Appearance and Durability Matter when Choosing Wood For A Fence

With the right fence, you can really transform the way your home looks from the street. This is something called “curb appeal” and it is a metric that realtors use to determine how likely a potential buyer will be to make an offer, and how much that offer might be.  Curb appeal is a wise investment not just because it could increase the final selling price of your home but simply because you might find it is a little more pleasant coming home from work to a house that looks inviting and comfortable.

So choosing the elements that make up your Woodspec.ca fence is going to be very important.  With that in mind, here are a few things you want to think about when choosing the right wood and design for your fence.

APPEARANCE

Obviously, appearance is important; but appearance is not the only quality you should look at.  Sure, the way your fence looks is a big reason why you might build one, so this characteristic might just top your list.  The appearance of your fence can depend on a great many variables, which can include: cut, grade, grain, color, and finish.  Each type of pre-cut hardwood you look at, then, will have varying degrees of each of these characteristics.

Grade might be the most important of these variables.  Essentially, “grade” is just another word for “quality”.  A plank of wood with a grade of 3 is considered, generally, to be the most rustic.  After you weigh a wood’s grade you should look at the cut of the wood.  Cut affects how the wood looks and it can actually influence what you think about the wood’s quality—so do not let a board’s cut trick you into thinking, for example, that it is a higher (or lower) grade than it actually is.
DURABILITY

Another thing that is very important is how strong the wood is.  Installing a fence can be hard work—not too hard, but time consuming and laborious—so you aren’t going to want to have to install a new fence every couple of years.  You are going to want to find the right hardwoods for your fence that will stand up against extreme elements and other abuses.  If you live in a region with extreme weather shifts, then, this might not be the right wood for you, unless you are prepared to commit the time and energy necessary for the appropriate consistent upkeep.