Unpopular opinion: wooden posts are better than steel in most residential jobs

Been fencing for about 5 years now, mostly in suburban Ohio. Last month I had a customer who insisted on steel posts for their backyard. Said they wanted it to last forever. I tried to talk them into treated pine but they wouldn't budge. After 6 weeks the steel posts started showing rust near the ground where the coating got scratched during install. Meanwhile I've got a job from 3 years ago using wood posts that still look perfect. Has anyone else dealt with customers pushing for steel when wood is clearly the better fit for their situation?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_coleman5d ago

My neighbor had the same thing happen last spring with a brand new fence. They paid extra for steel posts and within two months the powder coating was chipped near the gate hardware and rust was already bleeding through. I told them wood would have held up better in our wet clay soil but they just wanted the "stronger" option. Three years later my treated pine posts are still solid and theirs are rusting at the base. It's frustrating when people don't trust what actually works in their specific area.

jade_carter205d ago

@riley_coleman your neighbor's situation sounds exactly like what my buddy dealt with last year. He went with galvanized steel thinking it was bulletproof and now six months later the rust is literally creeping up from the ground line. It's wild how much local conditions matter more than the material name on a box.