Question
I'm going to fence in a piece of land for horses. Can green wood be used for fencing?
Forum Responses
It depends on what kind of wood it is. Cypress is put up green very often. Pine lasts longer treated and to treat it requires that it be dried to about 16% or less. That takes about 6-8 weeks in North Florida. White oak hearts are fairly rot resistant and are more easily managed when green. Oak gets awfully hard and brittle when dry and must be drilled for fasteners.
I wouldn't use any wood for posts in the ground that hasn't been treated, regardless of its reputation to resist rot. Fencing is too much trouble to have to do it every few months.
Most fence board decay will occur where the posts (or other fastening spots) meet the boards. Avoid water trapping construction, as that is the cause of decay.
With green lumber, you will also notice that nail heads will pop out a little as the wood shrinks. Green posts would dry in place and often develop cracks where there is a nail and eventually the fence boards would not be well fastened. Perhaps this is the reason that early fences were not nailed together. Or maybe nails were too expensive?
So, expect to do some major maintenance after a few warm summer months, if you use green wood, to make sure everything is tight and firmly fastened.
Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor
Galvanized deck screws were used to fasten the boards onto the rails. After the wood dried a few days, it was sprayed inside and out with an oil-based preservative. It looked like oil-finished walnut when it was done.
