The Cedar Fence Wave Continues

I put in yet another cedar fence with steel PostMaster posts and a 4-ft single-swing gate! I’ve been cranking them out lately—you’d think I was running a fence company or something. I’m convinced customers conspire somewhere to decide which types of fences they want me to build. I’ll have nothing but wood for a month, then nothing but vinyl, and so on. Lately, I’ve been itching to get some vinyl jobs, so customers, please conspire that way—I miss my vinyl suppliers over at ValleyWide Patio & Fence in Nampa.

You’d be surprised how many professionally installed fence gates I see with improper bracing and tensioning (I’ll do a proper blog post on that sometime). For this one, I used a steel frame and adjustable tension wire to prevent the gate from sagging over the long haul. I also installed a double-sided latch, which is much easier to operate and more secure than the usual latch with the fiddly string routine you find on a lot of gates. Hinges and latches are a little tricky on PostMaster posts, but I think I’m getting closer to the perfect formula.

The metal posts have been a really popular upgrade. Contrary to what many say, Treasure Valley soils tend to retain a lot of moisture—they’re often silty, clay-like, and rich. That’s great for a vegetable garden but murder on traditional wood fence posts. Steel posts, of course, don’t rot. The extra cost over wood posts is also a lot less than you might think, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer.

All in all, another dog’s backyard secured and another great project in the books!