TIL my cheap PVC fence panels were rotting from the inside out after 3 years

I used to just grab the cheapest white panels at the big box store until I pulled one apart last month and saw black mold growing in the hollow core. Now I only use solid vinyl or cedar boards with a sealer - has anyone else found hidden rot on their fence after a few seasons?

2 comments

2 Comments

dianal941mo ago

My buddy Mike went through this exact nightmare last year. He put up those cheap hollow panels from the hardware store and after two winters they started looking warped and wavy. He pulled one off to check and found the inside was completely filled with black sludge and rot, like the rain had been seeping in through the top caps and just sitting there. The whole fence was basically a sponge holding water against the posts, so those were rotting out too. He ended up having to tear down the whole thing and replace it with solid cedar pickets, which cost him way more than if he'd just done it right the first time. Now he jokes that he paid the "stupid tax" on that fence, but you could tell he was pretty pissed about it.

nancy_ross1mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. I had a similar thing happen with some composite decking I put down. It looked fine on top but when I pulled up a board to fix a squeak, the underside was all soft and spongy. The rain got trapped between the boards and the joists and just sat there. I ended up having to rip the whole thing out and start over with treated lumber. Such a pain.