Rant: That 30-year fence I fixed in Austin last week taught me something

I was replacing rotted posts on a cedar privacy fence from 1993 in the South Austin neighborhood, and the old guy who built it used railroad ties instead of standard posts. The whole structure was still rock solid except where water pooled near the downspout. Why do we keep pushing treated pine when stuff like this lasts decades longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige_bell8118d ago

Isn't treated pine way cheaper and easier for most people to work with though?

lucashenderson18d ago

Yeah but have you ever tried cutting treated pine on a humid day? lol The wood moves so much after a few seasons that your mitered corners start looking like a jigsaw puzzle. I built a planter box with it once and had to redo the whole thing after the wood warped and split a few months later. Cedar or even some decent plywood is way more stable if you're taking the time to actually build something nice. Plus those splinters from treated pine are no joke either, I still find little bits in my fingers from last summer.

nancyramirez18d ago

You gotta consider the audience though. A lot of people just want to get a project done on a Saturday without dropping a ton of cash, and treated pine fits that perfectly. If you're building a simple raised bed or a basic fence, it holds up fine for years as long as you let it dry out before you start cutting and nailing. I've built a bunch of stuff with it and never had the warping issues you're talking about, maybe you just got a bad batch or rushed the drying part. Treated pine is also way easier to find at any local lumber yard, you don't have to hunt down a specialty supplier for cedar or fancy plywood. Not everyone is trying to build heirloom furniture out here, sometimes you just need something that works and doesn't break the bank.