Is steel needed in vinyl fence posts and rails?
Steel is only necessary in vinyl gate posts, not vinyl fence posts or rails. One of the things that makes vinyl fence posts stand up well in the wind is that they flex. Steel in fence posts would detract from this. Some companies may place a small, flat piece of metal near the top of the post to hold the top rails in place, and sell this as “steel in every post”. This is one of several effective ways to attach rails, but does not increase post strength. As noted above, a well designed 8 inch vinyl rail without steel in it, has been shown to be stronger than a 5.5 inch vinyl rail with steel in it.
