How long does a wooden fence last?
5 min read · Reviewed 2026-08-21
Why fences fail at the bottom of the post, and what changes that.
Realistic lifespans
A well-built close board fence on concrete posts with gravel boards, in reasonable ground, should serve for a long time — with individual boards replaced occasionally rather than the whole run. Budget overlap panels on timber posts sitting in soil can fail in a fraction of that time.
The spread is enormous, and almost all of it comes down to three details rather than the timber itself.
The three details that decide it
Everything else is secondary to these:
- Whether timber touches soil — a gravel board keeps boards and panels clear of permanent damp
- Post type and footing — concrete posts, or timber set deep in a properly formed concrete footing with drainage below
- Treatment level — pressure-treated timber rather than dip-coated, with cut ends re-treated on site
What shortens a fence's life fastest
Soil, compost or raised beds banked against the base. Dense climbers holding moisture against the boards. Sprinklers hitting the same section daily. Posts concreted into a hole with no drainage, so water sits around the timber permanently.