Trex Fencing pickets – a Smart Design
One of the best features of the Trex fence product is the design of the pickets. At first glance, the pickets look like overlapping solid boards. That’s intentional. A “board-on-board” design is a popular look and gives Trex a distinct appearance among composite and vinyl fences. Other composite and vinyl fencing designs use a butted slat approach.
The Trex picket is actually designed with curved edges. When the pickets are installed, they alternate front and back and as they are pulled tight the curved edges interlock. The benefit to this approach is that the interlocking eliminates any chance of gaps that you might see between solid fence boards. This full-privacy look also has three additional advantages: the elimination of warping and the weight of the fence.
- As a design principle, a curved edge forces rigidity that a flat surface does not. Having a flat surface is why you often see some waviness with other composites and even with wood.
- The 1/4″ wall on the Trex picket is twice as thick as a typical vinyl picket and because of its density, Trex has similar strength properties to a wood picket. But, it is also thinner than a full plank such as those used for decking. That means a lot less weight which has its benefits during an installation.
- Speaking of installations, the interlocking pickets also significantly reduce the number of number of fasteners. Except for the three screws for the picket that attaches to the post, no screws are necessary for any of the other interlocking pickets.
Trex pickets have a distinctly natural look. Unlike vinyl pickets which have a reflective sheen, Trex pickets have the look of a painted wood fence. Trex comes in three popular colors. Since the fence system comes un-assembled, the color options give you some creativity such as the combination of different colors (see examples).
In terms of measurements, the lengths are 67″, 91″, the width is 5.75″, and the depth is 1″ (with some nominal tolerance). The pickets are interchangeable with the bottom rails so if you have a shorter section, you can use a picket as your rail.
A contractor contributed this video to demonstrate how the pickets go together. Take a look.
