# Does anybody have oak fence...and regret it?



## BethW

Just visiting from the goat board and need some wisdom from the horse crowd

DH and I are looking to replace our very old oak 3-board fencing with new fencing of the same type. Oak (painted black) is a standard in the northern half of our state, but the fencing people we're talking to locally are doing their best to talk us out of oak, saying it will warp and look awful. They're steering us toward poplar or pressure treated pine.

If oak really was as bad as they say, then there wouldn't be miles of it further north. We are committed to traditional horse fencing but also want to make sure it stands the test of time. Thoughts?


----------



## bergere

Cattle panels will last a lot longer than wood. 

Any wood, has a time limit... would "think" pressure treated Oak would hold up much better than a soft pine.

You could go Vinyl, is easy to care for, you don't have to paint it, and it will last a super long time.


----------



## offthegrid

We have nonclimb fence with an oak toprail, and we have 3 board oak around our riding arena.

Some oak boards will warp...I can't remember what our fencing contractor told us but something like 1 in 10, or 1 in 15....if they are going to warp, they tend to do it reasonably soon, and if not, then they tend not to warp at all.

I think he suggested for us call him to replace any very warped boards in the first year of owning the fence.....we had fencing installed in three sections (over about 4 years), so when they came to do each portion they did replace a few of the boards, but I don't recall it being very many.

I would definitely ask your fencing contractor about the potential for warping, and also to give you a cost-benefit and pro-con for each type of wood. If it's going to be painted, you might not care about the type of wood. I can't remember how we made our decision....it was definitely a cost/benefit (strength and durability, minus the costs of replacing warped boards)...but we still decided oak was a good choice for us.

Do you know that the fencing you see at other farms is actually oak? It might be hard to know if it's painted....


----------



## sidepasser

I have NEVER regretted my oak board fencing, but have regretted the pressure treated pine board fencing every.single.time a horse hits the fence and splits a board or hits the fence and the board pops off the post.

I used pressure treated pine for my paddock fence and painted it with asphalt paint.

I used untreated oak boards and painted them with asphalt paint after allowing them to cure a bit.

The oak boards still look new but the pine needs replacing after five years.

Use SCREWS with your oak boards or the boards will split. Nails will also loosen. Use deck screws if you can find them, use the "good" type and make them at least 3" long if your boards are 1" thick. My boards were 8 ft long, 4" wide and 1" thick.

I used a brush and bought a gazillion five gallon buckets of black asphalt paint and painted every post, then painted every board before they were installed. After installing, I went over the boards again. The posts I used are pretty big too, 5-6" and 8" long, I put two feet in the ground and concreted the corners in . The posts were pressure treated pine but I wanted them to match the fence as this was my dressage arena I was building and I wanted it to look nice.

This was a huge project and one that I got really tired of as all holes were dug with post hole diggers by hand and the posts were leveled and so were the rails. Use two levels to get your posts straight (one for the horizontal and one for the vertical) - as a crooked post will throw the whole line off. You will also need string for running the lines to keep the line straight.

I have never heard of anyone regretting putting up oak boards vs. pine. Pine is cheaper, but also is a "soft" wood which splits/cracks and rots easier - even with treatment than good oak. I used red oak for my fences, but white oak should be just as good. I predrilled the holes for the screws into each board too, made it easier using a battery operating dewalt screwdriver.

Oh and last thing: Oak costs more than treated pine if you buy it at a big box store, I got my oak much cheaper by buying direct from the lumber yard. It's fence rails, I don't need "pretty", I need functional. watch out for too many knots in the boards and reject any that have more than a couple as knots weaken the board (and will fall out leaving you with a half moon or whole moon).


----------



## TNHermit

Not a horse or goat people. Pretty well aqquaited with wood so was nosy  But I can tell you if you use oak I would recommend white oak. It will not rot and resist problems. Red Oak will warp and decay unless you keep it treated with something. I would get sawmill white oak. It may be expensive but it will last a long time. You might want to consider pine and replace with oak as you go to keep the hit to your pocket book down


----------



## levi1739

TNHermit offers good advice. White oak would make a wonderful strong fence. It is the wood used for the keels of wooden boats due to it's natural rot resistance. Red oak has complete opposite traits and would likely rot out rather quickly if used as fencing. All oaks aren't the same.

Have fun, be safe

jack


----------



## kim18252

Pressure treated pine verse oak? I'd go with oak only because it would be more durable (stronger than pine) should horses push against it or chew on it. Also if the horses chew on it, I'd be afraid the horses would get sick from pressure treated lumber..


----------



## sidepasser

Here is a pic of my arena fence:










I think the fence is about five years old now and I will likely repaint it in the spring. Haven't replaced any boards so far, and it is used daily by my trainer.

I would think you may could get a deal from a local lumber yard (sawmill) as the boards bought from a big box store are going to be pricey. You may be able to buy the boards through a fence dealer and put them up yourself.

I have treated pine board paddocks and am replacing those boards as needed with either red or white oak - doesn't really matter to me as I keep the fences painted with asphalt paint. It stinks, the horses won't chew it and it lasts a long time and keeps the bugs and water out of the fence. Heck to put on though lol.. but worth it for a nice looking fence.


----------



## Wanoga

My Ex put up an oak fence for me & painted all the post up to ground level with roofing tar. They have lasted 20 years but are breaking now some rot & some due to termites. We live in the NE in a very wet area. Ground water in some places at about 2 or 2 & a half feet. Did have a few break sooner but not very many. Some rails warped but unless they were a problem I just left them.


----------



## BethW

Many thanks to each of you for the excellent information~

We've decided to go with white oak: 16'x6"x1" boards hung on 5-6" round posts. The contractor will start installation in two weeks; we'll paint it black after it cures for a few months. Can't wait to get it done

Thanks again!


----------



## CKJAGUAR

I know this is an old thread but I have some 35 years experience with oak fencing and horses. And this point was never addressed. White Oak is definitely much longer lasting than any pine. But the main reason to avoid pine is that it will shard when broken, as in producing very sharp ends. Oak will not. That is the main reason to avoid pine for any large animals. The risk of serious injury to them is far too great.


----------



## haypoint

I have put up oak fence that lasts well. I buy rough sawn red oak 1 by 6 boards, 8 feet long. They run several inches over 8 feet. I put in white cedar posts, 8 feet apart or a bit less. I put the boards on the inside and simply lap them over each other, so the nails go through both boards at each post. Butting the boards at the post doesn't last as the oak splits over the years and are easily knocked off. I run three boards, spaced about the length of my trusty hammer. I buy them, with no bark edges for $2.00 each. 
Up here poplar wouldn't last three years.


----------

