Engineered fence pickets with ship lapped edges

Abstract

An engineered wood fence picket and system for manufacturing fence pickets using engineered wood products, including, but not limited to, oriented-strand board (OSB), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), fiber strand, and/or laminated strand lumber (LSL). The opposing right and left edges of each picket has corresponding elements of a joint, such as, but not limited to, a shiplap joint or tongue-and-groove joint. A fence or fence segment may be constructed by aligning a plurality of said fence pickets vertically or horizontally so that the edges of adjacent pickets mate or meet to form a joint. The fence can be assembled more quickly and cheaply than with any prior art materials, and the fence will be higher quality, with longer life, thinner and lighter, and minimal maintenance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fencing system, comprising:
 a plurality of fence pickets, wherein at least some of said plurality of fence pickets comprise an elongated picket with a top, a bottom, a first face, a second face, a first edge, and a second edge;   wherein the first edge comprises a first joint element and the second edge comprises a second joint element; and   further wherein said fence pickets are arranged adjacent to each other edge-to-edge to form a fence section such that the corresponding first joint elements and second joint elements mate to form the corresponding joint between adjacent fence pickets.   
     
     
         2 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the corresponding joint is a shiplap joint. 
     
     
         3 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the corresponding joint is a tongue-and-groove joint. 
     
     
         4 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence section comprises only a single layer of fence pickets. 
     
     
         5 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence section is made of no more than one layer of fence pickets. 
     
     
         6 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence section comprises a first face and a section face. 
     
     
         7 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the first face of the fence section is formed from the first faces of the arranged fence pickets, and the second face of the fence section is formed from the second faces of said arranged fence pickets. 
     
     
         8 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the first faces of the arranged fence pickets are co-planar. 
     
     
         9 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the second faces of the arranged fence pickets are co-planar. 
     
     
         10 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence pickets are arranged vertically. 
     
     
         11 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence pickets are arranged horizontally. 
     
     
         12 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein the fence pickets comprise engineered wood in whole or in part. 
     
     
         13 . The fencing system of  claim 12 , wherein said engineered wood comprises one or more of oriented-strand board (OSB), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), fiber strand, or laminated strand lumber (LSL). 
     
     
         14 . The fencing system of  claim 1 , wherein said tops of said plurality of fence pickets comprise a top feature. 
     
     
         15 . The fencing system of claim, said fence pickets further comprising a paper overlay.