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Project case study · La Porte, Texas

An 80-Foot Cedar Fence for Victor Harris in La Porte, Texas

Victor Harris wanted an 80-foot cedar fence with a finished top-and-trim look and three rails for support. Here is that job in photos, plus the USDA Forest Products Laboratory numbers behind why cedar was the call, how much a board actually moves with the seasons, and why the timing of that first coat of finish matters more than most people think.

  • Reviewed Oct 28, 2026
  • Source: USDA Forest Products Lab Wood Handbook
  • 3 job photos
Call (346) 910-8641Plan your boards
New light-toned cedar fence and gate beside a brick house on freshly graded ground
The finished top-and-trim cedar fence and gate, La Porte, Texas.
The short answer

Cedar was the right call for an 80-foot fence that has to hold up outdoors: it sits in the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s “very resistant” decay class, one of only a few domestic woods rated that high. It still moves with the weather, though, so boards need a gap, and it holds a finish best when that finish goes on soon after milling rather than months later.

Very resistantDecay-resistance class of redcedar heartwood (USDA Wood Handbook, Table 14-1)
0.051 inHow much a 5.5 in redcedar board narrows across a 4-point moisture swing (Table 13-5 coefficient)
1 week vs 16Priming redcedar within a week held paint 20 years; waiting 16 weeks, it peeled in 3 (Wood Handbook Ch.16)
~12%Recommended average moisture content for exterior wood installed in a damp, warm coastal area (Table 13-2)

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 (2021).

The job: 80 feet of cedar with a top and trim

Victor Harris asked for an 80-foot cedar fence for his property in La Porte, Texas, built with a top rail and trim board rather than a plain picket top, and three rails for support. The crew fastened the boards with screws rather than nails — a choice the Forest Service’s own fastener research backs up: common smooth, round nails can lose as much as three-quarters of their grip once outdoor wood goes through repeated wetting and drying, while threaded fasteners (screws, and ring- or helically-threaded nails) keep roughly four times more of their original holding power under the same cycling.

The photos below are from that job.

Cedar privacy fence along a narrow side passage
The cedar fence running along a side passage, La Porte, Texas.

Why cedar, specifically

The USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook groups the heartwood of common native species by natural decay resistance. Eastern redcedar and Western redcedar both land in the top “Very resistant” class, alongside only a short list of other domestic species such as black locust and old-growth redwood. Species commonly used for framing and lower-grade fencing sit well below that: Douglas-fir is “Moderately resistant,” and most pines and spruces (outside a few old-growth exceptions) are “Slightly or nonresistant.”

One caveat straight from the Handbook: “Decay resistance may be less for members placed in contact with the ground and/or used in warm, humid climates.” La Porte’s Gulf Coast humidity is exactly that kind of climate, which is also why the fastening and finishing choices below matter as much as the species itself.

Decay-resistance class, by example species

Class (USDA Wood Handbook Table 14-1)Example woods
Very resistantCedar (Eastern redcedar, Western redcedar and others), black locust, old-growth redwood
Moderately resistantDouglas-fir, old-growth longleaf and slash pine
Slightly or nonresistantPines (other than the old-growth exceptions), true firs, spruces

USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook, Table 14-1. Footnote: decay resistance may be lower in ground contact or in warm, humid climates.

Elevation of a 5.5 inch cedar board shown twice at the same height: at installation around 12 percent moisture content, measuring 5.500 inches wide, and in the dry season around 8 percent moisture content, measuring 5.449 inches wide, a difference of 0.051 inches. A third board shows the gap that should be left so the neighboring board can swell back without binding. 5.500 in AT INSTALL~12% moisture content (Table 13-2) 5.449 in 0.051 innarrower DRY SEASON~8% moisture content, same board GAP TO LEAVEso the next board can swell back A 5.5 in western redcedar board across a 4-point humidity swing Western redcedar tangential coefficient 0.00234 per 1% MC change (Table 13-5): 5.5 in x 0.00234 x 4 = 0.051 in. The planner below computes this for your own board width and swing.
S-1
DrawingBoard movement across the seasons
BasisUSDA Wood Handbook Table 13-5 (western redcedar tangential coefficient 0.00234 per 1% MC change) and Table 13-2 (install moisture target)
ScaleNot to scale
A real board, a real humidity swing: the gap is there so two boards don’t fight each other when the air gets humid again.

How much different species move

Tangential dimensional-change coefficient, in thousandths of an inch per inch per 1% moisture change (USDA Wood Handbook Table 13-5).

Western redcedar2.34Engelmann spruce2.48Loblolly pine2.59Douglas-fir (Coast)2.67
USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook, Table 13-5. Loblolly pine and Douglas-fir are shown because they are common Texas framing and fence lumber, not because they are the highest-movement species on the full table.

Cedar fence board & gap planner

Pick a run length, board width, post spacing and the kind of humidity swing your site sees. The planner uses western redcedar’s own movement numbers from the USDA Wood Handbook. No prices.

88BOARDS FOR THE RUN
Gap to leave
Line posts
Finish it soonPrime or stain within about a week of milling. USDA testing on vertical-grain western redcedar found boards primed that fast were still in good shape after 20 years, while boards left bare 16 weeks before painting began peeling within 3.

Movement: USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook, Table 13-5 (western redcedar tangential coefficient 0.00234 per 1% moisture change). Install moisture target: Table 13-2, exterior wood in a damp, warm coastal area, average 12%. A planning aid, not a lumber takeoff — order extra for cuts and waste.

Finishing: the timing matters more than the product

The Wood Handbook’s chapter on exterior finishes makes a point that runs against old advice to “let a new fence weather before painting it.” In a documented test on vertical-grain western redcedar, boards primed and painted within 1 week of milling were still in good condition after 20 years. Boards left bare for 16 weeks before that first coat went on began peeling within 3 years. A standard three-coat paint system (0.10 to 0.13 mm thick) is rated for about 20 years of service when applied to sound wood.

The other number that matters is moisture content at installation. For exterior wood in what the Handbook classifies as a damp, warm coastal area, the recommended average is about 12% moisture content, with individual pieces ranging 9% to 14%. That number, not a fixed gap size, is what the planner above uses to size the space between boards for your own run.

Elevation drawing of a cedar fence section between two posts, showing a trim-capped top rail, a middle third rail, a bottom rail, and a row of cedar pickets, with a break symbol indicating the run continues to 80 feet total. Not to scale. TOP CAP / TRIM BOARD picketstop railbottom rail THIRD RAIL (mid-height) postpost run continues (not to scale) Top-and-trim cedar fence anatomy, as built for this job Illustration of the design described for this 80-foot job: three rails, a trim-capped top, and posts at each end of the run. Not a measured drawing.
S-2
DrawingTop-and-trim anatomy
BasisIllustration of the design described for this job: three rails, a trim-capped top
ScaleNot to scale
The top-and-trim look Victor Harris asked for: a capped top rail over the pickets, with a third rail at mid-height for support.
Wood gate fitted between two brick walls
The matching cedar gate, fitted between two brick walls, La Porte, Texas.

What customers say on Google

5.0
91 Google reviews · read them all on Google
★★★★★
Amazing work will go ahead and recommend everyone in friends and family We installed 8ft tall double sided stained cedar wood fence in our backyard, it’s really looks great, installed perfectly nice finishing and cost effective, thanks mustang fencing.
Muqeet Mohammed Abdul · Google review · a year ago
★★★★★
Installed Stained cedar wood fence yesterday by mustang fencing, thanks for the beautiful work.
Shahrukh Abdul · Google review · a year ago
★★★★★
I have hired Mustang fencing services to fix my backyard fencing. Good wood to used. I really like theirs work. Best of luck
Zaidbin Saif · Google review · a year ago

Reviews shown word for word from the Mustang Fencing Services Google Business Profile (Galveston), captured 2026-10-26.

Questions we get about this

How decay-resistant is cedar compared to other fence woods?
USDA’s Wood Handbook puts Eastern and Western redcedar in its top “Very resistant” heartwood class. Douglas-fir is “Moderately resistant,” and most pines and spruces (outside a few old-growth exceptions) are “Slightly or nonresistant.” Decay resistance can be lower in ground contact or in warm, humid climates.
Why does a cedar fence need gaps between the boards?
Wood shrinks and swells as its moisture content changes with the seasons. USDA’s Table 13-5 gives western redcedar a tangential movement coefficient of 0.00234 per 1% moisture change — on a 5.5 in board across a 4-point swing, that is about 0.051 in. Leaving a gap keeps swollen boards from binding against each other.
Are screws better than nails for an outdoor cedar fence?
USDA’s Wood Handbook found common smooth, round nails can drop to as little as 25% of their initial withdrawal resistance once wood goes through repeated wetting and drying outdoors, while threaded fasteners such as screws keep roughly four times more of their holding power under the same cycling.
How soon should a new cedar fence be painted or stained?
Sooner than many people assume. A USDA test on vertical-grain western redcedar found boards primed within about a week of milling were still in good shape after 20 years, while boards left bare for 16 weeks before that first coat began peeling within 3 years.
What moisture content should fence boards be at installation?
For exterior wood in a damp, warm coastal climate, USDA’s Wood Handbook recommends an average of about 12% moisture content, with individual pieces ranging from 9% to 14%.

Sources

Checked October 28, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the City before you build.

  1. USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 (2021) — Decay-resistance groupings (Table 14-1); shrinkage and dimensional-change coefficients (Tables 4-3, 13-5); recommended installation moisture content (Table 13-2); fastener withdrawal resistance under moisture cycling (Ch. 8); finish service life and the redcedar priming-timing study (Ch. 16).
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ServiceWood gatesGuideCedar gate wood movement & gap sizingGuideCustom wood gate design ideasGuideWood vs. metal gate on the Gulf Coast
Page reviewed October 28, 2026 by Mustang Fencing Services, Galveston. Next review due April 2027.