The White Picket Fence, Without the Painting

The picket look, without the timber problems

For a hundred years the white picket fence meant painted timber, and painted timber means a job that never really finishes. The white you love on day one starts chalking within a couple of summers. The palings closest to the ground draw up moisture and rot. In a humid Queensland yard the boards cup and warp, and the whole thing needs sanding and repainting every three to five years to keep looking the part.

PVC keeps the look and removes the chore. The white is built into the material rather than painted on top, so it does not flake or fade. It cannot rot, because there is no timber to rot. It will not warp in the heat or play host to termites. You get the picket fence you actually wanted: the one that still looks freshly painted ten years from now.

Three white picket styles

Every Henley picket is a 1.2m white PVC fence. The difference is the top of the paling. Pick the profile that suits your home. If you are working toward a Hamptons frontage specifically, the pointed cap is the one to start with.

Flat Cap

A clean, square-topped picket: the crispest, most contemporary read on the classic.

Pointed Cap

The picket most people picture, with a gentle point on every paling. Traditional and warm.

Square Alternating

Alternating heights for a softer, decorative rhythm along the street frontage.

A picket at the front, privacy at the back

A picket fence is built for the front yard. It frames the garden and keeps the street presence open and friendly. It is not meant to give you privacy, and at 1.2m it will not. Most homeowners pair a Henley picket across the front with a taller, solid range down the sides and rear, where privacy actually matters.

Because every range shares the same white finish and post system, the transition from picket to privacy is seamless. See the privacy guide for the back boundary, or compare the picket against semi-privacy in Henley vs Oxford.

What a white picket fence costs

Henley pickets start from $130.34 a section including GST for one complete section: the panel, a post and a cap. The total for your fence depends on the length of your frontage and the number of gates. There are no hidden costs and the price you see is the price you pay. For the full breakdown by style and height, read the PVC fencing cost guide, or get an exact figure for your property in a couple of minutes.

Frequently asked questions