PRIVACY FENCES
Wood privacy fences built to stay straight
Cedar and pine privacy fences, dog-ear and board-on-board, with cap and trim when you want it.
Chapter 01
Where a wood privacy fence fails first
A privacy fence almost never fails in the middle of a board. It fails at the ground, where posts sit in wet soil, and at the seams, where boards shrink and the gaps you paid to close open back up. Cedar and pressure-treated pine both move as they dry out and soak up rain, and a run built without allowing for that starts to look tired within a couple of seasons.
Lean is the other early failure. A post set too shallow, or in loose backfill, lets the whole run rock in the wind, and once a rail pulls away from its post the sections between start to rack. Slope makes it worse. A fence that follows a hillside has to be stepped or raked on purpose, or it ends up with ragged gaps under the boards and a top line that wanders.
Low view down a new cedar board-on-board privacy fence with a cap and trim rail
How we build the run
Fence Pros NWA builds wood privacy fences two main ways. A dog-ear fence is a single layer of boards with clipped tops, and it is the straightforward, good-looking choice for most backyards. Board-on-board overlaps a second layer across every seam, so when the boards shrink there is still wood behind each gap. Either one can take a cap and trim: a flat cap board over a trim rail that sheds water off the board tops and gives the run a finished edge from the street.
Posts are set deep and in concrete where the ground calls for it, and the rails are fastened so the boards stay tight against them. Lots around Northwest Arkansas rarely sit flat, so the way the fence will step or follow the grade gets settled before the first post goes in, not after the last board is hung.
Chapter 03
Cedar or pine, and the care that follows
Cedar has a natural resistance to rot and insects, and it weathers to a soft silver if you leave it alone or holds its warm colour under stain. Pressure-treated pine is a practical choice, treated against rot and insects, and it holds up well when it is built right and kept sealed. Both appear in the jobs pictured on this page.
Whichever you pick, stain or sealer is what slows the weathering. New pressure-treated lumber is often still wet from the treatment, so it needs time to dry before it will take stain, and Sean can tell you what that looks like for your fence. Before you order, check with your city or HOA, since height, style and setback rules differ by town and neighborhood and are theirs to set.
Fence Pros NWA builds wood privacy fences from Tontitown and Springdale across Northwest Arkansas. Sean McLaren owns the company, which is licensed and insured under Arkansas contractor licence 0466650427. Call Sean at (479) 871-3942.
Real runs, real Northwest Arkansas yards
Every fence on this page is a Fence Pros job, and the sign on the right-hand run is ours. If your fence is already up and leaning, look at fence repair. If the run needs a gate that will not sag, read about our steel-framed gates, and see more finished work on the our work page.
“From start to finish, the whole process was smooth, professional, and stress-free. The crew showed up on time, worked efficiently, and the quality of the installation is outstanding.”