Fencing: What is Post and Rail Fencing?
Post and rail fencing is those fences you see in old-time classic movies with houses and farms with surrounding horses, or cows, to keep them at bay. Dictionary.com says it is “a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it.” It is a thick, wooden fence with what looks like logs in the middle of it. This is not the most common fencing since it is used mostly for pastures and farms, to keep their animals together. There are a couple of different ways to put this kind of fence up; the traditional way, and the non-traditional way. The non-traditional way is to nail or screw the rails into the posts. This particular method can, however, cause further problems and lots of maintenance issues. On the other hand, the traditional way is also called mortise. This involves creating specific holes into the posts level across the entire length of the fence. After this, the rails are narrowed at the ends to fit into the holes in the posts. If it were a 12-foot rail, it would use three posts. The firsts and third rails would be used at the ends while the second one would be used as a guide to keeping it from warping over time. There are many advantages and disadvantages to using post and rail fencing.
Advantages of Using Post and Rail Fencing
Although this is not the more common type of fencing, there are still many advantages to using a post and rail fencing solution for your real estate. For starters, this fence is composed of very sturdy material, thanks to its thickness and its capability to keep farm animals such as horses and cattle at bay. Considering its thickness, you can still see right through this material as there are gap intervals in between each rail. This makes it easier to see into the yards of beautiful homes, although providing great protection it does not compromise on visibility, which is great. You can see beautiful gardens, freshly cut grass, trees, flowers, all kinds of animals kept in the yard, and more; a great option for homes with acres of land, garden, and even farms. You can use material such as cedar, which is water-resistant, therefore it has minimal care as a more convenient alternative. This type of fencing also stands out because it is one of the lesser common materials used, but still requested.
Disadvantages of Using Post and Rail Fencing
Post and rail fencing have much less privacy for yards and animals. Anyone riding by can easily see what animals you have, and what goes on in your yard. As mentioned previously, although it does not compromise visibility, the tradeoff is that you can see what lies behind. Depending on how you feel, and the closeness of neighbors depends on how important this factor is in considering what type of fence you want to make. This usually does not tend to be a major concern for those in more rural areas as there is just a great distance in between each neighbor that privacy is not a huge concern. This fence is, however, perfectly great for large animals, but bear in mind that it will not keep out smaller ones like cats and dogs or other wild animals such as rabbits/hare and so on. This also depends on where you live, because it could let in other animals like foxes or other wild animals. If you live in areas where trash seems to collect a lot, it could easily let trash into your yard, which could be harmful to animals you own, if any. Trash would also not look nice and pleasant in anyone’s yard that is for certain. Although this fencing has many upholding qualities, it can be a little more on the expensive side when getting the material. Also, the total costs would be quite high as it is typically used on large real estate land packages ie acres of land. You can contact timberridgefencecompan
Picking Your Fence
Although this post and rail fencing design are considerably on the more expensive end, at times to get the material, it withholds nicely and has minimal care moving forward (little to no maintenance required). If you have domesticated pets such as cats and dogs, perhaps this may not be the best option as it poses very little like a protective barrier to keep your pets at home. This big, thick wooden fence can allow people to see your beautiful houses and yards if they are full of flowers and gardens, then it may be an ideal option for you. This can be nice for some people who like to showcase their garden work, but maybe not if you are a more private person. Post and rail fencing has many different types of wood you can use, and can even be waterproof at times depending on the coating and material selected.
When it comes to selecting your post and rail fence style, be sure to understand that white is not the only color you can select. Yes, we agree that in many movies, most of the time you will see white post and rail fences and who could blame them, white looks very nice for rural real estate as it provides a classic and clean finish. But of course, there are many other alternatives to this, however, each alternative will come with its fair share of pros and cons. You can always install steel wire fencing and to some of the more extreme extents where they are attached and wired to an electric source. This would prevent intruders from trying to trespass as well as shock animals in an attempt to prevent escape. Although it does not look as appealing as the post and rail fence, it does have a stronger feature towards security and protection.
Well, there you have it from Fencing Sydney Contractors. All you need to know about post and rail fences so that you can make the right decision when it comes to selecting the right fence for your own dream home.
