Are fence post caps necessary

Installing a wooden fence can instantly enhance your home, provide adequate security to home and border off your land from your neighbours. There are many materials involved when it comes to building a secure fence, such as fence panels, posts, gravel boards to name a few. Though, one material, which might get missed off the list are post caps. Many believe that the sole purpose of post caps is purely a decorative one; however in this blog we explore the real purpose of the post cap and its benefits.

What is a Post Cap?

A fence post cap is simply a cover, which effortlessly fits over the fence post tops of your fence to keep them safe from the elements. While they have a practical function, they are also decorative caps and come in a number of styles, sizes and colours to complement any garden.

At Lawsons, we stock a range of treated fence post caps, finials and finial bases, which are pressure treated with preservative to neatly finish off the top of your post and help prevent degrading.

It’s also important to understand how to choose the right fence post caps for your garden and fencing. Make sure that you’ve measured your fence posts accurately by using a tape measure to check the size of your posts. This is important as you need to be sure that the post caps you choose will fit on the posts well without being too loose or too tight.

The Importance of Post Caps

Treated timber fences will last you a long time, however due to weather conditions and other factors, you may find your fence, in particularly your fence posts will start to suffer from deterioration. When exposed to rainy conditions, the timber posts end grain is the most vulnerable. The tops of the post will absorb all the water rather than the whole post, which leads to mildew, mold and eventually cause your post to rot.

Moreover, when no post cap is installed, when exposed to sun and wind, the top of your fence post can dry out the wood and can lead to cracking. By using a fence post cap most issues caused to fence posts by the weather can be resolved as a post caps protects the post from weathering. By opting to include a post cap, you are also extending the life of your fencing, making it safer.

Fence post cap will also cover rough edges, therefore if you touch your fence post, you won’t end up getting splinters in your hands. Moreover, post caps offer protection for your posts from wildlife. Animals such as birds and squirrels tend to sit on fence posts; but if you choose a pointed post cap, they won’t be able to sit on your post and this saves you the tricky task of cleaning your fences of the mess they leave behind.

It is, therefore safe to conclude that post caps are not just a pretty, decorative feature of your fencing or an unnecessary cost but rather provides essential protection for your fence posts from wildlife and most importantly bad weather conditions. Post caps will keep your overall fence installation in excellent condition while offering your garden a nicer and elegant look!

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