Do I need to treat my fence

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Hi guys,

Bit confused as to whether I need to treat my fence. I have bought a sussex wave type fence panel from selco (8 fence panels 1.8m x 1.8m) along with wood posts (100mm x 100mm) and metal spikes.

The fence panel and post have been pressure treated I'm told. So does this mean they don't need treating?

If they do need treating, any recommendations on what I should use.
I've read through threads and people have had all sorts of trouble with wood preservers coming off, peeling, flaking etc

I would like to keep the original colour.

thx for your help.
 
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You will be surprised how fast new fence panels fade. I normally give them an extra coat in the first year.
 
Thanks for the replies, so is the concern that it will loose its natural timber colour and fade to a less appealing colour - rather than any sort of rot or decay settling in?
 
Yes. Basically when it's pressure treated, preservative is forced into the timber rather than just coating the surface. You only need to concern yourself with the colour when it starts to fade.
 
An interesting thing about overlap panels or featheredge fencing, is that it is quite thin, and is fully exposed to the weather. So in heavy rain it will be saturated, and in dry or sunny weather, or dry wind, it will quickly dry out. This means that it does not provide the warm, moist conditions with water and air that wood decay loves. So even without treatment, the thin panels will last fairly well. However, the batten and posts, being thicker, will rot quickly if not treated, because they will stay damp for longer.

Most Fence treatments have an ornamental value only, although they leave a waxy film that sheds water until it erodes after a few years.

Posts usually rot and break off just above ground level, where they have both moisture coming from teh ground, and air, and the junction is the perfect satte of dampnes for rot and decay.

BTW metal fence post supports are awful.

Concrete posts, and concrete spurs, last longest. You will have a terrible job getting metalposts out when they twist, lean, or are in the wrong place.
 
Posts usually rot and break off just above ground level, where they have both moisture coming from teh ground, and air, and the junction is the perfect satte of dampnes for rot and decay.

BTW metal fence post supports are awful.

Concrete posts, and concrete spurs, last longest. You will have a terrible job getting metalposts out when they twist, lean, or are in the wrong place.

I was going to use coloured stone chippings as a border - so could remove surface level soil away from post.

The chap who installed the fence panels used metal spikes drove them in so top of spike support sits flush at surface level and then used postcrete in and around the spike. The idea being it will be easier to take out the wooden post.
 
Paint them the year after installation. By then they will have faded to a uniform shade, (sometimes new panels can be slightly different shades) Never mind the water, the sun will do as much damage as the rain, and any treatment should help protect from UV rays, the more 'solid' the colour the better.

I recently used metpost spikes on a 4 foot fence using a similar method to the OP. I excavated about a foot, banged the post in and dumped concrete in the hole. The socket of the metpost was just below the surface and covered in gravel left flush with the soil. Worked better than expected but you have to keep checking and rechecking alignment as you hammer. A 6ft level held against the line helped quite a bit.
 

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