweighs appearance and other considerations when you have a lot of fencing to maintain.
Properly sealed wood will resist rotting for a few seasons but must always be re-sealed.
Some fence woods, such as cedar, are naturally oily and better at fighting decay than others.
Still, all woods benefit from some surface treatment, whether you are sealing or painting.
If your only priority is eliminating fence rot, vinyl fences are the way to go.
Be aware that vinyl fences get dirtyvery dirty.
Many owners regard this as the worst thing about a vinyl fence.
Most vinyl fence owners say that owning apressure washeris essential if you have a vinyl fence.
Vinyl fences are also more difficult to fix when problems arise.
Repair is usually a matter of replacing entire panels and not fixing individual elements.
you’re free to usewood fillerto fix your wood fence and likely make it a DIY project.
And the price gap between vinyl and natural wood has now been reduced, with costs fairly comparable.
However, the best vinyl fencing products are not as elegant as natural wood or wood-composite fencing.
Vinyl is durable and immune to rot, but it needs regular cleaning.
