How long does a wood fence last in Los Angeles?

Cedar runs ten to fifteen years, redwood fifteen to twenty, ipe and mahogany thirty or more with re-coating. The variable that matters most is not the species but the post base: a drained, properly concreted post outlives a neglected one by a decade regardless of what is bolted to it.

How do I maintain a wood fence?

Re-coat with penetrating oil roughly every eighteen to twenty-four months depending on species and sun exposure. Keep sprinklers off the boards — constant irrigation spray is the fastest way to rot an otherwise sound fence. Clear soil and mulch away from the base once a year.

Should I stain or leave the wood to grey?

Both are legitimate. Ipe and redwood weather to a silver-grey that many clients want, and that greying is cosmetic rather than structural. Staining holds the original colour and adds UV protection, at the cost of re-coating on schedule. We will quote either.

Horizontal or vertical boards?

Horizontal reads modern and suits flat or gently sloping runs, but needs dense stock and tighter post spacing so boards do not sag mid-bay. Vertical is more forgiving on rough grade and cheaper in cedar. On a steep hillside, vertical usually wins.

Ipe wood horizontal slat fence with an integrated mailbox

Wood fences,
built to move

Ipe, mahogany, redwood and cedar. Every species moves with the season — the detailing is what decides whether that shows.

Request an estimate 818-720-3316

Ipe · Horizontal Slat · Oil Finish

22 years

Same owner, same crew, since 2004

CSLB 952680

Licensed, bonded and insured

UL 325

Tested to ASTM F2200 at handover

Permits

LADBS & HOA review handled

Species is a cost-and-lifespan decision

Cedar is the value end and takes stain beautifully. Redwood sits in the middle and is the LA default for good reason. Ipe and mahogany run roughly three times cedar per foot and last several times as long — dense enough that they are the only woods we will run as wide horizontal slats without expecting the boards to cup.

We quote two or three species on the same layout so the trade is visible. What we will not do is sell ipe detailing at cedar prices, or run a horizontal slat fence in a species that will not hold the line.

Post spacing for wood specifically

Wood post spacing runs six to eight feet for a well-built run, tighter on a horizontal-slat design where the boards themselves add no rigidity across a bay the way a picket’s narrower gaps do. Push the spacing too wide on a horizontal design and the mid-span boards visibly sag before the wood even finishes curing.

Steel posts inside a wood sleeve let us hold wider spacing than an all-timber post could carry, which is part of why we default to steel on anything over six feet tall or on an exposed run.

Fasteners have to be stainless, or they show

Standard galvanised fasteners bleed a rust streak down the face of a light-coloured wood within a season, especially on ipe and cedar where the tannins in the wood accelerate the reaction. Every fastener that will be visible or in contact with the board face is stainless on our jobs, which costs more per fastener and is not optional on a finish that is otherwise being done properly.

Structural fasteners buried inside a joint that will never be seen can be a lower grade, and we do make that distinction — stainless everywhere it shows, hot-dip everywhere it does not, rather than stainless everywhere as a blanket upcharge.

What a re-coat actually involves

A re-coat is not a fresh coat of stain over the old one. The surface gets cleaned, any grey weathered layer gets lightly abraded so the new oil can actually penetrate rather than sitting on top, and any spot where the old finish has failed gets addressed before the new coat goes on — otherwise it fails again at exactly the same spot.

Done properly, a re-coat takes the better part of a day for an average run and should be scheduled before the existing finish has fully broken down, not after the wood has already started greying underneath it.

Not all lumber graded the same is actually the same

Ipe and mahogany both vary meaningfully by mill and by shipment — density, colour consistency and how straight the boards run all move with the source. We buy from suppliers we have used for years rather than the cheapest quote on a given week, because a fence built from an inconsistent batch shows every difference once it is up and weathering as one run.

Cedar and redwood have more forgiving grading, but knot count and heartwood percentage still vary enough between suppliers that a front-yard fence and a back boundary sometimes justify buying from different grades of the same species.

Four ways to run the boards

Modern redwood horizontal slat fence, front yard

01

Horizontal slat

The modern LA default. Needs dense stock and tight post spacing or the boards sag mid-bay. Reveal between slats sets how private it reads.
02

Vertical privacy

Boards run top to bottom, no gap. The most private and the most wind-loaded — on an exposed run the posts and footings get upsized.
03

Board-on-board

Overlapping vertical boards. Full privacy that still breathes, and seasonal movement never opens a sight line.
04

Dog-ear & picket

The traditional profile. Cheapest per foot, quickest to install, and the right answer for a long back-yard boundary nobody sees from the street.

Wood fence we have built

Ipe with Integrated Mailbox
Stepped on Grade
Cedar, Pool Code
Ipe on Concrete Base
Vertical Redwood Privacy
Redwood Dog-Ear
Dark Stain, Tight Reveal
Redwood Frame, Welded Mesh

What decides the detail

Movement: Hardwood shrinks and swells across the season. Fastenings and reveals are detailed for it, and gates get adjustable hinges so the gap can be reset without cutting.
Ground: Wood in permanent contact with soil rots from the base up. Posts get a drained base and, where the budget allows, a steel post inside the wood sleeve.
Finish: Penetrating oil, not film-forming paint. A film traps moisture behind it and peels; oil weathers evenly and re-coats without stripping.

Questions we get asked

Request an estimate 818-720-3316

How long does a wood fence last in Los Angeles?: Cedar runs ten to fifteen years, redwood fifteen to twenty, ipe and mahogany thirty or more with re-coating. The variable that matters most is not the species but the post base: a drained, properly concreted post outlives a neglected one by a decade regardless of what is bolted to it.
How do I maintain a wood fence?: Re-coat with penetrating oil roughly every eighteen to twenty-four months depending on species and sun exposure. Keep sprinklers off the boards — constant irrigation spray is the fastest way to rot an otherwise sound fence. Clear soil and mulch away from the base once a year.
Should I stain or leave the wood to grey?: Both are legitimate. Ipe and redwood weather to a silver-grey that many clients want, and that greying is cosmetic rather than structural. Staining holds the original colour and adds UV protection, at the cost of re-coating on schedule. We will quote either.
Horizontal or vertical boards?: Horizontal reads modern and suits flat or gently sloping runs, but needs dense stock and tighter post spacing so boards do not sag mid-bay. Vertical is more forgiving on rough grade and cheaper in cedar. On a steep hillside, vertical usually wins.

Other things we build

Where we build them

Ten neighbourhoods, one shop in Tarzana.

Get a real number

Tell us the length and layout for your fence, or the opening width for your gate, and we’ll tell you what it takes. Site visits are free inside the service area and take about forty minutes.

Request an estimate or call 818-720-3316

Shop: 18375 Ventura Blvd, #453, Tarzana, CA 91356
Hours: Mon–Sat 7:00–18:00
Licence: CSLB 952680