Fence Posts – Putting Up A New Fence Or Repairing Your Old Ones
An essential part of any free-standing fence is the fence posts it is attached to. Without these posts, a fence will do nothing but fall to the ground. Fences themselves are popular because they provide privacy, safety, and the ability to separate one piece of property from another.
There are a few options for fencing posts to be made from. Metal posts are very popular and are durable. Usually those that are constructed from metal are either made from aluminum, steel or iron. Iron has been a favorite for posts through out the ages, but since the nineteen seventies iron varieties have been largely replaced by the cheaper aluminum.
Wood is another favorite material, and they have been around for centuries. Today there are PVC options available, which have become very popular in the last few years because they require no maintenance, do not rot or rust and are just as strong as those made of metal or wood.
Most fence posts need to be repaired every so often so that they do not need to be replaced, especially those made of wood as they can rot, take excessive damage, or even sustain termite damage. This can even be true for those that are treated, so keep this in mind if you choose wood for your fence. Metal styles will also require yearly maintenance in the form of treating for rust or being painted.
The most expensive types of posts are the newest types fashioned from PVC. The cost can be double the cost of wooden varieties, but the PVC styles have a life expectancy at least twice as long as wooden fence posts. So the cost is offset by the length of time that the PVC posts will last and the fact that there is zero maintenance involved in caring for the PVC post styles.
The least expensive is wood. Wooden ones can be very reasonably priced but the life span is typically half that of the metal varieties. The costs of metal varies, depending on how ornate they are and what material they are fashioned from.
Most people pay the panels of a fence more attention than the fence posts, but they are just a big of a part of the look and overall durability of the fence as the panels.