Cross Buck Fence Installation

Cross buck is the fence people picture when they think of a horse farm: posts and rails with a wooden X in every bay. It frames a driveway, lines the road frontage of a ranch and borders a pasture near the house while still letting you see the land. The X is not only decoration; it braces each bay so the rails stay straight and the fence stays square over a long run. We build cross buck in treated pine and cedar around Lake Livingston, often with welded wire on the back side so the same fence that looks right from the road also holds a dog or a goat.

Where cross buck fits

• Horse paddocks and pastures, where it is safe, visible and traditional. See horse fencing.
• Driveways and entrances, often with a matching driveway gate.
• Road frontage on acreage that wants a finished look without hiding the property.
• Front and side yards on lake and country lots, with wire behind it for the dogs.
• RV parks and rural businesses that want a ranch look at the road.

How we build it

Posts are set in concrete below the soft topsoil on eight-foot centers, with corners, ends and gate posts deeper. A top and bottom rail run on the outside face, and the two diagonals cross between them and fasten to both rails and the post, which is what makes each bay rigid. Boards are two-by-six treated pine or cedar; fasteners are galvanized or coated screws so the many joints in a cross buck fence do not streak or loosen. Where wire is called for, welded or woven wire is stretched on the inside and stapled behind the rails so it disappears from the road. On a slope, each bay steps so the Xs stay symmetrical and the top rail reads as a clean line.

Finish

White paint is the classic horse-farm look and takes upkeep every few years. Solid stain in a natural or dark tone hides weathering longer. Cedar can be left to silver or sealed clear. We will talk through what the finish will look like in five years, not just the day it is done, and we offer staining and painting as a standalone service.

Cross buck versus split rail versus board fence

Cedar split rail is more rustic, with no nails and no diagonals. Plain board fence, three or four horizontal boards with no X, is a cleaner version of the same post-and-rail idea. Cross buck sits between them: more detail than board fence, more formal than split rail. All three take wire backing, and we build all three.

What affects the price of cross buck

Cross buck uses more lumber per bay than a plain board fence, because of the two diagonals, and more fasteners, because every joint is a joint. Cedar costs more than treated pine. Wire backing, a finish coat and gates add on top. A long, straight driveway run is the most economical version; a yard with corners and a slope takes more cutting and fitting. We price it on site and will price a plain three-board fence beside it if you want the comparison.

Keeping the Xs crisp

The diagonals are what people look at, so we lay each bay out so the X is centered and symmetrical, cut the boards to fit rather than letting them run long, and fasten them with coated screws that do not streak. On a slope the bays step so every X stays the same shape. A cross buck fence built that way reads as one clean line from the road for as long as it stands.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cross buck fence?

A post-and-rail fence where each bay has two diagonal boards crossing in an X between a top and bottom rail. The X is what gives it the name and the look, and it also stiffens the bay.

Will cross buck hold livestock?

On its own it holds horses that respect a fence and marks a boundary. For goats, dogs and animals that push, we add wire mesh on the back side, which keeps the look from the road and makes the fence work.

Cedar or treated pine for cross buck?

Treated pine is the usual choice for posts and rails because the boards are long and straight and take paint or solid stain well. Cedar is used where the owner wants a natural finish. We build both.