Update: a 4-foot section of my cedar fence collapsed after that heavy rain in Tacoma last month.

I'm debating whether to just replace the rotted posts or redo the whole run, since the rest of the panels are about 8 years old... what would you guys do?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly3322mo ago

Patricia634 makes a good point about checking the other posts, but honestly, if you're already doing the work, just replace the whole run. Those 8-year-old panels are halfway through their life anyway, especially with our wet weather. You'll end up with a fence that looks brand new and matches perfectly, instead of having one fresh section next to older, fading wood. It's more money now, but you won't be fixing another panel in two years.

patricia6342mo ago

You said the rest of the panels are about 8 years old. Are the other posts still solid, or do they wiggle a bit too? That's usually the deciding factor for me.

thomas.cameron20h ago

And are you talking about the actual posts in the ground or just the panels? Because in my experience, the posts are really the backbone of the whole thing. You can have a perfect panel sitting on a wobbly post and it's gonna look like crap in six months. The panels themselves I'd worry less about, especially if they're just starting to fade a little. But if those posts are shifting at all, that's your real problem. I'd be crawling under there with a level and checking each one by hand before I bought a single piece of lumber.