Commercial Wood Fence

Wood : Timeless classic that provides a natural look

Wood fences are a popular choice for commercial properties, offering a warm, attractive look along with reliable security. Their sustainable, paintable design makes them easy to customize to suit the needs of any business.

Robinson Fence offers three options for your wood fence:

Eastern Red Cedar (ERC):

Fragrant and naturally beautiful, ERC is an excellent choice in wood fencing. This is the same cedar used in cedar chests and closets for its fragrance, beauty, and insect resistance. A Juniper, a member of the Cypress family, is a very tough and resilient cedar even in ground contact. Because of its rot resistance, we use ERC for your entire cedar fence, including the fence posts. ERC posts have proven to last for decades. Not to be confused with other cedars (Western Red Cedar, Incense Cedar, Northern White Cedar, Chinese Cedar), ERC is the superior cedar. ERC outperforms other cedars in strength and rot resistance. According to the ASTM Standards for Fence Materials and Products, ERC is highlighted as superior in decay resistance and termite resistance (11th Edition, page 25-26).

Advantages of Eastern Red Cedar:

Environmentally safe, no chemicals / additives
Highly rot and decay resistant
Highly insect resistant
Extremely durable and stable
Higher quality than other cedar options
Beautiful color and aroma
Weathers to a natural grey

Japanese Cedar:

Sugi wood refers to the timber obtained from the Japanese cedar tree. It is known for its straight grain, durability, natural resistance to decay, and lower price point than Eastern Red Cedar. Sugi wood is used in a variety of applications, including construction and furniture making. The wood is a reddish-pink color and is known to be straight-grained and with a medium texture. It is a strong wood that stains well.

Advantages of Japanese Cedar:

Cost: Japanese cedar is a less expensive cedar option
Availability: typically, readily available
Durability: cedar is known for its durability and natural resistance to decay.
Budget friendly
Modern aesthetic with a rich color and straight grain.

Southern Yellow Pine:

Southern Yellow Pine is a hard and dense wood that is known for its strength and stability. Cost-effective and durable, treated pine is resistant to insects and decay. Treated pine is a popular choice due to its strength, durability, and cost.

Advantages of Southern Yellow Pine:

Superior strength, durability, and workability: Pine is strong, stiff, dense, and finishes well. Pine wood holds nails well, which is important for outdoor construction projects.
Durability is improved when pine is pressure-treated making it decay resistant.
Beautiful golden color.
Cost-Effective compared to other wood choices.

Wood Fact Sheet

There are three primary categories of lumber used for fence construction.

Oil-based, chemically pressure-treated southern yellow pine
Water-based, chemically pressure-treated southern yellow pine
Natural (no chemical treatments) cedar, redwood, spruce, cypress, hemlock, douglas fir

The two most commonly used types of lumber in the Midwest are southern yellow pine and cedar. The overwhelming majority of southern yellow pine used in the fence industry is treated using the water-based process. The use of the oil-based treatment process is minor by comparison. Eastern red cedar and Japanese cedar are the most commonly used natural wood with the other choices being mostly regional.

What is pressure-treated wood? It is a process in which preservatives are forced deep into the cellular structure of the wood in a closed, pressurized cylinder. With the exception of naturally durable lumber like redwood and cedar, this process enables the wood to maintain a chemical barrier against termites, decay and fungi for longer periods of time.

Oil-Based Treatment- (Pentachlorophenol (Penta), Copper naphthenate, and Creosote)

Pentachlorophenol is a manufactured chemical that can be dissolved in different oils. The use of Pentachlorophenol has been restricted to certified applications and is no longer available to the general public. It is not recommended for areas where it comes into frequent contact with human hands.
Copper naphthenate is a mixture of naphthenic acids and copper salts dissolved in oil. The most commonly used oils in the treatment process are diesel fuel oils and mineral spirits. Even though human health concerns do not require copper naphthenate to be listed as an RUP (restricted use pesticide), precautions such as the use of dust masks and gloves should be used when working with wood treated with copper naphthenate.
Creosote is made from coal tar, which is a by-product of the carbonization of the coal during steel production. Creosote-treated wood has a dark brown-black color with an oily surface and strong odor.

Water-Based Treatment - (ACQ, AZCA, MCQ, CC, CBA, CDDC)

ACQ (Alkaline copper quat) contains copper and a quaternary ammonium compound. ACQ is a common water-based preservative used in the fence industry. Because water-based preservatives leave a dry, stainable surface, they are commonly used to treat wood for residential applications such as decks and fences.

Natural (No chemical treatments) - Red cedar

Western red cedar’s naturally occurring oils make it resistant to decay. WRC scores high in dimensional stability and resistance to cupping.
Eastern red cedar’s naturally occurring oils make it resistant to decay and termites. ERC scores high in dimensional stability and resistance to cupping. ERC is the only cedar listed by ASTM as termite resistant.
Japanese cedar’s naturally occurring oils make it resistant to decay. Japanese cedar is durable and known to be straight-grained.

	Advantages	Disadvantages
COPPER NAPHTHENATE Southern Yellow Pine oil-based treatment	inexpensive, longevity	warpage, cupping, shrinkage, odor
ACQ Southern Yellow Pine water-based treatment	inexpensive, longevity	warpage, cupping, shrinkage
CEDAR	longevity, environmentally safe, natural resistance to decay, little warpage or shrinkage, great smell	different qualities (larger knots), costs more

Although there is no perfect lumber when exposed to nature’s elements, staining will help keep the natural look.

Posts: Foundation Of The Fence

For Eastern Red Cedar, we use a true 4’’ x 4’’ post in lieu of a nominal 4” x 4” (3.5” x 3.5”). A true 4” post is 30% larger than a nominal 4“ post. The post is the structural strength of your fence. With a solid foundation, your fence will be structurally sound.

Gates: The Part Of Your Fence That Moves

Eliminate the troublesome problems associated with wood framed gates. Steel angled braces are our standard. An optional upgrade is using steel gate posts and steel gate frames which allow for long-term smooth and easy operation every time (upgrade pictured below on right).

Maintaining The Beauty Of Your Fence

Any wood when depleted of its natural oils will begin to grey. Cedar, if allowed to weather, will age to a pleasing silvery grey or you can enhance its natural beauty by applying an exterior wood treatment, preferably one that uses natural oils like linseed or is waterborne.