Cedar Wood Fence Installation in Galveston County, TX

Where cedar belongs on the fence

Cedar's value is its heartwood. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory groups woods by how well their heartwood resists decay. Cedars are in the resistant group. The handbook explains what that means in practice: resistant heartwood generally gives satisfactory service above ground, and only very resistant heartwood generally performs in contact with the ground. It also warns that resistance can be lower in warm, humid climates like ours.

So on a well-specified cedar fence, the pickets, cap and trim are cedar, and the parts that sit in or against wet soil are something else:

• Posts: pressure-treated pine tagged for ground contact (UC4A), or galvanized steel posts.
• Rot board: a treated board along the bottom that takes the splash and the soil, so the cedar pickets end above it. You can see one in the photos below.
• Rails: cedar, or treated pine rated for above-ground exposure (UC3B).

This is the same rule the wood fence guide applies to every species. For the rot and movement numbers side by side, read cedar vs pressure-treated pine.

Grades, sapwood and grain: what to look at on the pile

Two cedar fences can look alike on day one and age very differently. The difference is in the boards:

• Sapwood. The handbook is blunt: untreated sapwood of essentially all species has low resistance to decay. Sapwood is the pale outer band of the log, so a cedar board with a light edge has some. A little is normal in fence stock. Boards that are mostly pale won't have cedar's decay resistance.
• Knots and grade. Higher cedar grades have fewer and smaller knots and cost more. Knots also bleed extractives through paint, which matters if you plan a solid finish.
• Grain. Most fence boards are flat-grain. The handbook notes that vertical-grain boards swell less, and check and cup less. All-heartwood vertical-grain cedar is still available, but it is expensive.
• Movement. Western redcedar shrinks about 5.0% across a flat-grain board from green to oven-dry, less than the southern pines at 7.4–7.7%. That is why cedar privacy fences open smaller gaps as they dry. See sizing gaps for wood movement.

At the estimate, ask which grade the price is based on and whether you can see sample boards.

Finishing cedar on the coast

Cedar doesn't need a finish to resist decay, because the resistance is in the heartwood. A finish is about looks and weathering. There are three routes:

• Let it weather. Unfinished cedar turns silver-gray. A clear water repellent slows the cracking and mildew that come with sun and rain. See does cedar need sealing here?
• Semi-transparent stain. It keeps the grain visible and doesn't peel. The handbook says it performs well on saw-textured boards, and to expect about half the service life on smooth ones.
• Paint or solid stain. Cedar's water-soluble extractives bleed through as reddish-brown stains, especially at knots. The handbook calls for a stain-blocking primer first.

For timing and upkeep, see how often to restain here, stain vs paint, and our staining and sealing service.

From estimate to finished cedar fence

1. Free on-site estimate. We walk and measure the line with you, and note gates, slopes, trees, drainage and any old fence that has to come out.
2. Spec and a written price. The price covers the cedar grade, height, style, posts, rot board, gates, fasteners and any finish. Use the checker above to read it.
3. Property line and permits. Know where your line is before posts go in. A survey is the reliable way. Check the city permit and any HOA rules.
4. Installation. Posts first, then rails, rot board, pickets, cap and gates.
5. Walkthrough. Check that the gates swing and latch, and agree when the cedar can take a finish.

Finished cedar work: a custom cedar gate in Galveston, a cedar privacy fence in Galveston, and an 8 ft horizontal cedar fence.

What affects the cost of a cedar fence

You get a written price after the free on-site visit. The main things that move it:

• Grade. Clearer, more heartwood-rich cedar costs more than knotty fence stock.
• Length and height. An 8 ft fence uses longer boards and posts than a 6 ft one.
• Style. Board-on-board and shadowbox use more boards than butted privacy or picket. A cap and trim add more.
• Posts and hardware. Treated wood or galvanized steel posts, and stainless or hot-dip fasteners.
• Gates, finish and site work. Each gate adds framing and hardware. Staining adds labor. Removing an old fence, slopes and clearing all add time.

See wood fence cost per foot. Financing is available through the providers on our financing page, subject to credit approval.

Questions we get about this