Wood Fence Designs: Split Rail Fence

Use A Split Fail Fence For Your Field

A split rail fence is one of the most common wood fence designs and is generally used for agricultural purposes, although on occasion it is used as decorative garden fencing. It is generally use in the countryside and it is the most suitable wood fence for horse fencing, farms and fields and possibly, the garden fence of country houses. It is seldom used in towns. The most common of this type of wood fence design uses timber logs ‘split’ lengthwise to form ‘rails’, hence the name split rail fence. Although you still need to know how to build a wood fence it has a simplicity of design and ease of assembly, needing only a handful of elementary tools.

The rails are stacked on top of each other, either straight or in zigzag fashion, this is called a worm fence, and vertical fence posts are used to secure them. Because of this, split rail fences are also known as ‘post and rail fences’. The suppliers offer separate end posts, corner posts and line posts with holes made halfway, two holes on adjoining sides and through single hole respectively. Most split rail fences have two horizontal rails, though some suppliers offer three or four if that is what the customer wants.

Wood Fence Designs

It is not too difficult to build. Wood fence posts are put vertically into holes in the ground and either tamped firmly in or sometimes fixed with  concrete. The fence posts are made from specially treated wood to help preserve them and to discourage attack from termites and other insects and molds. They can be weather proofed for use in areas prone to high rainfall and moisture.

The holes in the vertical posts are predrilled by the fence companies  before being supplied and if you are good at building wood fences you can either do the fence installation yourself or ask a professional to do it for you. The fencing supplies personnel might offer installation as an option. This type of wood fence conventionally does not use nails, although some people prefer to use them and it is particularly suitable for hard and rocky terrain.

However, this wood fence design is expensive as it uses a lot of wood.  The most common timber used in the construction of the split rail fence is American chestnut or chestnut blight, but cedar is growing in popularity.