Want the look of real wood, without posts that rot out in a few years? Rancho Oxnard Fence builds redwood and cedar fences across Oxnard. Wood is still the most popular privacy fence here: it looks warm, comes in almost any style, and you can repair it one board at a time. How long yours lasts in Oxnard comes down to what we do at the ground line.
What we settle on the first visit
Before we price it, we settle four things with you:
- Style. Dog-ear, board-on-board, horizontal slat or picket, picked for privacy, wind and budget.
- Height and placement. Inside the City of Oxnard, you need no building permit for a wood fence up to 6 ft, and zoning sets the height by where it sits on your lot. We check your address.
- Posts. Ground-contact rated wood, or steel posts with wood boards on a damp lot.
- Gates. Width, swing and the heavier post each one needs.
Your written estimate names the board species and grade, the post type and the fasteners, so you can compare quotes fairly.
Redwood or cedar?
| Redwood | Cedar | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Usually higher | A little lower |
| Color | Holds its reddish tone longer | Weathers to gray sooner |
| Weight | Heavier | Lighter |
| Decay resistance | Good | Good |
Both outlast pine and fir, and both still need good posts, because the boards rarely fail first. Grade matters as much as species: clear and heartwood grades outlast knotty sapwood. We put the grade on your estimate.
How we build it for damp sand
Much of central and south Oxnard is loose, sandy soil, and in winter the water table can sit about 2.5 ft down. Wet sand keeps a wood post damp right at the ground line, and that is where wood fences rot. So we:
- Use ground-contact rated posts, treated for constant soil moisture.
- Offer steel posts with wood boards, which takes the rot point away entirely while the fence still looks like wood.
- Make footings wider or deeper than in firm soil, shaped so the concrete sheds water away from the post.
In the wet months we dig and pour each hole the same day, before groundwater collects. See fence posts in sandy soil.
Screws that survive the salt air
Much of central Oxnard’s soil eats bare steel, and near the harbor and the beach, salt spray adds to it. Cheap nails and screws rust, bleed streaks down the boards and eventually let go. We use hot-dip galvanized or stainless fasteners, which cost a little more and keep your fence tight, and the same on hinges and latches. See coastal fence materials.
Want the post and screw plan in writing?
Our estimate names the wood grade, the post type and the fasteners for your line.
Styles and what they cost
Rancho Oxnard Fence’s typical range for a 6 ft redwood or cedar privacy fence, installed, is about $30 to $70 per linear foot. Redwood, board-on-board, horizontal styles, slopes and tearing out an old fence push your job toward the top. Gates, removal and any permit are separate lines. See the Oxnard fence cost guide.
Dog-ear privacy
Your lowest-cost wood privacy fence. Boards sit side by side and open small gaps as they dry.
Board-on-board
Boards overlap on alternating faces, so there are no gaps and the fence looks the same from both sides. That is handy on a shared fence, where neither neighbor wants the back of it.
Horizontal slat
A clean, modern look on newer and remodeled homes. Long horizontal boards sag between posts unless we set the posts closer or frame the boards, so it costs more per foot.
Picket
Low, spaced boards for your front yard, where height is limited.
Will a solid wood fence stand up to the wind?
A solid 6 ft wood fence catches Santa Ana wind like a sail, and gusts of 50 to 70 mph have been forecast on this coastal plain. On an open lot, we size the posts for the wind first, and spaced boards or a lattice top let some of it pass. See Santa Ana winds and fences.
Wood gates
Your gate is the heaviest moving part of a wood fence. We hang it on a heavier hinge post in a bigger footing and brace the frame from the bottom hinge corner up to the top latch corner, so the weight pulls it square instead of down. For a wide drive gate we can use a steel frame faced with wood, so it stays square in the wind. We set the latch after the gate has hung a while, so it still lines up once the post settles. See gate installation and how to fix a sagging gate.
Wood near the house in fire zones
The State Fire Marshal’s updated maps changed fire hazard zones in parts of Oxnard, including the Southwinds and Cypress neighborhoods, and nearby hillside areas carry far more mapped land. Draft state rules for the 5 ft next to a house would keep new wood fencing out of that zone and call for a noncombustible piece where the fence meets the wall. If your lot is mapped, we can make that last section a metal panel or gate, so your fence works whichever way the rules land.
Keeping your wood fence in shape
- Turn sprinkler heads away from the boards, or keep the fence a little above the ground
- Keep soil, mulch and firewood off the bottom boards
- Use a penetrating stain every few years to slow weathering; it will not fix rot that has started
- Replace a broken board or rail as soon as it goes, before the wind works it loose
The wood fence maintenance guide goes further, and vinyl vs wood compares the two most common choices. For a privacy layout, see privacy fences; for gates, see gate installation.
