The Pros and Cons of a Wood Fence

A wood picket fence always reminds me of some famous classic books. For instance, Tom Sawyer whitewashed his Aunt's picket fence. Or Anne of Green Gables had a cute white picket fence around their country home. Since then, I have dreamed of having a white picket fence outside of my home. This dream started to come true after buying our first home with a picket fence in the back. When we first saw the yard, we did not realize that only 3/4 of the yard was fenced when we bought it. I do not know where we missed that. Quickly we learned that our nosy neighbor would come out and talk to us all day every day that we spent in our yard. I love people, but it is nice to have a little privacy in my backyard. After talking about it, my husband and I decided to finish the fence, so our yard was completely fenced in. We have learned so many pros and cons of having a wood fence.

Pros of a Wood Fence

1. The top pro for me is they are super cute. Who does not want a rustic picture in front of an old fence? It is a big fashion to have weathered wood, and a weathered fence is no exception. 
2. They are not hard to put up. Do you know the basics of cementing, drilling, and measuring? If so, you have your fence built. Within a couple of minutes, my husband and I had multiple poles put up and quickly closed our yard. We were super excited to see the outcome.
3. You can paint your fence whatever color you want! I am all about classic white, but I have seen other colors. Or if you are brave, you could stain your fence. Nice new boards are not hard to stain; the old ones are a pain!
4. If boards get broken or rot out, it is not hard to replace them! Pull out your drill a few screws and within seconds, the broken boards are gone.
5. They come in all sizes. Our backyard fence is 6-foot tall, but there are so many varieties. Do you want a two or three-foot fence? That is an option! You design and create what fits in your perfect yard.
6. You can often get a used fence for cheap. We bought 110 wood slabs for $150, which will finish our yard. Trust me, that is penny's when putting up a brand new fence!
7. You can have as big or small of a gap as you want. Do you want people to be able to see everything you are doing? Or have your yard completely blocked off from the world? You choose...

Cons of a Wood Fence

1. Wood splinters are always fun. I do not know how many times; I have gotten slivers from the wood. There is no exception to a wood fence, especially the slats that have been weathered.
2. It can be a lot of maintenance. Plan on painting a coat of paint every year to every other year. And you have to take into account that wind storms sometimes blow over your fence. There can be a lot of work to put it back together, especially if you have to dig out any concrete posts.
3. Water does damage to a wood fence. Our neighbors across the street have a sprinkler that hits their fence every time it goes off. There is a line of rotten wood exactly where the water has hit.
4. The large wood poles that hold up the fence can be expensive. It is hard to find used posts to put in the ground. To buy a new post plan on spending $5 to $15 each.
5. They are a big attraction for spiders and wasps. Gaps and holes in the fence are calling for spiderwebs and wasp nests. If you are afraid of creepy crawling things then; you might want to stick with a chain-link style.

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah