We want our products to have a good life span, but realize cost is a factor, and so tend to use a mix of the above timber groups. Posts need to be made from a stable timber to minimize twisting and bending. Pickets likewise need to be stable as their thickness makes them conducive to bowing. Capping should be kiln dried to prevent shrinkage. We offer two grades of materials, which we feel is a good compromise between the competing demands as outlined above. Our premium grade fence uses all hardwoods, while our standard grade uses Cypress posts and a seasoned treated pine frame. We always use hardwood pickets.

Painting.
Whichever timber you use, the best thing you can do for your fence is to paint it properly when new. This means sealing the timber with oil based pink primer before applying two topcoats. Water based primers are not suitable as they do not seal the timber from the weather. House paint such as Wattle Solarguard is suitable for the topcoats.

Layout
Choose the position of your gates. Pedestrian gates should be about 1 metre wide, while driveways these days need to be at least 3 metres wide. Locate the end posts, and then divide the distances between the end posts and the gate posts into equal sections. Sections should be no wider than 2.7 metres.

You will now have the post positions. The next question is whether you will want all featured posts, or whether you want intermediate posts in between end and gate posts. Intermediate posts will sit behind the fence cladding, while featured posts will break up the fence run. The question of intermediate posts is usually determined by another; is the fence to be stepped, or will it run with the ground contour? If stepped, you will need to have all featured posts, while I like to have intermediate posts if running with the ground contour.