3 week old cedar fence warping pickets
Hello, about 3 weeks ago we got a 6 foot cedar privacy fence. Posts are pressure treated pine as well as rails. Rails are 2x4 bottom middle and top. Problem is the pickets, especially along the backline, are really warping. Curling in, out, sideways. A couple of them split they were so bad and the installer came out and replaced. Now everything I have researched says cedar should be resistant to warping but the installer says its normal and there is nothing that can be done. He says after all we nailed up basically a dead tree you have to expect it. I guess what I am wondering is is this what I have to look forward to? I went with cedar because its supposedly more durable and resistant to the things its currently suffering from. Was the cedar still green? I've never had this kind of problem with it. No it wasn't green. It's worst along the backside. Tops and bottoms curling all directions. A few bowing in the middle. I just feel at this rate, its not gonna last a year. So far the installer has been cool about it, but I'm not really buying his excuses. I think you need to get the installer to replace this fence. Well the more I look at it, I am thinking it has more to do with the rails bowing and moving than the actual pickets. I am going to talk to the installer next week and get him to replace the bad pickets I hope. I think the rails were not properly dried before installing Either the rails or the pickets must be green [wet] for them to warp like that. What does the company that made the fence say? I believe the rails and maybe the posts weren't dry enough and now they are moving causing the pickets to warp with them. I am supposed to call them next week and have them come replace anymore bad pickets. Now I'm wondering if its reached a point where its no longer going to move. This is a hard one to answer.. I have been installing fences for a long time and the only thing I have ever noticed about a cedar fence that sometimes the posts would check bad... I have never had experience with pickets that would warp... Maybe they would bow a little bit,,,, But never so bad that it would cause concern. The contractor will eventually have to go back to his distributor... whomever they bought from. If your contractor is being cool about it and working with you to resolve the warping pickets by replacing them, that is very good. Two questions I have.. 1 - Is the materials used White Cedar or Red Cedar? 2 - Are the pickets nailed with 2 nails side by side into each rail... 3 rail fence with a total of 6 picket nails into each picket? Gregs Fence NJ~ Hi Thomhar, The only way cedar would warp like that so quickly is if it were in desert-like, smoldering conditions or defective from the beginning. Who selected the lumber? Whomever selected the lumber may've selected it in a defective state. Defective lumber is always either dumped or sold at a drastically reduced rate. The yard or wherever it was purchased from let's you know things like that off the bat. Also, it doesn't require much experience to differentiate between defective and good materials. Other than that, you just may not have cedar. Okay...Now let's start going for remedies. First, ask the people who installed the fence if the fencing is cedar. Then contact a couple experienced carpenters who don't know them to inspect the lumber and to give their opinions. If the fencing isn't cedar or it's judged to be defective, demand that the people who installed the fence tear it down and re-build it at no extra charge with non-defective cedar or to give you a refund. We'd like to know what your findings are. Please, use the e-mail address provided. We'll then consider what other legal and remedial steps can be taken premised on those findings.
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