Crossbuck Wood Fence in New Smyrna Beach, Florida
- FencePressure treated crossbuck ranch rail
- LocationNew Smyrna Beach, Volusia County
- PurposeFront boundary with open sight lines kept
- Site notesSandy coastal soil and a shell driveway
A crossbuck fence is the one with the X braced between the rails, and it belongs to a completely different family than a privacy fence. Nobody builds this to hide behind. It exists to draw a line, hold a corner, and look like it has been there longer than it has.
This one runs across the front of a small coastal cottage in New Smyrna Beach, between a shell driveway and a stand of live oaks hung with Spanish moss. The boards are pressure treated pine, still the pale green of new treatment in these photos, and they will weather down toward gray over the first couple of seasons.
The driveway opening is left clear rather than gated, which is deliberate on a shell drive. A gate that swings over loose shell will drag and jam within a month unless it is hung high enough to clear it, and most homeowners on this kind of lot would rather keep the opening simple.
What is a crossbuck fence actually for?
Boundary and character, in that order. The X brace between the rails is the signature, and it does add real rigidity to a long ranch rail run, but the reason most people choose it is that it looks right on a property that is not trying to be a suburban lot. Front yards, paddock lines and driveway frontages are its natural home.
What it does not do is contain anything small or provide any privacy at all. You can see straight through it, which on this property is the whole idea, because the oaks and the cottage behind it are the view. If a dog or a pool is part of the picture then the crossbuck goes at the front and something solid goes at the back, which is a very common pairing. Our wood fence installation covers both styles and what each one costs to build.
How does a coastal lot change how the fence gets built?
Sand and salt do most of the changing. Coastal soil here drains fast and holds a post poorly, so post depth and a proper concrete footing matter more than they would on heavier ground inland. Dig a shallow hole in sand and the fence will tell you about it the first time a real wind comes through off the water.
Salt air is the second factor. Everything metal on a fence within a few miles of the Atlantic is on a shorter clock than the same hardware inland, so hot dipped galvanized or stainless fasteners are worth the extra cost rather than a plain coated screw that will bleed rust stains down the boards inside a year. The timber itself needs to be rated for ground contact wherever it meets soil. You can also see marking flags in the first photo, which is the utility locate done before digging, and that is not optional anywhere in Florida. Building for those conditions is the difference on any New Smyrna Beach fence installation.
Will pressure treated wood stay this color?
No, and that surprises people. New pressure treated pine leaves the yard with a green or olive cast from the preservative, which is what you are looking at in these photos. Over the first six to twelve months of Florida sun it fades toward tan, then silver gray, and where it sits under the oaks it will darken unevenly because shade holds moisture.
You have two honest options. Let it gray out, which suits a coastal cottage and costs nothing, or seal it once the boards have dried down enough to accept a finish, which on new treated lumber usually means waiting several months rather than sealing it the week it goes up. Seal too early and the finish sits on wet wood and lifts. If you want the wood look without any of this, the cypress vinyl fence in Lake Mary is the same appearance in a material that never needs it, and Byers Fence installs both.
Building on a coastal lot in New Smyrna Beach?
Sandy ground and salt air change what a fence needs, and we build for both. Call Byers Fence at (386) 457-2045 for a free written estimate on your property.