# Pressure treated 2x6 instead of 4x4 fence post



## gzecc (Apr 1, 2014)

I am a contractor by profession. I need to replace approx 300' of stockade fencing that came down in Sandy. I was thinking of using 2x6 pressure treated posts instead of the usual 4x4's. The 4x4 leave very little meat to attach each side of the fence panel to. The 2x6 will obviously have more contact area. Do you guys think this will work?


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## ironpony (Apr 1, 2014)

Do you mean 4x6?? 2x6 will never work.


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## heat seeker (Apr 1, 2014)

I would think the 2X6 would be rather weak in the dimension that needs the most strength against breaking. (As in wind blowing against the fence.)


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## Adios Pantalones (Apr 1, 2014)

Twice as thick, 4x as strong. The 2x6 will not likely hold up, and will likely warp.


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## Warm_in_NH (Apr 1, 2014)

Pretty sure those 2x6 s will look like a bunch of bananas after 3 weeks in the sun. 
Gotta go 4X something....not a 4X2 either


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 1, 2014)

You could consider landscape timbers but personally I'd simply go with the 4 x 4 as there should be plenty of strength and enough to fasten the rails to.


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## yooperdave (Apr 1, 2014)

Use the 4x4 post and then scab the 2x6 onto it for your nailing surface area.  (Can't figure out why you would think a 2x6 would work for a fence post???  Must be a typo, no?)


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## gzecc (Apr 1, 2014)

yooperdave said:


> Use the 4x4 post and then scab the 2x6 onto it for your nailing surface area.  (Can't figure out why you would think a 2x6 would work for a fence post???  Must be a typo, no?)


 
We use 2x6's for trailer decks, floor decking, framing. I don't know if I've ever seen a warped pressure treated 2x6.


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## PapaDave (Apr 1, 2014)

gzecc said:


> We use 2x6's for trailer decks, floor decking, framing. I don't know if I've ever seen a warped pressure treated 2x6.


Really? I could show you some, and I could also show you some 4x6 that warped/twisted.
They're part of my pole barn.


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## Ncountry (Apr 1, 2014)

gzecc said:


> We use 2x6's for trailer decks, floor decking, framing. I don't know if I've ever seen a warped pressure treated 2x6.



Lol.. I don't think I have ever seen a strait pt 2"x6"..


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## Highbeam (Apr 2, 2014)

gzecc said:


> We use 2x6's for trailer decks, floor decking, framing. I don't know if I've ever seen a warped pressure treated 2x6.


 
In those cases, the 2x6 is clamped in place by fasteners along its length to prevent twisting and bending. A 2x anything will warp and twist immediately after being sawn. Most are bent/twisted in the stack at the lumber yard.


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## Badfish740 (Apr 2, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> In those cases, the 2x6 is clamped in place by fasteners along its length to prevent twisting and bending. A 2x anything will warp and twist immediately after being sawn. Most are bent/twisted in the stack at the lumber yard.



I wonder if he's proposing laminating the 2x6s into a post like they do with pole barns these days?  If they are nailed up while still full of moisture they'll likely stay straight as they dry, but one thing to consider is that most PT 2x6s (maybe even all PT 2x6s) are not rated for ground contact, so putting them _in _the ground is probably not a great idea.


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## Highbeam (Apr 2, 2014)

Once you buy and nail together 2 or three 2x6s you are up to the cost of a 4x4 so I think he must mean a single. Those things turn into bananas on the shop floor between when I buy them and when I put them in place.


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## jebatty (Apr 3, 2014)

Just zig-zag the fence to make it free standing and scrap the posts completely. Zig-zagging so confuses the wind currents that you can warrant that Sandy will never blow that fence down again.


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## Dune (Apr 4, 2014)

2x6 would work very well if it were perpendicular to the fence.....alternatively a tee-beam could bee made from two of them, and would be *much* stronger than a 4x4, however either scenario reduces contact area. I suspect the OP has an abundance of 2x6 stock.


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## gzecc (Apr 4, 2014)

jebatty said:


> Just zig-zag the fence to make it free standing and scrap the posts completely. Zig-zagging so confuses the wind currents that you can warrant that Sandy will never blow that fence down again.


 
Sandy didn't blow it down, the 30 trees that fell around it did that.


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## jharkin (Apr 4, 2014)

Given enough time and load* anything* will warp.  Come on over and I will show you an 8x8 (true) beam with a pretty nice bow in it


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## Highbeam (Apr 4, 2014)

jharkin said:


> Given enough time and load* anything* will warp.  Come on over and I will show you an 8x8 (true) beam with a pretty nice bow in it


 
And I'll show you a railroad full of straight ties or a fence built with 4x4s that is nearly perfect. Or even straight trees. I don't believe that anything will warp with time, I do believe that it is possible for anything to warp in the right conditions.


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## jharkin (Apr 4, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> And I'll show you a railroad full of straight ties or a fence built with 4x4s that is nearly perfect. Or even straight trees. I don't believe that anything will warp with time, I do believe that it is possible for anything to warp in the right conditions.




I guess I should have bolded the word "*and load*" in my statement for clarity ?   maybe a red font?


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