Vinyl Privacy Fence with a Picket Top, Built to Fit You

What a privacy-and-picket combo fence actually is

A privacy-and-picket combo is a solid tongue-and-groove body with an open picket strip across the top: a full screen below, a decorative crown above. Each panel runs on 5×5 posts with three rails, a top rail, a middle rail dividing the solid body from the picket crown, and a bottom rail, plus U-channels and post caps. It is one built panel, not a row of spaced pickets.

Is the picket top actually private?

Here is the part most sellers leave out. No, the picket crown is open and you can see straight through it; the privacy comes entirely from the solid body underneath. So size the solid part to reach eye level first, then treat the crown as decorative height on top. On a 5 ft combo the split is roughly 4 ft of solid body and about a 1 ft picket accent; taller panels add to the solid body and keep about a 1 ft crown.

How tall should the solid body be to screen?

For full standing privacy, the solid body itself wants to reach eye level, generally around 5 to 6 ft. Add the roughly 1 ft picket crown and the panel lands near 6 to 7 ft total; the combo builds from 5 to 8 ft.

The by-right height cap, and the point a permit kicks in, are set by your city rather than one statewide rule, and they vary widely, so verify yours with your local building department before you build. The general height law works the same for any solid privacy fence.

Horizontal or vertical picket top, and how the combo compares

The combo comes in two collections. Riverstone tops the body with horizontal pickets; Kingston runs them vertically, and either sits on a horizontal or vertical tongue-and-groove body. A vertical picket top reads more traditional, while a horizontal one looks cleaner and more current. Against its neighbors:

Top style	What you see through	Best when
Picket-top combo	The open crown only	Full privacy plus a decorative top
Lattice-top combo	The lattice crown only	A woven trellis cap over pickets
Solid privacy	Nothing, top to bottom	A plain, fully screened run
Semi-privacy	Small gaps down the fence	Airflow and filtered light throughout
Spaced picket	The whole fence, wide open	A low open boundary with no screening

Lattice tops, plain solid, semi-privacy, and open picket runs are each a build of their own.

How we build and wind-reinforce the combo

We build the solid body and the picket accent to your height and color, with matching gates fabricated in the same style. The tall solid body is what takes the wind, so we brace it from within.

Metal inserts run inside the top rail, the bottom rail, and the middle rail that divides the body from the crown: vinyl outside, metal inside. That is more support than the bottom-rail-only stiffener most panels ship with. The full install run, from marked utilities to haul-away, is the same on any solid privacy fence.

Where a picket-top combo earns its place

A picket-top combo earns its keep on the runs people see: a street-facing stretch, a shared line where you want a softer neighbor-facing look, or an HOA street that rewards curb appeal. You get full privacy at eye level and a decorative crown where the street reads it. For a plain, fully screened backyard with nobody looking, a solid privacy fence is the simpler pick.

Cost factors, colors, warranty and upkeep

Every combo prices out differently. The biggest lever is total height, because a taller solid body means more material, and the picket crown adds its own parts on top. Linear footage, old-fence removal, sloped ground, gates, and your color all shift the figure too.

Our salesperson can rough out a range by phone, then lock it in after walking your run. The combo runs in three solid colors, shown just below. The vinyl is covered by a transferable limited lifetime warranty, our labor is backed for 5 years, and cleanup is soap and water two times a year, with no paint or stain to keep up.

Inside the Solid Family

This style stays inside the plain solid group. Clay, tan and white are the choices here, and neither the grain nor the textured range runs on it. Color goes all the way through, never a coat on the surface, so the picket band up top holds its shade as long as the screen does.

• White

  

• Tan

  

• Clay

  

Work Beyond This Style

A run like this rarely covers a whole property on its own. Front, side and back each ask for something different, and we build the rest of the vinyl line the same way we build this one, to fit the ground it sits on.