Timber is a natural product, and as such can be subject to changes over time. In the vast majority of cases, these have no impact on the sturdiness of your fence or structure. But it's useful for you to know which perceived "flaws" are perfectly normal in natural wood.
1️⃣ Splitting - this is completely natural, particularly in treated wood - as our fence posts and boards are - and the splits serve to stop the wood becoming twisted. There is no impact on the sturdiness of the wood.
2️⃣ Gaps in wood - As wood ages, it shrinks. Therefore, where you may have fence boards that touched when the fence was installed but now have a gap between some of them, this is down to wood shrinkage. Again, it has no negative impact on the sturdiness of the fence.
3️⃣ Green timber - You may be concerned to find some green colouring in your treated timber, but you needn't worry. The green is simply a reaction between the chemicals used in the treatment, and the wood itself, and it is temporary. Over time, after exposure to the elements, this colouration will turn to a honey brown, and then a silvery colour. So the green timber simply means the wood has been well treated.
4️⃣ Mould - If you think you see mould on your treated timber, don't worry - it's very common in hot weather and can usually be removed (if you want to remove it) with a quick wash down. Equally, you could choose not to remove the mould, and it will disappear of its own accord when the weather cools. In either case, the strength of the timber is not affected.
5️⃣ Burred edges - Rough sawn fence boards and posts are exactly that – rough sawn. This means that they are not planed or sanded down to make them smooth. Due to the way it comes off the saw, rough sawn timber can have what we call 'burred edges', which looks like the edges are peeling or flaking, this is totally normal and does not mean the boards are defective.
Please note: if you would prefer a smooth board, we can order these in. They will be approximately 3-4 times the price of rough sawn boards, and will have a lead time of 3-4 weeks.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
