Picket fence in Ohio and Pennsylvania

Who a picket fence suits

A picket fence suits a homeowner who wants a defined edge more than a wall. It marks the lot along a sidewalk, frames a garden, keeps a small dog or a toddler in the front yard and gives a house a finished look without shutting off the street. Every crooked picket and leaning post shows on a low, open fence, so the quality of the work is the whole point.

• Front yards where the town limits fence height.
• Garden beds and flower borders that need a clear edge.
• Homes where a traditional look matters.
• Side yards and walkways where a gate marks the entry.
• Small dogs and young children, with the gaps and latches planned for them.

A picket fence does not give privacy. If you need to block sightlines, see wood privacy fence. For plain containment where looks matter less, chain link is the other option. Compare every style on the fence styles page.

Solid Rock Fencing builds picket fence in Ohio and Pennsylvania from its base in Bristolville. It is a locally owned, family owned company, the owner was raised Amish, and the work is built on that craftsmanship.

Picket styles and spacing

Picket style comes down to the shape of the top and the pattern of the run: flat, pointed, rounded or scalloped. We found no university or government guide for picket height or picket gap, so we offer no numbers for either. Height is a legal question first and a design question second, and gap size depends on who the fence has to hold.

Gap size is a practical choice. A small dog will find a gap that a large dog never notices, and a toddler's head or a cat can pass through where an adult would not expect it. Tell us at the estimate who the fence is for, and whether a pool is nearby. Wider gaps look lighter, and narrower gaps look fuller and keep small animals in. That is a design trade, not a standard.

Height, curb appeal and local rules

A picket fence is usually a front-yard fence, so the height limit is the first thing to settle, and it is set locally. Ohio front-yard fences are often limited to about 4 feet, according to an Ohio permit guide, and the Residential Code of Ohio generally requires a building permit only for a fence over 6 feet, which most picket fence is well under. Zoning, setbacks and HOA rules still apply.

Curb appeal comes from straight lines more than from ornament. Even spacing, a level top or a clean slope-following line, posts that do not lean and a gate that closes without a push are what people notice from the street. A fence painted to match the trim ties the house to the yard, and many HOAs approve color and style, so ask before you buy paint. See fence permits and rules for who to call.

Wood versus other materials

Wood is the traditional picket material because it can be painted any color, cut to any style and repaired one board at a time. The trade is upkeep. This is general information and not a Solid Rock product list, so ask at the estimate which materials we can supply for your project.

Only the vinyl notes come from a source, and it covers horse fence, so treat them as general. We found no neutral comparison of cost or life between picket materials, so we make no claim about either.

Posts, rails and fasteners

The posts do the structural work, and a picket fence fails at the post and the ground line before the pickets give out. The American Wood Protection Association rates posts that touch the ground at Use Category 4A or higher, and fence pickets above ground at 3B or higher. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory says lumber marked for above-ground use only should not be set in the soil, and that decay is most severe where moisture meets air at the ground line.

• Posts need ground-contact rating and should sit below local frost depth. Depth in the Ohio and Pennsylvania documents we reviewed runs from about 30 to 42 inches, and your township or building office sets the number.
• Concrete is debated. University of Wisconsin Extension says cement can trap moisture near the top of a post, and the Forest Products Laboratory keeps concrete at least 6 inches below the ground line. Gate posts often get concrete.
• Iron nails rust and streak white paint. The Forest Products Laboratory recommends aluminum or stainless steel nails, and the treated-wood industry recommends hot-dip galvanized or stainless fasteners.
• Pickets stay off the soil, and mulch, soil and plant growth stay back from the bottoms, since moisture is what rots wood.

Post life ranges from the literature are 10 to 25 years for a pressure-treated post (Penn State Extension) and 20 to 35 years for properly treated and installed pine (Kentucky Extension). These are not a promise about any one fence.

Gates in a picket fence

A picket gate is the part guests touch, so it has to swing and latch every time. Gates and their posts take more stress than the rest of the fence, and a gate that drags usually means the hinge post has moved. Frost can push a post out of the ground, and the weight of the gate tips it further.

• Hinge posts are generally larger and set deeper than line posts.
• Structural steel hinges and a latch you can work with a full hand or a wet glove keep daily use easy.
• If children or pets are inside, ask about a latch they cannot reach and a gate that closes by itself.
• Plan the swing before the fence is built, since a gate that opens into a flower bed or a slope is annoying forever.

More on posts and bracing is on the gates page.

Slopes and uneven ground

On a slope, a picket fence either follows the ground or steps down in level sections. Following the grade keeps the bottom of the pickets a steady distance above the soil, which looks smooth on a gentle hill. Stepping keeps the tops level and works better on a steep drop, at the cost of a gap under each step. Because picket fence is low and open, the line shows from every angle, so we settle the layout on site. University of Missouri Extension notes that difficult ground adds cost to a fence and that each corner, curve and gate adds time.

Painting, staining and finishing

Most picket fence is painted or stained, and the finish is what you maintain. The Forest Products Laboratory says unfinished wood weathers to gray and recommends a water repellent at construction. It prefers pigmented penetrating stains over paint for fences, since semi-transparent stains do not form a film and so do not crack or peel. Purdue Extension says film-forming acrylic latex paint gives the most protection, so the two sources point to different choices. Paint protects longest on smooth, well-primed wood, and stain is easier to keep up on rough lumber because it fades rather than peels. Solid Rock Fencing paints and stains fences, which many fence companies do not offer. See fence painting and staining.

Those figures are for similar exterior wood and not for fences, so use them as a guide to how often to look. The splash test works: if water beads, the finish is still working.

Rules for a lasting paint job

• Let new treated wood dry. A preservative maker says treated wood is typically ready about 60 days after installation, and a water drop that soaks in readily means it is dry enough.
• Paint blisters and peels when wood is above 20 percent moisture, and Kentucky Extension says paint on wet wood traps moisture.
• End grain absorbs water fastest and finishes fail there first, so seal the cut ends of each picket before assembly where possible.
• Scrape loose paint and feather the edges before repainting, and strip old finish if it has peeled or blistered badly.

Maintenance and mistakes

A picket fence needs a quick look every spring and a finish on a schedule, and the cost of skipping either shows up as soft pickets and rocking posts.

Mistakes to avoid

• Choosing a height before checking the front-yard limit.
• Skipping HOA approval for a style or a color.
• Setting above-ground rated posts in the ground.
• Using iron nails that rust and streak white paint.
• Letting mulch and soil pile against the bottom of the pickets.
• Painting wet wood, which traps moisture.
• Choosing gap size by looks without thinking about the animals and children the fence is for.

How a picket fence job goes

A picket fence job runs from a phone call to a final walk along the fence.

1. Call and describe the yardTell us where the fence goes, the style you like and where the gates should be. Call (440) 241-4312.
2. FREE estimate on siteWe look at the line, any slope, the walk and the gate openings, and talk through style and finish.
3. Check the rules and the lineYou confirm the property line, and front-yard height limits and HOA rules are checked before work starts.
4. Locate utilitiesThe digging crew calls 811 first: at least two working days ahead in Ohio and three business days in Pennsylvania. See call 811.
5. Set posts and railsCorner and gate posts go in first, then line posts, then rails.
6. Attach pickets, hang gates and finishPickets go on at even spacing, gates are hung and checked, and we walk the fence with you.

Solid Rock Fencing offers a 10 year workmanship warranty, with written terms in the estimate. It covers defects in workmanship, not weather, impact, animals or normal wood aging.

Questions we hear