Trex fence pickets interlock to provide full privacy, a distinct appearance, and better durability.
This view shows how pickets interlock before the top rail is placed over them.
A District Design
One of the best features of the Trex Fencing product is the Trex Fencing pickets design. 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. Other composite and PVC vinyl fencing designs have butted boards which gives the fence very little dimension and reduced strength.
The overlapping board look is actually created by a feature that’s unique to the Trex picket system. The pickets interlock. This keeps them from pulling apart and it also ensures the pickets look the same on both sides.
Trex pickets have a distinctly natural look. Unlike PVC vinyl pickets that have a reflective sheen, Trex Fencing pickets have the look of a painted wood fence and come in three popular colors. Since the fence system comes un-assembled, the color options give you creative license to combine the colors (see the Multi-Color Gallery for examples).
Why Interlocking Trex Fencing Pickets is Better
The Trex Fencing pickets is designed with curved edges. When the pickets are installed, they alternate front and back. As they are pulled tight, the curved edges interlock, creating the ‘board-on-board’ appearance. A major functional benefit to this approach is that the interlocking eliminates any chance of gaps that you might see between solid fence boards that are butted or overlap. This full-privacy approach has three additional advantages:
- A curved edges force rigidity that a flat surface does not. Having a flat surface is why you often see some waviness with other composites or even wood.
- The 1/4″ wall on the Trex picket is twice as thick as a typical PVC vinyl picket. Due to its density, Trex has similar strength properties to a wood picket.
- The interlocking pickets also significantly reduce the number of fasteners. When the posts are spaced optimally, only three screws are needed for the pickets that attached to the posts and no screws are necessary for any of the other interlocking pickets.
Technical Details
In terms of measurements, the picket lengths are 67″and 91″. When combined with top and bottom rails in the vertical Seclusions design, that gives the fence a height of 6 ft. and 8 ft. tall respectively. For Horizons, the horizontal design, the picket lengths provide standard widths of 6 ft. and 8 ft. Of course, because the pickets can be cut just like wood, you can adjust the height and width as needed.
The width of a Trex picket is 5-3/4″ and the depth is 1″ (with some nominal tolerance). For Seclusions, the pickets and the bottom rail covers are the same component, just different in length. For a typical 6 ft. tall fence, the 67″ pickets are used vertically and the 91″ pickets sleeve over the aluminum rail horizontally. That also means for an 8 ft. tall fence, 91″ pickets are used vertically and for the bottom rail covers. From an efficiency standpoint, if you are building a 3 ft. tall fence, use the 67″ pickets and cut two pieces out of them, thereby reducing the number of pickets you need by half. The same principle applies to a 4 ft. tall fence with the 91″ pickets. Our architectural drawings provide dimensions and necessary components for all fence heights from 2′ to 12′ tall.
For additional reference, review our installation guides. Also, take a look see how the pickets interlock in these videos: Trex Seclusions Fencing | Trex w/Horizons Fencing.
A District Design
One of the best features of the Trex Fencing product is the picket design. 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. Other composite and PVC vinyl fencing designs have butted boards which gives the fence very little dimension and reduced strength.
The overlapping board look is actually created by a feature that’s unique to the Trex picket system. The pickets interlock. This keeps them from pulling apart and it also ensures the pickets look the same on both sides.
Trex pickets have a distinctly natural look. Unlike PVC vinyl pickets that have a reflective sheen, Trex pickets have the look of a painted wood fence and come in three popular colors. Since the fence system comes un-assembled, the color options give you creative license to combine the colors (see the Multi-Color Gallery for examples).
Why Interlocking is Better
The Trex picket is designed with curved edges. When the pickets are installed, they alternate front and back. As they are pulled tight, the curved edges interlock, creating the ‘board-on-board’ appearance. A major functional benefit to this approach is that the interlocking eliminates any chance of gaps that you might see between solid fence boards that are butted or overlap. This full-privacy approach has three additional advantages:
- A curved edges force rigidity that a flat surface does not. Having a flat surface is why you often see some waviness with other composites or even wood.
- The 1/4″ wall on the Trex picket is twice as thick as a typical PVC vinyl picket. Due to its density, Trex has similar strength properties to a wood picket.
- The interlocking pickets also significantly reduce the number of fasteners. When the posts are spaced optimally, only three screws are needed for the pickets that attached to the posts and no screws are necessary for any of the other interlocking pickets.
Technical Details
In terms of measurements, the picket lengths are 67″and 91″. When combined with top and bottom rails in the vertical Seclusions design, that gives the fence a height of 6 ft. and 8 ft. tall respectively. For Horizons, the horizontal design, the picket lengths provide standard widths of 6 ft. and 8 ft. Of course, because the pickets can be cut just like wood, you can adjust the height and width as needed.
The width of a Trex picket is 5-3/4″ and the depth is 1″ (with some nominal tolerance). For Seclusions, the pickets and the bottom rail covers are the same component, just different in length. For a typical 6 ft. tall fence, the 67″ pickets are used vertically and the 91″ pickets sleeve over the aluminum rail horizontally. That also means for an 8 ft. tall fence, 91″ pickets are used vertically and for the bottom rail covers. From an efficiency standpoint, if you are building a 3 ft. tall fence, use the 67″ pickets and cut two pieces out of them, thereby reducing the number of pickets you need by half. The same principle applies to a 4 ft. tall fence with the 91″ pickets. Our architectural drawings provide dimensions and necessary components for all fence heights from 2′ to 12′ tall.
For additional reference, review our installation guides. Also, take a look see how the pickets interlock in these videos: Trex Seclusions Fencing | Trex w/Horizons Fencing.