5 Reasons to Choose a PVC Picket Fence Over a Wooden One

For decades, picket fences were traditionally wooden. But nowadays, PVC or vinyl has become a popular material for picket fences. PVC has just the right attributes to fare well in Florida. And when you compare PVC picket fencing to wooden picket fencing, PVC fencing is superior in several ways.

Discover just some of the reasons Florida homeowners often choose PVC fencing over wooden fencing.

1. Safe for Pets and Children

If you have pets or children in your household, a PVC picket fence is usually a safer option than wood. PVC doesn't splinter like wood does. This means that if your pets or children touch your fence, they won't come away with a painful splinter. Unlike the surface of wood, the surface of PVC is smooth and seamless. As a result, hands and paws are safe from stray shards of material.

Wooden fences may also rot or warp over time. If just one picket comes loose due to wear and tear, a child or pet can easily squeeze through the gap. But since PVC doesn't weaken with age in the same way that wood does, a PVC picket fence will help to keep children and pets contained within your yard.

2. Impervious to Pests

Many homeowners have to be wary of termites in Florida, especially the voracious Formosan termite. A wooden picket fence, though quaint, won't put up much of a fight against termites. This is especially true once the chemicals that protect the wood wear off in the future.

But termites don't eat vinyl. Because of this, your PVC picket fence won't weaken due to termite damage.

3. Resistant to Rot 

Florida can become quite humid during a hot summer. And all that moisture in the air can cause a wooden picket fence to rot. Just as termites can weaken a wooden fence, rot brought about by contact with moisture from humidity and rain can cause a wooden fence to buckle over time. This affects both the security and privacy of a picket fence once the pickets start to fail.

No matter how much moisture a PVC fence encounters each day, it won't rot or warp.

4. Easy to Clean and Maintain

Moisture is the enemy of a wooden fence. Wood is porous, which means that it absorbs moisture. Too much contact with moisture could cause warping or expansion damage to occur later. Because of that, cleaning a wooden fence is more difficult than cleaning a PVC fence.

Since PVC doesn't absorb moisture, you can hose it down every couple of days as you water your garden. And if your PVC fence does pick up any marks, a simple wipe down with soapy water will be enough to remove them. As a result, you can easily keep a PVC picket fence clean.

The same applies to maintenance. Because PVC doesn't rot, warp, or split, you'll have very little to do in the way of maintenance.

5. Durable in the Face of Extreme Weather

PVC also fares better than wood in harsh weather conditions. For instance, because PVC fences are about five times stronger than wooden fences, they can withstand strong winds. Should strong winds cause objects to strike your fence in bad weather then, a PVC fence will fare much better than a wooden fence.

And a PVC fence likely won't crack or split when exposed to the sometimes harsh UV rays of a Florida summer. But a wooden fence often will.

Is PVC picket fencing right for your property? Then contact Allied Fence of Tampa Bay today. Fill out the contact form on our website, and we'll give you a free estimate on your PVC fencing project. Whatever your needs are, we have the expertise and experience to complete your project to a high standard.