Wood/paint for horse fence rails
Gary Robson
all the fences yesterday. This prompted a few questions:
1) I need to replace a few top rails. What's the best wood to use?
Obviously, I want to stay away from pressure-treated wood in case the horse
cribs (chews). Since it's outdoors, is redwood appropriate? Should I just
get the cheapest construction-grade 2x8's (probably Douglas Fir in this
area)?
2) The fences are currently painted white. The previous owner kept horses
there, and white painted fences are common in this area, so I presume that's
not a problem. If I paint to match, what toxicity concerns should I have?
Will any exterior latex do? Are there special "chomping animal safe"
paints?
Thanks, folks!
-=- Gary -=-
rec.woodworking FAQ: http://www.robson.org/woodfaq/
Closed Captioning FAQ: http://www.robson.org/capfaq/
My Web Site: http://www.robson.org/gary/
Jane H. Kilberg
>In preparation for settling my new horse into his new home, I checked over
>all the fences yesterday. This prompted a few questions:
>
>1) I need to replace a few top rails. What's the best wood to use?
>Obviously, I want to stay away from pressure-treated wood in case the horse
>cribs (chews). Since it's outdoors, is redwood appropriate? Should I just
>get the cheapest construction-grade 2x8's (probably Douglas Fir in this
>area)?
If you don't use pressure treated wood, it will rot in no-time. Pine or
oak are good woods depending on prices. I would think redwood is a bit
pricey. If you want to keep chomp city away, add electric tape. I use
Horse Guard and it's nice.
>2) The fences are currently painted white. The previous owner kept horses
>there, and white painted fences are common in this area, so I presume that's
>not a problem. If I paint to match, what toxicity concerns should I have?
>Will any exterior latex do? Are there special "chomping animal safe"
>paints?
Non-toxic - no lead paint - exterior latex paint is fine.
down the spotted trails. . .
jane h. kilberg and her gang of spots (GOS)
member: ApHC, Montgomery County Adult Horse Committee
editor/publisher: Appaloosa Network
R Bishop
jkil...@mcia.com (Jane H. Kilberg) wrote:
>In article <7av49p$jbb$1@owl>, "Gary Robson" <ga...@robson.org> wrote:
>
>>In preparation for settling my new horse into his new home, I checked over
>>all the fences yesterday. This prompted a few questions:
>>
>>1) I need to replace a few top rails. What's the best wood to use?
>>Obviously, I want to stay away from pressure-treated wood in case the horse
>>cribs (chews). Since it's outdoors, is redwood appropriate? Should I just
>>get the cheapest construction-grade 2x8's (probably Douglas Fir in this
>>area)?
>
>If you don't use pressure treated wood, it will rot in no-time. Pine or
>oak are good woods depending on prices. I would think redwood is a bit
>pricey. If you want to keep chomp city away, add electric tape. I use
>Horse Guard and it's nice.
I've never used pressure treated wood for anything. I have 1x6 by 8'
white oak board fencing. Sure, I have to replace boards every so often,
but I've got some boards here that are older than my oldest mare. And
she's 14.
Also, I get the oak boards from a local sawmill that saws oak for skids.
Two bucks a board is pretty darned decent.
Sue
>
>>2) The fences are currently painted white. The previous owner kept horses
>>there, and white painted fences are common in this area, so I presume that's
>>not a problem. If I paint to match, what toxicity concerns should I have?
>>Will any exterior latex do? Are there special "chomping animal safe"
>>paints?
>
>Non-toxic - no lead paint - exterior latex paint is fine.
>
>down the spotted trails. . .
>jane h. kilberg and her gang of spots (GOS)
>member: ApHC, Montgomery County Adult Horse Committee
>editor/publisher: Appaloosa Network
There are few ills in the world that a hot bath and a pitcher of Marguerita Gold cannot cure.
With apologies to W. Somerset Maugham
WVK13
>Obviously, I want to stay away from pressure-treated wood in case the horse
>cribs (chews). Since it's outdoors, is redwood appropriate? Should I just
>get the cheapest construction-grade 2x8's (probably Douglas Fir in this
>area)?
I think rough cut oak is the best .Horses don't chew it as much as pine or
poplar. Stay away from pressure treated. It is brittle and will break easily,
we replaced all the p. treated here it was awful. You only need pressure
treated for the posts. As far as paint goes everything I read when we painted
ours said to use a linseed oil base paint, it's safe, long lasting and weather
resistant.
Have fun :)
Vk
K. Smith
>
> I think rough cut oak is the best .Horses don't chew it as much as pine
or
> poplar. Stay away from pressure treated. It is brittle and will break
easily,
> we replaced all the p. treated here it was awful. You only need pressure
> treated for the posts. As far as paint goes everything I read when we
painted
> ours said to use a linseed oil base paint, it's safe, long lasting and
weather
> resistant.
Somewhere, probably on a program like _This Old House_, I heard that
pressure treated wood has high (meaning toxic) levels of mercury in it.
I've also been told to never use pressure treated lumber in any place where
a horse might decide to add a little extra fiber to his diet.
As for paint, the most common "paint" used in my area is creosote, acquired
from the the gunkiest, blackest used motor oil available. It's said to help
preserve untreated wood and it has a nasty taste that most horses will
avoid. And it's cheap, too.
--K. Smith
Jane H. Kilberg
<ksm...@gcom-umc.org> wrote:
(snipped parts)
>Somewhere, probably on a program like _This Old House_, I heard that
>pressure treated wood has high (meaning toxic) levels of mercury in it.
>I've also been told to never use pressure treated lumber in any place where
>a horse might decide to add a little extra fiber to his diet.
Depends on how the wood is pressure treated. All you need to do is ask the
lumber company.
>As for paint, the most common "paint" used in my area is creosote, acquired
>from the the gunkiest, blackest used motor oil available. It's said to help
>preserve untreated wood and it has a nasty taste that most horses will
>avoid. And it's cheap, too.
Creosote is one of the worst things to use to pressure treat wood as well
as painting board with it in regard to toxicity. EPA has been working with
a local now defunct creosote plant for years in trying to get it cleaned
up. It's a mess. The solution was to detox the soils to a certain depth.
It'll be an ongoing clean-up for years.
Diamond Hill Farm
Three years ago I had some new board fence built. The posts are
pressure treated pine and the boards are oak. I waited 6 months before
painting it so that the wood could dry and cure. I used a black stain
that is made especially for board fences. The posts still look great,
but the stain on the boards has flaked off. After consulting with five
local fence painters and paint stores, the consensus is that since
pine is soft, the stain soaked right in. The oak is much harder and
denser and the stain sat longer on the surface before drying. Most of
the stain dried before soaking in and never properly protected the
wood. Now I have to re-stain or re-paint all of the boards - about
1200 feet of 3-board fence. Last fall I painted a couple of sections
with another product and if it still looks good this summer, I'll use
it. Unresolved is whether I have to wire-brush the boards first. I'm
not looking forward to this at all.
I wish that the can of the original stain had mentioned the problem
with using it on oak. Figure the odds, though.
Gretchen
Gary Robson
>If you don't use pressure treated wood, it will rot in no-time.
Pressure-treated wood is toxic to humans. There are numerous warnings about
using pressure-treated for picnic tables because food might come in contact
with it. You should use masks and filters to cut it in the workshop. In
the event that my horse decides to take up cribbing as a hobby, I certainly
wouldn't want him munching on something known to be toxic - unless you can
point me at a study that says it's okay for horses.
Call me paranoid, or call me careful...
Also, remember, I was asking about *rails* here. They don't come in contact
with the ground, so they shouldn't rot. I've had redwood decks go for
decades without rotting.
WVK13
>with the ground, so they shouldn't rot. I've had redwood decks go for
>decades without rotting.
>
> -=- Gary -=-
Also didn't you mention you wanted white? Therefore creosote, even if safe or
available anymore,( not around here anyway) would not work.
Vk
Jane H. Kilberg
>jkil...@mcia.com (Jane H. Kilberg) wrote:
>>If you don't use pressure treated wood, it will rot in no-time.
>
>Pressure-treated wood is toxic to humans. There are numerous warnings about
>using pressure-treated for picnic tables because food might come in contact
>with it. You should use masks and filters to cut it in the workshop. In
>the event that my horse decides to take up cribbing as a hobby, I certainly
>wouldn't want him munching on something known to be toxic - unless you can
>point me at a study that says it's okay for horses.
>
>Call me paranoid, or call me careful...
I'll call you careful and paranoia. <SEG> Been around the stuff all my
life and so far I ain't toxic. :-)
>
>Also, remember, I was asking about *rails* here. They don't come in contact
>with the ground, so they shouldn't rot. I've had redwood decks go for
>decades without rotting.
Keep 'em painted or water sealed.
Gary Robson
>Also didn't you mention you wanted white? Therefore creosote, even if safe
or
>available anymore,( not around here anyway) would not work.
Exactly so. What I was mostly looking for was advice on which paints are
safe for horses, and all of the other fencing is white, so the
repaired/replaced rails certainly ought to match.
So far, I've only had one answer as far as paint toxicity for horses, and
that answer said to use any old exterior latex.
Betty Van Houten
: In preparation for settling my new horse into his new home, I checked over
: all the fences yesterday. This prompted a few questions:
: 1) I need to replace a few top rails. What's the best wood to use?
: Obviously, I want to stay away from pressure-treated wood in case the horse
: cribs (chews). Since it's outdoors, is redwood appropriate? Should I just
: get the cheapest construction-grade 2x8's (probably Douglas Fir in this
: area)?
: 2) The fences are currently painted white. The previous owner kept horses
: there, and white painted fences are common in this area, so I presume that's
: not a problem. If I paint to match, what toxicity concerns should I have?
: Will any exterior latex do? Are there special "chomping animal safe"
: paints?
: Thanks, folks!
Don't paint, use colored stain. You don't have to deal with pealing paint.
My fence poles that I stained 3 years ago, still look freshly painted
(stained). You can get the stain at any of the hardware stores around.
I also stained my barn, and it too is holding up nicely. They can mix it
to match any color. My barn matches the trim on our house.
Cheers,
Betty
Lucas, TX
: -=- Gary -=-
WVK13
>that answer said to use any old exterior latex.
>
> -=- Gary -=-
>
Gary, Evidently you didn't see my original reply. I did a lot of research on
this when we replaced all our fences. We took down all the pressure treated
because it was cracked and broken. We replaced with oak, rough cut 1x6's and
painted with a linseed oil based fence paint. We bought it at Southern States,
a farm supply store in our(Md.) area. It's very thick, kinda hard to work with,
and expensive,unless you get on sale, but it will last and is safe. Comes in
white, black, and red I think.
Good luck
Vk
Gary Robson
> Gary, Evidently you didn't see my original reply. I did a lot of research on
> this when we replaced all our fences. We took down all the pressure treated
> because it was cracked and broken. We replaced with oak, rough cut 1x6's and
> painted with a linseed oil based fence paint. We bought it at Southern States,
> a farm supply store in our(Md.) area. It's very thick, kinda hard to work with,
> and expensive,unless you get on sale, but it will last and is safe. Comes in
> white, black, and red I think.
You're right - I did miss that original reply. Thanks for re-posting it.
Linseed oil, eh? That doesn't taste GOOD to horses, does it? I hope not!