Many farm and estate properties in Virginia are bordered by board fencing or fencing of some sort.  If it’s primarily a cattle farm, you might see high tensile fencing which is wire strung tight between pressure treated posts, or you might see barbed wire.  Mostly what you’ll find is board fencing, either three boards or four.  Typically this pressure treated pine or oak boards.  The posts are driving into the ground with a post pounder or in some cases and auger is used but that can disturb the ground more and the posts may not always be as secure and therefore the fence not as strong.  I prefer rounded posts at 4-5″ as they are less likely to hold surface water behind the boards and they tend not to warp or break as easy as square posts.  The boards and posts are invariably stained or painted.  This is a very traditional look for Virginia horse farms and in some areas the you will find consistently the same color fencing.  Keswick, Virginia is recognized for all of the white fencing as you pass through one estate property after another.  I admit that I am partial to the black board fencing as it disappears a little more into the landscape.  Either way, the great thing about owning a big place is that you can paint your fence however you like, but as far as horse fencing goes, a traditional board fence seems to work best and that means, vinyl and and electric tape (hot tape) is not desirable and looks cheap.  There is a security (peace of mind that your animals are safe) and texture (looks good) to board fencing.  It will be more labor intensive than other things over the years but it’s the best solution for livestock and the reason you see it everywhere.  The cost for board fencing can range between $2-$5/foot and there are many variables with installation and treatment that can impact the finished cost.  Depending on your area in Virginia, I can always make a recommendation about who you should use to build yours.

Board Fencing in Virginia

Tags: Board Fencing, Equestrian properties, Fencing, Horse properties, Real Estate in Virginia

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Farms and Estates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.