Project Overview

This cedar fence in Murphy, TX replaced 214 linear feet of failing fence around a two-story home in Collin County.
The old fence had reached the end of its life in the way most do here — pickets shrunk and split, rails pulled loose at
the posts, and daylight visible through the line from one end to the other.
The replacement was built taller and tighter: 8 feet instead of 6, board on board instead of side by side, with double
cedar trim and two new gates.

Why board on board at 8 feet

Board on board overlaps every picket over its neighbour rather than butting them edge to edge. Wood shrinks in its
first Texas summer, and a side-by-side fence that looked solid in July has visible gaps by the following spring. An
overlapped fence has nowhere to open up — the boards move behind each other instead of away from each other.
The 8-foot height is where the engineering gets interesting. An 8 ft fence carries roughly a third more wind load than
a 6 ft fence on the same run, so the posts were set every 6 feet rather than the usual 8. More posts, shorter spans,
less deflection across a 214-foot perimeter.

Scope and Deliverables

• Removal and disposal of the entire old fence, with free haul-off
• 13-gauge metal posts set in concrete, 24 to 30 inches below grade, every 6 ft
• 2x4 pressure-treated rails and a 2x6 pressure-treated baseboard
• 1x6 cedar pickets installed board on board, 8 ft tall
• 1x4 cedar double trim
• Two new gates, 3 to 4 ft wide, wood frame with new hardware
• Galvanized post caps, Simpson brackets, interchange galvanized nails and screws
• Pre-stained cedar

Materials

A cedar fence in Murphy, TX has to handle the same black clay soil and the same heat swings as the rest of the
Metroplex. Cedar resists rot and insects naturally and takes stain evenly, which is why it is worth the premium over
pine on a fence meant to last.
The double trim is the detail that separates this build from a standard privacy fence. A 1x4 cedar trim board runs the
line twice rather than once, framing the fence and covering the picket ends where water would otherwise get into the
end grain. Underneath it all, metal posts in concrete rather than wood posts — on an 8 ft fence, a post that rots at the
ground line takes a very large panel down with it.

Timeline and Quality

Two to three labor days. Day one was demolition and post setting — the old fence out and hauled away, the metal
posts in concrete. Once the concrete had set, the crew framed the runs, hung the pickets board on board, added the
baseboard, trim and gates.
811 was called before any digging so public utility lines were located and marked in advance.

Outcome and Benefits

The finished cedar fence in Murphy, TX encloses the property at a full 8 feet with no gaps anywhere in the line — a
straight comparison against the before photos, where the gaps were the whole problem.
Every fence we install carries a 2-year labor warranty and a 30-day material warranty. Cedar is a natural product, so
expect some checking and colour movement as it settles. In dry spells, water around the posts — black clay pulls away
from concrete when it has not rained, and that is what loosens posts on a long run.

Service area close

A&O Texas Solutions builds cedar, wrought iron and chain link fencing across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, from
Tarrant County out to Collin County. If you are pricing a cedar fence in Murphy, TX, Plano, Wylie, Sachse or Parker,
we will walk the line with you and put the footage and the spec in writing before anything comes down. Request a
free estimate today.