Customer Story: Replacing a Rotting Wood Fence with a Two-Tone Metal Fence in Qualicum Beach, BC

Wood fences have a hard life on Vancouver Island. Years of wet winters had left this one with rotting boards, peeling bottom rails and sections that were starting to come down. John W. replaced the whole thing with the corrugated metal privacy panel that started BarrierBoss: two-tone steel in pressure-treated wood frames, Coffee Brown on the outside and a custom Buckwheat on the yard side, set on 4x4 posts in two long runs. The result is a clean, solid fence line that won't rot, with a matching gate and a tidy spot for the bins.

The Problem: A Wood Fence That Had Run Its Course

John's old fence was a painted wood privacy fence, and it was showing every one of its years. The boards had shrunk and split, leaving daylight between them. The bottom rails were rotting where they met the ground, the paint was peeling, and some parts of the fence were falling down entirely.

Patching it would only have bought a season or two. With close to 190 feet to cover, John wanted a fence he would not have to rebuild again.

The Fence: Corrugated Panels, Sized to Fit

John chose BarrierBoss Corrugated Metal Privacy Fence Panels in a pressure-treated wood frame. He ordered them in a vertical profile, using a mix of 4' x 8' and 5' x 8' panels across the two runs.

John went two-tone: Coffee Brown faces out and a lighter custom Buckwheat faces the yard. Buckwheat isn't one of BarrierBoss's standard colours, so it was a custom finish for this project. From the street side, the fence reads dark and tidy. From inside the yard, the lighter tone keeps the garden beds bright.

The steel is 26-gauge galvanized corrugated metal with NoFade paint, coated on both sides, so it won't rot, swell or need repainting. The panels arrive assembled in their frames, ready to hang between posts.

The Build: A DIY Install With a Power Auger and a Lot of Concrete

John built the fence himself with a helper, and they did the groundwork properly. Setting posts is where a fence's lifespan is decided. Every post hole was dug with a two-person power auger, and the posts were set in concrete, which took many bags of cement over the full length of the fence. The panels rest on a continuous 4x4 base along the bottom of the fence.

From first post hole to last panel, the whole job took just over three days.

The Result: "Not Happy, Ecstatic"

When we asked John whether he was happy with how it turned out, he did not hold back. He said he was not happy, he was ecstatic. The fence is solid along its full length, and the garden finally has a backdrop that matches the work that goes into it.

He was just as pleased with the process of getting there, from putting the quote together to the day the panels arrived.

Why a Metal Fence Worked Here

This project shows what replacing a tired wood fence can look like when the goal is to never do it again:

• No more rot. Galvanized steel doesn't rot, swell or split in coastal rain the way painted wood boards do.
• Two tones, one fence. Coffee Brown faces the street and a custom Buckwheat faces the garden, so each side suits its view.
• Built to fit. Custom filler panels and a custom gate closed out every run exactly, so there were no awkward cut-down sections at the ends.
• Ready to install. The panels arrived assembled in their frames, so the build was posts, base and panels.
• No repainting. NoFade paint on galvanized steel holds its colour without the scraping and repainting a wood fence needs.
• An easy order. From quote to delivery, John described the process as easy and professional at every step.