Postmaster Steel Fence Posts For Our Cedar Fence

Over the past few posts about our fence, I showed the posts being installed and talked about what the fence was going to do in terms of framing up our backyard.  Unlike our first fence in Elmhurst, the crew putting our fence in this time dug each of the posts by hand.  I'm not sure if that is just how they roll or if it had something to do with the posts we selected?

Because we're planning on staying in our #NewOldFarmhouse for quite some time, after talking with the team at Classic Fence, we decided to upgrade to steel posts instead of the traditional 4x4 cedar posts.  The steel posts we selected are called Postmaster posts from Master Halco. They're specifically designed for wood fences and allow for the attachment of cedar rails on the sides and accept planks on the outside and inside to basically 'cover' or mask the steel post in it's entirety.

Here's a look at a few of the posts that were installed in our #newoldbackyard.  The one on the left is unadorned while the ones on the right have their rails anchored to them.

They're designed to be much longer lasting and stronger than traditional 4x4 wood posts.  From the Postmaster site and brochure:

Why use a steel post when I could use wood? Wood posts rot over time and can warp or twist due to rain, wind or extreme temperatures. The integrity and appearance of a wood fence is lost after the wood posts begin to rot from exposure or termite infestation. This deterioration weakens the post, sometimes to the point where it can no longer hold the fence up. PostMaster gives an ordinary wood fence the strength of steel.

If you check out the Postmaster brochure, you'll see various wind tests and what-have-you's, but you'll also see a mockup of what the steel posts look like with cedar plans affixed to them:

 We're just getting started with our steel posts, so I can't hardly tell if they'll be better/the same than cedar posts, but I can tell you that the fence is straight-as-an-arrow.  That might be attributable to the posts.  Might also say something about the installers and their craftsmanship.  Over time, I'll do my best to update this post with details on how the Postmaster steel posts are performing.