LESLIE: Wes in Florida, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you?
WES: Hi, folks. Sorry to bug you. But I’m looking to buy some …
TOM: That’s our job. (chuckling)
WES: (chuckling) Some stockade fence for my backyard …
TOM: OK.
WES: … here in Florida. And I want something that’s safe; that gives a lot of privacy for my kids, for my wife is she wants to go out back; stuff like that. What should I look for? What should I be concerned about? What will – what should I look for to keep from getting, you know, the mineral stains on there? Any ideas?
TOM: Well, you know, when it comes to fencing, your first choice is whether you want – if you want to go wood or PVC. If you want to go wood, then you have a variety of qualities from spruce up to cedar. If you’re going to put a wood fence in, you’ve got to stain it before you put it in if you want it to last.
LESLIE: And you want to account for some space so that the wood is not sitting directly on the floor except for the support posts. You want to make sure …
TOM: Which is where the bugs can get it.
LESLIE: Exactly. You want to get it away from that moisture. What do you need? Like six inches maybe?
TOM: Yeah. Well, maybe four, you know, inches underneath that.
LESLIE: Four. OK, because six is kind of high.
TOM: Yeah. But if you want to spend a little bit more money, the PVC is awesome, too. You know, the white, plastic fencing? More expensive than wood but pretty much lasts indefinitely. So those are your options.
WES: That’s what I’d like to get is the PVC. I just – you see sometimes when they get the orange mineral stains and I’d like to try to avoid that.
TOM: Well, that’s probably – that’s not orange mineral. That’s rust from your sprinkler system and hard water …
WES: Oh.
TOM: … that gets on that. And that’s going to happen whatever you have. If you’re getting those kinds of stains on your sidewalk and patio, you’re going to see it on the fence and you’re just going to have to clean it; unless you put a filtration system on your sprinkler water. That’s normally what’s causing that.
WES: Yeah, I’ve seen it on other people’s fences. I haven’t had that problem myself so …
TOM: Yep.
WES: Then I should be safe, then. Good.
TOM: Yeah. And if you aim those sprinklers so they don’t hit the fence, better yet.
WES: (chuckling) That’s a good point. (Leslie chuckles) Thank you both very much. Appreciate it.
