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We are looking to get a 6 foot Doggear privacy fence installed. There is Western Cedar and Pressure Treated. If we go with the Pressure Treated can it be stained?? What is the difference really between the two??
If the treated is dry, it will accept stain. We let the treated wood we use dry for a few weeks, then paint or stain depending on where it is used.
Prefer cedar to treated, but not for the restaurant - too much traffic and abuse to deck floor and rails. At home, use cedar except for posts and rails. It would take stain easily, but develops such a nice silver patina, we don't bother. Fence has been up over 20 years - gates finally showing some wear, but other than the hurricane damage, still fine.
One more thing - cedar is MUCH lighter. Treating involves pressure and liquid, so the boards weigh more.
We decided to go cedar privacy all the way down the yard but the first two sections by the patio are older fence and that is not cedar so when we stain the fence what difference might there be in color. I am assuming the other two older sections are pressure treated but maybe not be as the fence was put up 20 years ago.
This is a old photo of it before we took down most of it. I guess we will power washer the old section to try to match it up as close as possible to the new ceder one..
I pressure washed ours a year ago - really made a difference in the appearance, but will have to replace soon. Many of the boards have lost their oil and are brittle.
I want the same style we had - 2 one-foot treated sacrifice boards horizontal at the bottom, then four-foot pickets on top. With all the fireants, termites, and other wood-loving insects, not to mention our high humidity, here on the Gulf Coast, 6' picket fences rarely last 10-12 years. Ours was built in July '87. The other thing I have done is to eliminate all weed and grass at least 6" from both sides. Fence still looks OK, but gates really show the weathering.
