On February 13th of this year I bought a pallet of 416 fence boards (3/4x6x6) at HOME DEPOT. The wood looked great, with hardly any knots or other blemishes. The salesman told me they were redwood treated with a red preservative. My neighbor and I used them to put up a replacement fence 180 ft long, and we were very pleased with the finished result.
Within two weeks, though, the boards warped. At the tops (the dog-eared ends) many leaned 45 degrees or further out of line, while others bowed and separated so much that you could place your hand between the boards up to the first knuckle.
With photos of the fence in hand, I went to the Folsom Home Depot and described the trouble to the Assistant Manager. According to him the boards were not redwood at all but "white wood," which I assume means pine or fir. He added that he would not stock them in his Folsom store, even though the Meadowview store, where I bought mine, does sell them. My neighbor then visited the Meadowview store, where the Assistant Manager said he could not take the boards back because they had been nailed up, implying he might sell them on to another customer if they were returned. The most he would do was refund $287.
I believe HOME DEPOT should cover the whole price, plus the forty 2x4x8 rails. I'm willing to bear the labor cost of removing the old fence, carrying it off and building a redwood one in its place. That is already done, since the old fence had turned into an embarrassment, and I have photos of the new one. I can't help believing other customers were probably burned the same way. We took the $287 refund and used it on new materials.
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