LP sent me some new fence pickets to try out on my own home. Here's what I like about LP Elements Fencing and how I built the fence.
LP Elements fence pickets, like most LP products, are an engineered wood product. This means that the pickets are made from wood strands (think super precise wood chips, not pulp) that are mixed with resin, binders and mold and insect resisting agents and then heated and pressed into a super dense, super durable fence picket. The picket is then coated to further protect it from the sun and elements.
LP Elements fence pickets have been put through the paces everywhere from the hot UV drenched deserts of Arizona to the rainforests of the Northwest and from the hot humid coasts of Florida to the freezing temperature of Alaska! LP is so confident in the Elements product that is is offered with a 10 year(!) warranty. That is, if you install it correctly.
The rest of the fence needs to be built with longevity as a primary goal as well. I decided to use cedar for the rails and metal posts concreted into the very hard and rocky ground. The metal posts should last a lifetime, as they are hot dip galvanized and we excavated the post holes with chisels and jackhammers. The cedar rails is probably the component that I am most concerned about, as I expect the LP Elements fence pickets to outlast the wood!
Speaking of rails; you will need to install at least three rails across the fence spaced no more than 8 inches from the top and bottom of the picket and no more than 30 inches apart.
I used screws for all of the fasteners as it just doesn't make sense to have a fence where the fasteners could fail before the fence pickets!
This fence has been installed for a few months now and it looks great! Check back in 10 years or so and I'll do an update on how it is holding up.