rot proof wood for fencing - tanalised/ pressure treated etc

[Matt@]

looking to do our fence (heavy vertical slats) and I want to use timber that lasts which I dont need to treat. Do I buy tanalised or pressure treated? are there various grades of this treatment? any in particular to buy or stay clear of?

Also, rust proof screws - which are the ones to buy that DONT rust as I've noticed lots of time zinc plated screws gone rusty. Dont want to buy stainless partly due to cost but also as I cant seem to find positive heads on them, only slots.

Any suggestions on the above very welcome

 

[Homers double]

Hello Matt@
When you say heavy vertical slats do you hit and miss fencing using 4 x1 slats? Or are you doing a heavy duty close board fencing.
Rather than use wooden posts why don't you use concrete posts, you can get specific concrete posts for close board fencing from any proper fencing supplier ( not your normal builders merchants) , there very easy to adapt for hit and miss, and they're only a few quid dearer than wooden posts
I'd always use treated timber for the rails and slats, I'm no expert on the various treatments hopefully someone else will be along with more info on what's available
HD

 

[denboy]

"Tanalised" means treated with Tanalith, a chemical product which helps the timber to resist rot. It's always applied to the wood by pressure treatment, infinitely more effective than brushing or dipping. Not all tanalised wood has been treated with Tanalith , because it is used as a general term even though it is a trademark- protected process . But to all intents, tantalised and pressure treated are the same thing.

Zinc plated and all the yellow-looking screws will not do very well outdoors. In fact they seem , in my experience to do exceptionally badly on tantalised timber, which attacks screws and also grips the timber ferociously. There is stainless, and cheap stainless screws are worse than useless because they break easily and the heads mash up . Hot-dip galvanised - meaning a thick coating of zinc, not just a thin plate- are good but I've only ever seen this on nails, which seem to last forever. Some manufacturers make screws, Pozi -headed, specially for decking and other tantalised timbers. Cheap screws are a false economy, I am forced to admit after all these years of tight-fistedness, so I would go for something like Deck-Tite which are said to have a coloured coating ("net-coat") specially developed for tantalised timber. They are available from Screwfix or from Toolstation (which offers free postage on a £10 order). The -Tite range are very good quality, but I have not used these particular screws and would be very happy to be corrected by anyone out there who knows better. Here's the manufacturer's info:

http://www.tite-fix.co.uk/tite-range-products/net-coat/

 

[sawdust1]

Hi Matt as above but use a brush on Tanalith called End Seal on all cuts.
Although the Tanalising does not go all the way through the timber and in my experience
just a few millimetres its all we have to use.
If you can get as much timber away from the ground the longer it will last.

 

[whiskywill]

Dont want to buy stainless partly due to cost but also as I cant seem to find positive heads on them, only slots.

Any suggestions on the above very welcome

http://www.screwfix.com/p/ultra-screw-w ... 0wod7LAKNQ

 

[Dan j]

Toolstation sell stainless pozi screws. A little bit cheaper than screwfix.

Decking screws would also be an option
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Screws+&+Fixings/d90/Decking+&+Roofing+Screws/sd2856

Concrete posts last well however if you don't want to see concrete you could use a post anchor and a timber post.

 

[bucephalus]

Cheap screws are a false economy, I am forced to admit after all these years of tight-fistedness, so I would go for something like Deck-Tite which are said to have a coloured coating ("net-coat") specially developed for tantalised timber. They are available from Screwfix or from Toolstation (which offers free postage on a £10 order). The -Tite range are very good quality, but I have not used these particular screws and would be very happy to be corrected by anyone out there who knows better. Here's the manufacturer's info:

http://www.tite-fix.co.uk/tite-range-products/net-coat/

Don't know about that coating but +1 for the Deck-Tite screws themselves, they are not cheap but they are brilliant - bought some to build a fence out of tanalised timber, now I use them for all sorts.

Gavin

 

[wills-mill]

Pressure treatment is not exactly brilliant these days, all the goodies/ nasties have been taken out. It's now graded in 'Usage Classes', with the 'best' being UC4, rated for constant ground contact. It's still not great.

Concrete posts are a sensible way forward, as is having a very heavy section 'gravel' board at ground level which is replaceable and will take the bulk of any decay. For a long lasting heavy duty job, it's always worth talking direct to local mills about supplying UK grown Larch, Oak, Sweet Chestnut, Western Red Cedar. If you were to use an existing size in an interesting way, then you can end up with something very satisfying and long lasting.

We've always used Spax stainless from Ironmongery Direct. The Screwfix stainless are almost reasonable, but have a tendency for the heads to snap off if you get keen or try to remove them

 

[Matt@]

Hi, sorrry for lack of response, been away. Thanks for all the info. I cant use posts as the fence section is spanning between a house wall and a garden wall pier so will just fix uprights to the 2 walls then run rails across and fit vertical slats to those rails. Yes similar to hit and miss but will likely use a single lay of slats 6mm apart prob approx 4 x 1 as mentioned.

 

[graduate_owner]

Tanalising does not seem to be done consistently in my experience, with some tanalised timber still good but other, newer timber (different supplier) rotted through. So now I always let the tanalised stuff dry out in the shed and give it a good few coats of spirit based wood preservative, especially ends, which I stand in a bucket of preservative for a good half hour. Not cheap to do but cheaper than replacing the wood after 5 years or so. Also an occasional refresher coat helps, if the timber is dry. I know tanalising is supposed to make this unneccessary, but I just don't rely on it.

K