Why Hybrid Construction
Wood beauty.
Metal backbone.
Every wood fence we build at Pete Fixes uses driven metal posts with wood boards attached — and this is the only method we offer. We stopped building traditional all-wood-post fences because they fail in Winnipeg's climate. Wood posts set in concrete absorb moisture at the ground line, rot from the inside out, and eventually snap off. Manitoba's gumbo clay expands and contracts with every freeze-thaw cycle, heaving concrete footings and pushing posts out of alignment. Within five to ten years, most all-wood fences in Winnipeg are leaning, broken, or ready for replacement.
Our hybrid method eliminates every one of those problems. We drive steel posts into the ground using hydraulic equipment — no holes to dig, no concrete to pour, no disturbed soil to settle. The metal post anchors below the frost line in undisturbed earth, so it does not heave. The wood boards attach to the metal frame and never touch the ground, so they do not rot. The result is a fence that looks like a traditional wood fence but lasts two to three times longer. And because we skip the concrete entirely, installation is faster, cleaner, and often costs the same as or less than a conventional wood fence build.
- Driven metal posts eliminate ground-level rot entirely
- No concrete footings — immune to frost heave in gumbo clay
- Posts anchor below the frost line in undisturbed soil
- Faster installation with no digging or excavation
- Wood boards never contact the ground — longer board life
- Same cost or less than traditional all-wood construction
