Which will put most strain on brick pillars, a heavy wooden fence or a lighter one?

Question

I am having a 4.5 metre long garden wall built one and a half bricks wide and 9 courses high topped with pillars one and a half bricks square and another 13 courses of brick in height, one pillar each end and one in the middle. The space between the pillars will filled with wood boards 100mm wide and 1metre long fixed to battens joining the pillars, a job I will do myself.

Which will provide the greater resistance to the wind and support for the pillars, thicker/heavier wooden boards or thinner/lighter ones? Do I need to leave a gap between the boards?

Answer 1

Careful the fence may out smart you.

Answer 2

Normally the bricks support the wood so that the wood does not touch the ground and rot.

Heavier wood will increase the load on the foundations and thus be slightly better at resisting the overturning in wind.