Things Not to Do When Installing a Vinyl Fence
Here are 4 Things Not to Do When Installing a Vinyl Fence. Specifically a 6ft tall privacy vinyl fence.
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Never use a bracket to secure the panel on a vinyl fence.
A vinyl fence is designed to flex, expand and contract in the heat, cold and wind. If a vinyl fence panel is secured on each end with a bracket, the rails cannot move properly. This will eventually loosen the bracket and cause it to tear away or break. This could result in a loss of more than just the bracket and rail, causing damage to your pole as well.
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Never use wood inside of a vinyl fence post.
Wood will sweat and collect moisture from the changes in the weather and eventually rot away. Wood rails will not be able to be fully inserted into the hole of the post. If the wood rail is not inserted into the post it cannot capture the clip on the rail. Now the rail will constantly slip out during high winds. Vinyl fence posts are designed to flex in the wind not stay rigid like wood. If the post does not flex, all of the force is transferred to the panel, decreasing the fence’s wind load.
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Avoid fence designs with large horizontal rails.
A large horizontal rail larger than a standard 1 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ will need a larger hole cut into the post. The larger the hole, the weaker the post will become which over time will cause wear and tear on your fence.
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Never install a vinyl privacy fence without an aluminum or metal insert in the bottom rail.
This is pretty standard, vinyl (PVC) is not designed to hold up more than its own weight when exposed to heat. It doesn’t matter how big the rail is. When exposed to extreme heat, the weight of the vertical pickets on it will cause warp and sag over time. You must install an aluminum or metal insert in the bottom rail to support the weight.
