Kentucky Board Fence Installation
Kentucky board fence specs published: 6–7 in posts on 8 ft centers, 12–14 in board spacing, 54 in height, embedment by post role. Call 502-468-1209.
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Kentucky board fence is a post-and-board fence built from round wood posts on 8 ft centers with three to five horizontal boards, and it is used where horses need a fence they can see at a gallop and where the property has to present.
It is the right fence for horse turnout, paddocks, stallion pens, arenas, farm frontage and entrances. It is the wrong fence for small stock — goats, sheep and foals go through board spacing, which is why those enclosures get 2"x4" no-climb mesh behind the boards. S&S has been building these fences since 2015 out of Cox’s Creek in Nelson County, and Shawn Fick grew up in the middle of them.
Pressure level drives the build: light boundary lines take 3-board, general turnout takes 4-board at 54 in, and heavy-pressure stallion pens and arenas take 5-board at 5 to 6 ft. Full pasture-by-pasture selection is on horse farm and equestrian fencing.
S&S publishes the numbers most Kentucky fence contractors leave off their websites entirely: 6 to 7 in posts, 7 to 8 ft long, on 8 ft centers, with 1"x6" oak or 1.25"x6" pressure-treated pine boards in 16 ft lengths.
Gate posts are the heaviest and deepest on the farm because they carry a swinging load for the life of the fence. A gate post set like a line post is the most common reason a five-year-old fence has a gate that drags.
We drive posts rather than hand-set them wherever the soil allows, because a driven post compacts the soil around the shaft instead of sitting in loose backfill — it holds longer and resists frost heave.
Layout. Corners, ends and gates staked first, then the line pulled straight and the grade read.
Setting. Posts driven to the embedment above; rock and hardpan handled with augering — see post augering and driving.
Boards. 16 ft boards spanning three posts where possible, joints staggered between courses so no two joints stack on the same post.
Terrain following. On grade the fence steps or racks with the ground; ground clearance is held near 12 in through dips so a hoof cannot get caught under the bottom board.
Gates. 12–16 ft field gates for equipment, 4–6 ft man-gates, hardware turned away from the animal side.
Finish. Painted or stained once the boards have dried down — not the week they go up. See fence painting and staining.
Board fence carries the highest material and labor cost of any farm fence and the best visibility and presentation, with a 20 to 30 year service life that depends on staying painted.
A board fence reaches the top of its 20 to 30 year range only if it stays painted, so the maintenance program matters as much as the install.
Painting cycle — full repaint on a scheduled cadence with a spot-and-touch year between coats; the interval is set by how the boards are weathering rather than a fixed calendar.
Annual walk — check for loose fasteners, chewed boards and posts that have started to lean.
Board replacement — handled as part of a full-line replacement or a painting program on fences we installed.
Chewing — oak resists better than pine; a hot top wire stops a cribber.
S&S does new installation, full replacement, painting and temporary fence rental. We do not take on repair work on fences built by others; warranty service applies to our own installs.
Board fence is the most expensive fence per foot and competitive per year of service once painting keeps it standing for 30 years — the wrong comparison is install price, the right one is dollars per foot divided by years of life.
An unpainted board fence that fails at 15 years costs more per year than a painted one that runs 30. That is why S&S sells painting as a program rather than an upsell.
Installed pricing depends on board count, terrain and clearing, so we price your actual line rather than quote a number sight unseen. Call 502-468-1209.
Every S&S board fence installation carries a one-year workmanship warranty, and the company carries General Liability and Workers’ Compensation with COIs issued on request.
S&S Fencing & Property Maintenance LLC is family-owned and woman-owned, operating since 2015 from Cox’s Creek in Nelson County, Kentucky. BBB A+ Accredited and Blue Book ProView Verified. Shawn and Shelby Fick are reachable directly at 502-468-1209. Full documentation is on the credentials page.
Featured project: four-board athletic track fencing at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY.
Farm references are provided on request. More completed work is in the projects gallery.
Project Gallery
Common Questions
Free on-site walk. One-business-day callback. Or dial Shawn directly.
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