UNDER PRESSURE! WHY PRESSURE TREATED FENCES ARE A STRONG CHOICE
If you want to install an outdoor fence made of wood, you may want to invest a little more money into pressure treated lumber. This type of wood offers long-term protection against rot, termites, and fungal decay. Before investing in a pressure treated fence, it’s smart to know a little bit more about the pressurizing process and benefits of this type of fence.
Pressure treated wood is a popular outdoor building material, commonly used to construct fences, outdoor furniture, sheds, and playgrounds. Most pressure treated wood is softwood lumber, like Southern Yellow Pine. The treatment process is fairly complicated. Lumber is placed into pressurized tanks, where chemical preservatives are forced deep into the wood fibers. This process makes the wood very heavy, but also resistant to decay and damage for, in many cases, up to twenty years. It’s important to note that pressure treated wood can still be painted and stained.
For fences, only “ground contact” pressure treated wood is used. There is “above ground use” lumber that is used for tables, deck railings, and other things above that lumber are not recommended for fencing. Not all pressure treated wood is the same. Depending on a number of chemical preservatives in the wood, the level of rot and decay resistance varies. For best results, choose a wood with a high chemical retention level. The lumber has a number to represent this level. The higher the number, the more resistant the wood is.
If you are interested in a pressure treated fence but feel overwhelmed by the process and the choices involved, don’t worry. At Northeast Ohio Fence in Cleveland, we are experts in all things fencing and would love to walk you through this process, and eventually install your very own pressure treated fence.