Nine Types of Wood Fence Compared and Explained

[caption id="attachment_573" align="alignright" width="300"] Board on Board Shadowbox Wood Fence[/caption]

There are as many different types of wood fence as your mind can fathom including fence made from wood found in your yard, split rail timber and wooden rails and pickets attached to steel posts. This article offers an overview of some of the most common options in wooden fence styles and their benefits and pricing.

We'll look at the following wood fence styles:

Tongue and Groove Wood Fence
Board on Batten Wood Fence
Lattice Wood Fence
Board on Board or Shadowbox Style Wood Fence
Solid Board Wood Fence
Stockade Style Wood Fence
Spindle Picket Wood Fence
Spaced Picket Fence
Post and Rail Wood Fence

I'm gonna guess that if you're still reading you are either interested in installing a fence or writing a book that includes one because let's face it, there are more compelling subjects on the internet.

The primary differences in the above styles are price, degree of privacy and esthetics (in other words how nice it looks), and you guessed it, the best looking and most private wood fences are the least inexpensive. Well explore the options more-or-less from the top down, price-wise, so scroll to the bottom if you're on a tight budget and don't mind being visible.

Tongue and Groove Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_574" align="alignright" width="300"] Tongue and Groove Wood Fence with Diamond Top Design[/caption]

Similar, but not the same as Tongue in Groove, Tongue and groove or T&G is a method where fence boards are joined together, edge to edge. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface. This type of fence is known as a "Good Neighbor Fence" because it looks identical on both sides. This is achieved with the use of thin cross rails on both each of the fencing, which are sufficient because of the added strength provided by the tongue and groove joints between the boards. When wood expands and contracts, the interlocking boards retain connection, preventing the 1/8"-1/4" gaps between boards on traditional stockade and solid board fencing.

Board on Batten Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_575" align="alignright" width="200"] Board on Batten Style[/caption]

The high privacy fence more common in the Midwest US called Board-and-batten fence in which narrow planks, called "battens", are festooned over the joints between the boards. The result resembles siding on farm buildings of the past. The top rail on this type of fence protects the ends of the vertical boards from the weather, giving them a long life. The assembly of a board-and-batten fence requires the placing of a board vertically and a batten in the opposite direction. This fence is made by alternating board and batten directions, butted to one another, and covered with a top rail.

 

Lattice Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_578" align="alignright" width="250"] Lattice Top Wood Fence[/caption]

Lattice fence styles are a more decorative fence type and a true lattice fence is one in which the entire area between posts is composed of lattice-work, potentially framed. The more common variation is a fence with lattice-work at the top.

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_580" align="alignright" width="300"] Board on Board (Shadowbox) Wood Fence[/caption]

Board on Board or Shadowbox Style Wood Fence
Board on Board (also known as shadowbox) fencing is also considered a "good neighbor fence" due to both sides being identical. Board on Board fencing is a semi-private fence which allows airflow and sight through the openings between the fence boards on either side.

 

Solid Board Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_581" align="alignright" width="250"] Solid Board Wood Fence Style[/caption]

Solid board fencing is the simplest and most common style of fencing in which the boards are fastened to the rails side-by-side. This type of fence offers a high degree of privacy, but the expansion and contraction of wood through changes in weather will create some gaps between boards. Solid board fences may may be customized by adding picket detail as dog ear, gothic, French gothic, arch or scallop to the top.

Stockade Style Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_582" align="alignright" width="250"] Stockade Style Wood Fence[/caption]

The fundamental difference between stockade and solid board style wood fence brings to light the difference between a fence board and a fence picket. A board is flat on both sides, which a picket has a convex bevel on one side. The stockade fence is a modern variation on stockade fortifications, which were simple forms of defense of military camps or settlements, used since ancient Roman times and earlier. They offer the same fundamental privacy and security as board on board, with a more traditional or even historic look.

Spindle Picket Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_583" align="alignright" width="300"] Spindle Picket Wood Fence[/caption]

Spindle Picket wood fence is considered a New England type picket fence (on the high end of spaced picket) with a more discriminating design, which utilizes a square or rounded picket, usually about 2" x 2" with a spacing of 1"- 3" between spindles. Spindle fencing achieves the look of a deck railing with the durability of a solid square picket. Spindle picket fencing detail options include a cap board, gothic picket cut, and 45-degree angle cut. Spindle picket fencing is available in 48" and 60" heights. The rounded pickets are called balusters and are made on a lathe.

Spaced Picket Fence

[caption id="attachment_584" align="alignright" width="259"] Spaced Picket Wood Fence[/caption]

One of the most economical choices, spaced picket fencing styles have gaps between the boards ranging from 1"-3" so it doesn't really offer much in the way of privacy. But since spaced picket fence can be installed in heights ranging from 3' high to 8" it does serve to contain or prevent entry when desired.

 

Post and Rail Wood Fence

[caption id="attachment_586" align="alignright" width="300"] Rustic Post and Rail (Split Rail Style) Fence[/caption]

For those who just need to keep covered wagons and stray horses out off the lawn, the rustic Post and Rail fence offers an old fashioned, rustic feeling of the old Split Rail fences from which they are derived. It's a sturdy, long lasting design made of posts connected by two or three thick rails, which in the original split rail design were simply the split trunks of small trees.

If you have any questions feel free to send an email to info@academyfence.com
or call (973) 674-0600 to speak with someone with at least 20 years experience. We also invite your comments.