What's the best kind of wood to use for a fence?

Question

Especially the kick/base boards at the bottom. I need something that the termites won't eat, is extremely durable and will hold up to the elements. Any ideas?

Answer 1

a composite material, something like rhinoboard, or trex. Termites eat all kinds of wood, but composites are not made of wood but look just like wood. It is a much more expensive, but there is no maintanence and bugs won't eat it

Answer 2

Here's a list that gives the features of the types of wood used in fencing (including termite resistance) it is from this page..

http://www.usfenceguide.com/wood-fence.p...

Common Types of Lumber Used for Wood Fence

Pine - Pressure treated for subterranean termites - besides having pressure treated pine, it is good to coat the lumber with water repellant stain to prolong the life of wood.

Spruce - Untreated spruce picket fences and cross rails are most commonly used in prefabricated 4x8- or 8x6-foot picket and stockade-fence sections that you find at your local hardware store. These are then installed between pressure-treated fence posts.

Cypress - Natural chemical Cypretine - Red Cypress is an all-natural aromatic wood that is grown in the swamps of Florida. Noted for its color consistency, density, hardness and relative lack of knots, cypress is a superior wood.

Cedar and Red Wood - This is the best wood for fencing in or around your house as it is beautiful and has a longer life. But because it is high in demand, it more expensive as well.

The best and most elegant woods for fencing come from evergreen softwood containing resins that naturally repel molds, termites and other boring insects. The best known is California redwood; heartwood of this tree will last for 25 years or more without treatment.

But, being in demand for outdoor furniture, siding, decks and railings on upscale homes, redwood is expensive. Also, this wood doesn't tend to last as long in regions outside of California. Not quite as costly, but not cheap�and often hard to locate because it is sold primarily to outdoor furniture and fencing manufacturers�is Western white cedar (most of it from Canada).

Aromatic red cedar, cherry and a few other resinous furniture woods would make good fences, but are better used in cedar chests and dining-room tables. Red cedar and cherry are extensively used on both the East and Pacific coast. Wood that's good for naturally long-lived fence posts�and that you might find in your own woods or at a local rough cut sawmill�include black locust, the mid-western nuisance tree, the Osage orange, catalpa, red mulberry and sassafras.