Red oak for horizontal fence boards?

[Wild Turkey]

SWMBO has decided we need a 6' high back yard wood fence.

Around here Red Oak is cheapest and Cedar and White Oak are (much) more expensive.

Question is if I keep it stained and it's not in contact with the ground how will RO last?

[jteneyck]

SWMBO has decided we need a 6' high back yard wood fence.

Around here Red Oak is cheapest and Cedar and White Oak are (much) more expensive.

Question is if I keep it stained and it's not in contact with the ground how will RO last?

Not long unless you paint it and make sure to maintain the paint.  With stain it won't last 10 years, more likely 5.  Spring for cedar, white oak, larch, black locust, or PT.  

John

[oscarMadison]

yeah, my understanding is that red oak is very susceptible to moisture and rain and to not use it outside

Have you thought about something like this, https://www.homedepot.com/p/6-ft-H-x-8-f.../203733689

I know she said wood but maybe if you can convince her that wood will cost a lot and require a lot of maintenance maybe you could go with vinyl sections.

They've got some that at least that look better then just plain vinyl, https://www.homedepot.com/p/Veranda-Lind.../311386541

[2beast]

No to red oak.
Red oak has capillaries that are open and allow water to pass right through the wood.
If you take a piece of red oak and put one end in water and blow on the other end, bubbles will come out of the wood 


Not so with white oak.

[Bill Bob]

SWMBO has decided we need a 6' high back yard wood fence.

Around here Red Oak is cheapest and Cedar and White Oak are (much) more expensive.

Question is if I keep it stained and it's not in contact with the ground how will RO last?

Have you considered using Popular?  It is far denser than cedar and red oak.  Have it here on farm fencing installed 8 years ago, no stain, no paint just a natural grey weathered look.  All boards remain solid with zero signs of any decay.  
Bill B

[jteneyck]

Have you considered using Popular?  It is far denser than cedar and red oak.  Have it here on farm fencing installed 8 years ago, no stain, no paint just a natural grey weathered look.  All boards remain solid with zero signs of any decay.  
Bill B

What you call popular can't be what we call poplar because poplar has really poor rot resistance, even worse than red oak.  You must mean some other wood because poplar is much lower density than red oak.  

John

[Bill Bob]

What you call popular can't be what we call poplar because poplar has really poor rot resistance, even worse than red oak.  You must mean some other wood because poplar is much lower density than red oak.   

John

It was poplar for sure, very dense.  Perhaps there are different species of it? If you take a small piece of red oak, let's say 3/4 thick and the same length you can blow air or smoke thru the end grain very easily. Not so with poplar.
Dealers choice.
Bill

[jteneyck]

It was poplar for sure, very dense.  Perhaps there are different species of it? If you take a small piece of red oak, let's say 3/4 thick and the same length you can blow air or smoke thru the end grain very easily. Not so with poplar.
Dealers choice.
Bill

Yellow Poplar


Black Poplar


Balsam Poplar


Red Oak

As you will see, none of the domestic woods called poplar are nearly as dense as red oak, so what you are calling poplar must be something else.  Whether or not you can blow air through it is really secondary.  You can't blow air through pine either.  

In any case, the three poplar species above all have poor rot resistance though likely no worse than red oak.  

John

[Gary G™]

I’m surprised to see Poplar recommended.
Here (FL) the poplar I used for a small outdoor project didn’t last long.

I use Cypress most often for outdoor projects.
I wouldn’t use vinyl—again, in Florida, because it would be mossy green in a month.

Another option: the Severe Weather 5/4-in x 6-in x X-ft Premium Pressure Treated Lumber at the Big Box.
While a little more expensive, this lasts a really long time with little maintenance.

[Cooler]

My house was built in 1953.  I replaced the outdoor deck in 2004.  It was made from Douglas Fir.  Pretty good performance for an outdoor environment.  The main problem was where they sistered up joists.  The water remained trapped between the joists.  Those were the pieces that had serious rot.

This study showing the durability of untreated lumber (a U.S. government study) shows that heart wood vs sap wood is of more concern than the species. 

Red oak (heart) performed surprisingly well.  There is a lot of data provided so read it over carefully.

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1995/highl95a.pdf