January 22, 2012

Best wood fence gates in Los Angeles?  That would be an unreserved, non-hesitating yes!  Why?  How is it that WoodFenceExpert.com builds the best wood fence gates in the greater Los Angeles area?  Because of our attitude towards designing and building these fence gates as they're so often called.  I prefer to call them pedestrian gates; but lots of people refer to them as fence gates.  So be it.  We build them to last.  I've personally made it my mission to solve the design and construction challenges of wood fence gates.  As a builder I always have to consider, "What if it was my gate?" 



Unlike most (if not all but one or two) of the other wood fence builders serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, I refused to build them the status quo way.  You KNOW what they're thinking when they build these inferior wood fence gates, right?  If you don't I'll share just exactly what in all likelihood goes through their minds. 



Let's see how many sound familiar:  "Oh that's just the way it is...";  "They always sag, you just have to lift it up a little bit to close it in the latch, the other side holds it up...";  "The posts always bend a little bit...";  "The only other choice is to get a thick steel post...";  "These are the best hinges available..."; etc., etc., etc.



Really?  Am I the first person around here to care enough to solve the wood fence gate challenges?  Sure I'd love a $1M prize but let's get real.  My prize is knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I have designed and built the best wood fence gate, that I am honest and capable enough to design and build, as if it were for somebody famous or myself, notwithstanding the budget and design parameters of a given project.  But even given these lastly mentioned parameters, certain elementary components of design and construction just should not be compromised, so I don't compromise on those basic components.  Sure it costs a little bit more but the difference between a wood fence gate that's built to fail or last a long time is certainly worth the difference!  Right?  Which would you rather have?



Elegant or ordinary, it really doesn't matter.  Building the best wood fence gates in the Los Angeles Area is not a problem!  Every builder should always be striving to discover the next improvement in design and construction like I am!  The status quo is usually old and much overdue for improvement.  Wood fence gates can always be improved upon, that's my attitude anyway!



Certain parts of the wood fence gate equation are actually critical and make the difference between a fence gate that's built to fail and one that's built to last! 



I'm simply posting some photos of a few wood fence gates that I've built.  Every build is a custom build because every situation is different.  So I take design rules that I've discovered and/or created and apply them to the design and construction of every different situation to build the optimum fence gate to solve that specific challenge. 



Even lattice top wood fence gates can be built to last, strong and beautiful.



This was an extraordinary build that just came out so perfect!  Nice front porch and patio enclosure with built-in mailbox, which of course had to have a matching wood fence gate.  Electric deadbolt with wireless doorbell moves the front door outside providing a beautiful yet additional barrier to entering the residence! 



I've become most comfortable with a few design rules as these photos show.  Doesn't mean they're the best, there are always opportunities to improve. 



And very often there are special circumstances where pulling off the right wood fence gate is more of a challenge than other times.



How do you like this floating wood fence gate with matching wood fence?  Write as I love, I cannot provide my competitors with all of the fruits of my hard labor and engineering talent.  Many of the hidden nuances will remain so without enumeration via text by me here on this blog article.  However, I know that some builders have an eye just as good as mine; and that much expertise will inevitably be gleaned from these photos of wood fence gates built by WoodFenceExpert.com! 

If you're in or around LA and want the best wood fence gates for your property-call, text or email me for a quote.  I would love to built it right!

December 24, 2011

Wood privacy fences in Los Angeles?  You bet, I've built many.  The number of different styles is refreshing.  Here are some to check out.

A very nice couple wanted something strong and unique here!  This was a fun build!



This was a neat little build.  Had to build off a solid concrete wall immediately below so this wood privacy fence is actually floating!  You can't see the nice and strong steel supports behind the fence which I custom engineered for this application.  It was a simple solution actually.



The rain finally left to let us build this one.  We boxed around the trees but left an open side for landscape maintenance access.  If you look closely you can see it's a standard board-on-board overlapping dog ear fence.  The overlapping boards maintain 100% visual privacy after the wood shrinks from moisture evaporation.  Otherwise this wood privacy fence would have spaces between the boards after they dry out,



This was a nice little custom job.  This fence is 9.5' tall and has overlapping boards, but arranged in what I like to call a "one-way-overlap" exactly like mini-blinds when they're closed!



This was a much more custom job and of a larger length than most residential wood privacy fences here in the Los Angeles Area.  Note the perfect alignments and grade parallel.  This baby is a show piece for sure, check out the scalloped top rails and the finials.



Here's the front of that same fence!  Even the staining part of the job was custom.



This also was a custom wood privacy fence I built.  It's got 2-layer lattice for more privacy and the finials give it a classy, rather elegant look. 



Here's another custom wood privacy fence I built.  It's also a front yard enclosure!



This one is a regular dog ear cedar wood privacy fence on the side of a yard with a fancy pool and patio.  This was a fun build too!




This is a regular dog ear redwood privacy fence atop a 1' kicker.  I built this to box around the big palm that grew into the previous fence.  The very nice couple wanted to save the tree, but still needed pet control.



This nice customer wanted a custom and unique horizontal wood privacy fence with a matching porch enclosure.  This was a fun build.  In case you're wondering it's cedar.




This was a fun little build too.  Another very nice customer got this regular redwood dog ear privacy fence.  I often hear a preference for the good side of the fence.  This is the framing side, what's not good about this?  There are other things to consider about the framing side vs. the plain side  and which of those is best to face your residence.  For example intruders and peeping Toms don't have the ladder of the frame to help themselves over your fence more easily, it's a security issue!  Secondly I feel the frame adds a handy, built-in little ledge that's perfect for coffee cups, ashtrays and Martini glasses!  Thirdly if your fence is long and you're into science, you could put a nice little linear accelerator there and show it off to your friends!




This was an interesting little custom build.  The concrete wall could not be trusted to support a fence.  Having the fence raised allows easy maintenance around it; this will greatly extend its lifespan!




This is what happens when you don't do the simple and easy steps to maintain your wood privacy fence.  A 40 or 50-year fence turns into a 10-year fence.  When it gets windy the fences blow over and the people go running to their insurance companies because they never maintained their fences.  Is that really honest?  I have found that it's more an issue of lack of education about how to make your wood fence last a long time with proper maintenance.  This is why I wrote a little blog article about it earlier in this blog, and why I tell every customer to please read it for this reason!  Now how many wood privacy fence builders go that far?  So who are you going to call to build your new wood fence?  310-717-2000 is my direct cell number!  I build 'em year round every week.  Call me now to get on my list!




Here's another floating wood privacy fence with a pedestrian gate that I built for a nice apartment building.  There are engineering and therefore building details here that the untrained eye, and most of my competitors will miss!  The previous build which was infested was a design joke!  You just don't know that my competitors still build them to fail as if they were in an indoor environment.  I see them newly built that old failing way all the time, all over LA!  Are they dum-dums or do they just not care to build it right for the customer?  Should I charge a fee to access this blog?




Here's another custom design wood privacy fence I built.  Perpendicular rather than diagonal lattice atop a regular cedar dog ear fence, I like this design!




This custom 3-rail plus cap wood privacy fence project was a blast!  The customers did the staining and I must say it looks great! 




This alternating sections wood privacy fence I built is the perfect solution for neighbors that fight over who gets to have the framing side!  As the builder I consider the framing side even more beautiful and interesting.  I consider the finish side to be the plain side, and the framing side to be the detail side!  This way each neighbor gets their share of both so it's totally fair.  These neighbors were very nice and no they weren't fighting!




This was a very satisfying build!  It's a porch and front patio enclosure with all the goodies!  Check out the dvault brand built-in secure mailbox+parcel delivery box!  The electric deadbolt above the thumb latch on the pedestrian gate-this one is another show piece job!



310-717-2000 is my direct cell. 
Call, text or email me for a quote; I will build it right! 

There are plenty of design options for your new wood privacy fence.  Above are just a few. 

And just more thing I believe you'd like to know.  I have noticed more than one competitor using the web content of others, even mine, on their own wood fence websites!  As a customer how do you know who to trust?  Yes I know it's a challenging question.  Dishonesty is a trait--if it's on their website it will be present in the details of construction of your new wood fence.

Let me be on the record about this issue!  There is not one single lie or misrepresentation on any single part of my website, blog, etc.  Every single photo here on this blog, on my website, and linked to my website is of a wood fence or other outdoor project that I personally built.  I personally wrote every single word within the same parameters, in addition to personally authoring the cute little titles, sayings and slogans.  Furthermore every single customer testimonial is honestly written for me by that customer! 

To most of you this is of course normal and understood; and yes I agree with you.  But you should know that relative honesty is lacking in some people in this field, just like any other field.  As a builder I know that honestly building to stated specifications is not always done by some builders.  During rebuilds I run across the building shortcuts and shortcomings of previous builders quite often. 

This is another reason why you should not cheap-out when it comes to your new wood privacy fence.  I know that you expect it to be built right as specified.  I know you want a 40 or 50-year fence instead of a 10-year fence.  I want you to know that I cannot be proud or motivated to build unless I build it right!

Therefore there is only one choice for your builder if you're in the Los Angeles Area.  That choice is WoodFenceExpert.com!

December 21, 2011

SPAX brand?  Oh yes!  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I hadn't known of SPAX until Home Depot started carrying a few of their products.  Once I tried them it was over, they are the best.  Probably at least 90% of what's available in the marketplace is just lousy crap compared to SPAX brand fasteners. 

The big-box home improvement stores as well as the small-box home improvement stores have isles of fasteners of various types and sizes that are manufactured cheaply in China to make a buck at the retail as well as corporate levels.  "Screw the end user (pun intended), they'll never know the difference."  Well there is a very big difference and this end user has decided to let everybody know about it. 

What happened to quality, honestly caring and making sure you're delivering the best quality to your customers?  Huh?  Well SPAX didn't fall prey to the oh-too-common lazy+greed combo plummeting work ethic.  It's disgusting how some companies sell you products of a bad quality, as they smile to you and accept your money. 

SPAX is awesome!  What a pleasure it is to purchase and use their products.  When I buy their screws and lags they ALWAYS exceed my expectations.  If you are a builder reading this, heads-up!  Make a big fuss with your supplier to make them carry SPAX brand fasteners!  Spell it for them since they're probably falling into the lazy+greed combo mode that too much of the deteriorating U.S. workforce has become infected with! 

Once you use SPAX brand fasteners you'll never go back!  Sure they're a little bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for.  Get the cheap garbage lags and screws from China and let your conscience know without a doubt that you're giving your customers crap that's designed and manufactured to fail prematurely.  That's the truth.  We all claim to want the truth right?  Well there it is!  Tell your supplier to get full of plenty of SPAX brand lags and screws, and don't forget to spell it for them!

Then never settle for anything less than SPAX brand lags and screws.  You can use it as leverage to sell your jobs.  Specify SPAX brand screws and/or lags in your job proposals.  Show them a sample and point out to them that they're made in Germany!  Then they'll get it, since they will remember BMW and Mercedes are made in Germany and they're about top of the line in their fields too.  Isn't it just too odd that the land of Hitler is now finally setting a good example?  And that Autobahn concept just rocks if you ask me!  Too bad the U.S. is too screwed up for us to get our own autobahn, right?

Here's a specific fact!  SPAX brand lag bolts are at least ten-times stronger than the made-in-China garbage lag bolts of the same and even slightly larger size, that your big-box and small-box home improvement store happily sells you with a smile!  Don't buy 'em.  I've had to be careful not to break those garbage lag bolts during installation for years, what an unnecessary pain!  I just freely sink those SPAX brand lags all the way until they bottom!  They never break!  And they're much harder to make strip out the wood cavity than the garbage crappy ones too!  What a huge difference!

I see the need to clarify something here.  I like China and I love Chinese people.  Many products from China are great.  It's the individual circumstances and details thereof that you must discern.  Certainly China has companies that manufacture screws and lag bolts of high quality steel.  They're just not generally on most of the shelves here where most of us shop. 

If you're a builder then bypass your supplier until they carry enough SPAX brand products for your jobs, and let them know it! 

If you're a supplier, well, it's time to give your customers an honest product as far as lag bolts and screws are concerned.  You are not trapped into only carrying just the crappy garbage lag bolts and screws from China, sold to you with a smile, right?

And if you're a customer, the understanding now should be firmly established.  Call me and I will build it right!

December 21, 2011

There's a set we built not too long ago right there!



This was a beautiful, satisfying build!  1"x6" redwood horizontals which we stained at the end.  Perfect alignment, perfect frame, perfect WoodFenceExpert.com "Neverbend Steel Reinforced Hinge Posts", SPAX brand hinge fasteners, alignment, even the latch and drop-down cane bolts; everything came out wunderbar!  This set of driveway gates has made our customer's neighbors a little jealous I might say! 

Here's another view of this set of wood driveway gates.



I know our customer loves these because I love them! 

Bolt to the house?  You're kidding right?  We dropped those steel reinforced 6"x6" hinge posts plenty deep in concrete!  You'd like a pair for your driveway?  No problem, call, text or email me for a quote!  We will build them just right?  Prefer 1"x4" horizontals, perhaps 1"x2" horizotals?  Piece of cake, call me!  Just be careful not to cheap out and get a lousy builder because you'll get lousy gates that sag, and look like they were a rush job from a third world country!  You think I'm kidding?  I will be posting an article in the not too distant future right here, showing photos of some customers' projects where they DID cheap out and use somebody else!  You will be surprised, just wait!  For superb wood driveway gates in the Los Angeles area you really have two choices.  Those are: WoodFenceExpert.com, or somebody else.



What a perfect pair of double swinger wood driveway gates this is, built by ourselves here in the Los Angeles area!  Support wheels?  Ha ha, that's funny!  Overhead beam/brace holding the posts apart?  Not by this builder!  And for the record, just three of these heavy duty commercial hinges on each side would have been enough.  Sometimes enough is NOT enough!  Five of these hinges on each side make it stronger and able to last much longer; probably doubled the lifespan of these wood driveway gates by doing so. 

Go ahead and try to copy these wood driveway gates.  There are hidden features built in to them which make them so right, and so strong!  Sorry but I can't teach my competitors everything, especially when I personally spent the time to engineer this myself, c'mon! 



Yes these wood driveway gates match the wood fence that we built for this happy customer. 

If you'd like a pair of wood driveway gates something like this, we'll build it all on-site and you will love it!  Call, text or email me for a quote if you're in the Los Angeles area.  I will build it right!

December 20, 2011

It's been a while since my last post, so much to do!  So many fences to build, only 24 hours in a day! 

So here's a good one!  Patio cover ledgers!  Yes I build patio covers too.  The fancy people use the fancy name of pergolas.  "Why yes, I certainly do construct pergolas!"

If the patio cover is attached to the house you've got to tie in with a ledger board and go from there.  It's not the prettiest or the strongest way and I've known this for some time.  But the status quo often remains when few are up to the challenge to make it better. 

I've had a great new concept for patio cover ledgers for some time.  A wonderful customer over in Pasadena tells me her neighbor's patio cover is about to fall down.  Therefore won't I build them a new one and paint it to match hers and the nice condo complex there?  Built it better than the rest of course and painted to match!

So getting back to ledger boards, the ugly and not as strong as possible status quo way to attach and hang wood beams just would not do for me.  Before we go any further here's a shot as we're wrapping up!



I had to place the two beams on the outside edges to match everybody else's patio covers there.  But wait!  What's that ledger configuration up against the house?  Nice, brief and clean right?  Those ugly joist hangers or beam hangers on a big board are too much mess for not enough strength in my opinion.  Status quo, there you go, bye-bye!  I was going to build the best patio cover in the complex, or forget it!

Another WoodFenceExpert.com first I suppose!  My design if you have the patience to keep reading, seemed too obvious.  But I cannot remember ever seeing it before!  What am I going to call it?  Call it what it is-angle iron ledger, with a 1"x cushion up against the stucco!

3"x3"x1/4" thick angle iron (steel in other words), primed three times, yeah we can't have any rust streaks.  It does rain sometimes here in Southern California, just not too often!  We primed it twice with spray can primer "formulated for rusty steel".  Then the whole project got got primed and then painted to match the theme of the complex after we let the wood dry out a few weeks! 

Please excuse the over-paint on the stucco before the touch-ups.  But there it is!  SPAX brand massive heavy duty lags bolting to the frame of the house.  And 1/2" diameter hex bolts going all the way through each beam and through the steel, bolted together under pressure!  There are three washers on top of each beam for the hex bolts to grab as much of the beam as possible: biggest on the wood (on the bottom), middle in the middle, and smallest at the top.  Didn't get a photo of that, sorry.  And by positioning the steel angle in that position plus having the 1"x cushion up against the stucco, we've got more beam to bite and hold onto with the 1/2" hex bolt since we slid the beam right up to the stucco!  Now that's my kind of patio cover ledger!  It's nice and strong and simple! 



So forget ledger boards and beam hangers.  Isn't this stronger and easier to admire?  That ugly mess of a big ledger board, beam hangers with all the little joist hanger nails are gone!  Status quo, there you go, bye-bye!  This is a much better patio cover ledger board concept!  Simple and strong! 

So if you're in or near Los Angeles and need a patio cover that requires a ledger board attachment to the house, or a free standing patio cover or pergola: call, text or email me for a quote!  I will build it right! 

August 15, 2011

Is Redwood really resistant to termites?  It depends on which part of the redwood tree the wood came from.  Is redwood termite-proof?  Let's examine this more closely to really see this.

There are several grades of redwood.  These can be distinguished by size and quantity of knots, smooth or rough surface, grain characteristics, and the relevant characteristic to this post which is all heart or not. 

Redwood that is two-colored is a mix of heartwood (which comes from the center of the tree and the area closer to the center), and sapwood (which comes from the outer part of the tree and the area closer to the protective bark of the tree).

The heartwood of redwood is pink when it's freshly cut compared to the sapwood which is almost white.  It's the heartwood of redwood that is where its name is derived.  As the heartwood ages with weather it very soon changes to a dark reddish-orange-brown sort of color.  Eventually it will weather to a grey as does the sapwood and most other woods for that matter.

It's the heartwood of redwood which is resistant to termites and rot.  It is not termite-proof, but, it is very resistant to termites and rot. 

Our latest project is the demo and replacement of a termite infested redwood fence!  Sounds like an oxymoron right?  In the photos below you'll see cross-sections of some of the 2"x4"s from this old fence.  The 2"x4"s are redwood but not an all heart, heartwood grade.  Just look and see for yourself what the termites ate and what they did not!



And another!



And another!



One more!



As you can see the termites had plenty of the white sapwood to eat.  You can also see they almost never ate the heartwood.  Proper maintenance would have prevented most if not all of this termite infestation on this fence which is only about 12 years old.  This is why all heart redwood is the proper redwood to use for fence posts.  It's of course more expensive than other grades but this is out of context.  There are heartwood grades of redwood and there are grades that contain sapwood.

So there it is accurately photographed for your viewing pleasure and information!

When I build a redwood fence with redwood posts, I specify and use all heart redwood posts.  This is why!

So who do you trust to build your new wood fence or other outdoor wood project?  Call, text or email me for a free quote.  I will build it right!

August 11, 2011

I'll be focusing on wooden driveway swing gates for this article.

Building large wood driveway gates that perform as expected is a test of engineering skill as well as building skill and experience.  There are weak links that must be solved by your builder; not many wood fence builders have this mastered yet.  The devil is in the details of the wood driveway gate designs.  Let's look at a few of these.

First there's the hinge post or posts if it's a double swinger wood driveway gate.  The post must be more than strong enough to do the work that you'll be asking of it, obviously.  What is that work?  Well, it's holding up the gate for as many years as possible without bending or failing and breaking.  Most wood fence builders haven't figured this one out yet!  As a result their "solutions" include:  steel hinge posts, too shallow of holes for the post, extending the posts too high in order to rig a cross-member to hold them apart which keeps them from bending, extraneous and unnecessary diagonal cables, support wheels for the gate to roll on, or just giving up and telling the customer that they must rest against each other while in the closed position!  OMG, statements of admitted disqualification!  I have personally solved the wood driveway gate hinge post issue, that answer is detailed and photographed in an earlier article in this BLOG!

You want your driveway gates to stay in alignment, not sag, not fall apart.  You want them to perform and last like you know they can, provided they're built correctly!  I know this.  I build them correctly.  I started with the attitude that this design challenge CAN be solved.  And I solved it, wasn't too difficult.

There are a few other factors or components of the design and build that must be taken into consideration since they all work together in concert, or not if you cheap out and get a crappy builder!  Sorry but this is the truth and I believe you do want to know, right?  Is wood driveway gate construction an art?  Sure why not!

The hinges have to be strong enough, and you need enough of them.  This of course is relative to the size, weight and other factors of the gate itself, its location and expected service repetitions. 

This actually gets somewhat intricate overall because the details seem to have children right before your eyes, and they all keep demanding to be amply solved.  These include the lag bolts for the hinges:  What type, brand?  How many?  How big?  How strong?  Then there's the frame!  On heavy gates I've had to really get creative!  But I solved it by coming up with and building custom wood and metal driveway gates specially designed for the job!  Even the fasteners that I use for the gate frame contribute to the difference between my builds that you can count on, and the built-to-fail gates constructed by hopeful-but-unsure builders hurrying for your check!  "Build-it-and-run" is what I call them!  Why?  They run so they're gone and paid when you discover they gave you a crappy build. 

Every gate that I build is a custom gate.  It's custom built specifically for its unique situation and circumstances.  I climb on and swing on my gates to test them to make sure they're good enough.  Anybody else do that?  I don't think so.  Custom wood driveway gates yes!  Cheap wood driveway gates no!  How about electric wood driveway gates?  How about 100% solar powered automatic wood driveway gates?  That would be a definite "Yes!" to both.

To call them wood fence driveway gates just doesn't do them justice in my opinion.  In my online albums are several photos of wood driveway gates that I've built!  There are both horizontal and vertical designs.  If you've got a custom concept call me and I will build it right!

Call, text or email me for a quote. 

August 10, 2011

It almost looks like a very carefully planned and orchestrated campaign aimed toward U.S. cities.  Or is it a natural progression? 

The civil unrest complete with riots and looters that swept through the middle east has spread to the "civilized world", currently in London, England!  How long until this social phenomena reaches U.S. cities?  What about your neighborhood?

Of course we all hope this won't happen. 

If it does happen, are you comfortable with your fence?  Maybe it's time to get those driveway gates built correctly, strong and beautiful.  Perhaps a front yard or front porch enclosure would be better.

Within this context safety and security fencing is commonly thought of as chain link and barbed wire.  How about a strong and beautiful wood version?  As a builder of wood fences that prefers to overbuild for strength, I feel uniquely qualified to construct such projects better than most.  There is wood available today, albeit more expensive than traditional lumber, that is basically fire-proof!  I also enjoy using steel reinforcements in my wood builds to really make them strong and secure!  There are many structural and design options for a beautiful and strong wood security fence, and/or gate project for your property!

When this social phenomena/social trend appeared in the middle east I knew it might make it here to our cities, especially L.A. which is famous for riots.  I considered designs for strong wood security fences that would still look nice.  If you'd like a nice and very strong wood security fence just call, text or email me for a quote.  I will build it right!

July 23, 2011

Wood Fences in Los Angeles?  To an unfamiliar outsider it almost sounds like an oxymoron!

As a resident of Los Angeles and a builder of wood fence projects in Los Angeles I must say that wood fencing is Los Angeles is certainly popular.  Striving to be the best wood fence company in Los Angeles has its challenges due to the competitive nature of both the city and the industry.

To be (or at the very least aspire to be) the very best Los Angeles wood fence company I have the responsibility to make sure the customer receives the highest quality craftsmanship that I am capable of performing.  This really isn't difficult but actually very satisfying, especially when the new wood fence project I've just built is finished.  It's always very nice to step back for a moment and admire the completed build.  The goal of every job is to make it the very best wood fence within the existing budget, design and material parameters! 

I enjoy building many different designs of wood fence, as well as many different types.  I also love to build from drawings of and/or come up with new and unique wood fence designs.  Whether you want a privacy fence, a decorative wood fence, a redwood or cedar wood fence, an elegant custom horizontal wood fence or an economy wood fence, my goal is to make it the very best within budget, design and material parameters.  It's your property so I'd expect that you'd expect this attitude, work ethic and goal from your selected builder.  Unfortunately I can attest that not all builders endeavor this far.  I've seen it with poor construction, errors in design and the consequential failures that each yields.

I service the entire Los Angeles area.  Call, text or email me to schedule a free estimate for your project.  I'd love to build it right!

July 10, 2011
I've NEVER seen it built right, until I did it!  Surely there must be somebody else out there that has figured this out; this is too much of a common sense issue for me to be the first.  Right?

First, please ask yourself if it's really necessary to put those vertical boards on both sides of the fence.  Some people consider that the framed side is less beautiful than the other side of the fence.  As the builder I must disagree.  My framing lines are parallel, posts are evenly spaced when possible, my framing sides are visually perfect!  Plus intruders or peeping Toms don't have the "ladder" of the framing side if it's kept facing your residence.

But if you absolutely insist on a double-sided vertical board fence, there is a correct way to build it. 

There are twice as many boards on the fence so you need closer post spacing than you'd normally have for a single-sided fence.  This is because the fence will be much heavier, and there will be much more stress on the posts when somebody hops over the fence, shakes the fence, or during windy weather that will challenge your fence.

A special rail (horizontal frame member) configuration is also called for.  You need a flat rail to provide a nailing surface for both sides.  But you also need more vertical (anti-sagging) strength since the rails are now holding up boards on both sides.  Plain flat rails will definitely sag and so will your fence!

Well I'm going to name it since I haven't seen it and I've built it already!  WoodFenceExpert.com Custom "T-Rails" is both an accurate name and description!  Check out the photos and explanation below!



Yes that's a 2"x6" centered below that top 2"x4" rail, positioned for long term strength against sagging!  It's fastened to the 2"x4" above with heavy duty framing screws making it effectively one single rail, a "T-Rail"!  It also provides additional fastening opportunities to the post by toe-screwing.  That's a very strong and appropriate rail for a two-sided vertical board fence, wouldn't you agree?  Don't shortcut it by using only a 2"x4" underneath-you need the additional strength of a 2"x6"-remember it's holding up boards on both sides, twice the weight of a single sided fence!  And it's more like eight times the weight during a soggy rainy season!

Bottom rail too?  You know it!  Nothing is too good for my customers!  Here's the photo.



Closer post spacing plus WoodFenceExpert.com Custom T-Rails is how you correctly frame for a two-sided vertical board fence!  I figured this one out on-the-fly last year when a prospective customer wanted the quote to have the two-sided option!  Didn't get that one, too bad for them-I'm sure their builder went the cheap way with single flat 2"x4"s designed to sag and fail. 

This small cluster of customers knew they were taking to quality and honest building techniques when we met!  Very nice little condo/townhouse complex in Playa Del Rey, and there, almost done!



There were other quality / technical issues at this jobsite where we eventually triumphed as usual.  All but one of these are detailed on either my website, my BLOG here or both.  The unmentioned quality issue/building technique I reserve for a later publication.  Sorry competitors, I've schooled you amply thus far!

So who do you trust to build your new wood fence right-correctly so it lasts?  You have only two choices:  WoodFenceExpert.com,    or somebody else.