Two brown pressure-treated panels join the catalogue — a solid privacy face and a shadow box lattice top. What each one is for, what the big box doesn’t publish, and how to care for treated wood.
Search “pressure treated fence panels 6x8” and you land in a big-box aisle: a thin listing, a nominal size, a picket count, and not much else. As of this month we build and stock two finished 6 ft × 8 ft pressure-treated fence panels at the Bolton shop — a solid privacy panel at $144.99 and a shadow box lattice top at $149.99 — both pre-assembled, both 100% Canadian-made, both priced on the page. This is the map of what each one is for, and what to check before you buy a treated panel anywhere.
Solid vertical brown boards on a heavy pre-assembled frame — no gaps, no sight lines, nothing to peer through. At a true 73.5 inches it stands taller than the typical 72-inch panel, which is exactly what you want from a privacy run along a property line or around a pool. It’s the default choice when the assignment is simple: nobody sees in. The trade-off every solid fence carries is wind — a full face catches all of it, so posts and footings matter more on exposed runs.
“Shadow box” and “good neighbour” are the same fence in Canada: boards alternate from side to side of the rail, each board covering the gap on the other face, so the panel reads finished from both yards — nobody gets the bad side, and finished-side-out bylaws are satisfied automatically. Ours crowns the shadow box with a diagonal lattice strip, and the top rail runs the full width of the panel, end to end. It’s the diplomatic pick for shared lines and the practical one for windy runs, because the staggered gaps bleed wind pressure instead of catching it.
Straight on, a shadow box reads private. At a sharp angle there’s a narrow sight line between the staggered boards; that’s the geometry of the pattern, not a defect. Big-box listings routinely file shadow box under “ideal privacy” — it isn’t, and we’d rather you know that before the fence is up. If the job needs zero sight lines from any angle, buy the solid privacy panel; if the line is shared and both faces matter, the shadow box is the honest fit.
As of August 2026, the big box’s 6×8 pressure-treated shadow box lattice panel lists around $198 — and was out of stock online when we checked. Ours is $149.99. Their $129 solid privacy panel is the weakest-rated panel in its own category, built thinner and standing shorter than ours. And here’s the part we care about: those listings publish no wood species, no board thickness, no rail count, no fastener spec, and no written warranty terms. Every spec we build to is printed on our product pages — count what a listing doesn’t tell you, and you’ve learned most of what you need to know about the panel.
Treated wins on budget: it’s the working fence line — rentals, long back runs, perimeters where footage beats finish. Cedar wins on looks and on how it ages. The brown treatment means a PT run goes up finished and uniform with no staining weekend, and the split-spec pattern many buyers land on is treated where nobody looks and cedar where everybody does — the full cedar-versus-treated comparison is here. Both of our PT panels hang on the same 96-inch post centres as every other NorthStar style, so mixing lines on one run changes nothing about the install.
The brown colour is in the treatment, so staining is optional — but if you want to stain or seal, wait four to six weeks for the wood to dry down first, then use the sprinkle test: water that absorbs within ten minutes means the wood is ready; water that beads means wait. Fasten treated lumber with hot-dipped galvanised or stainless hardware only, coat any cut ends with an end-cut preservative, and never burn treated offcuts. None of that is on the big-box listing either.
“6×8” is the trade name, not the tape-measure number: the solid privacy panel stands a true 73.5″ × 96″, the lattice top a true 72″ × 96″ — lay out your run against the true dimensions, with posts on 96-inch centres. Both panels are on the site now: order and pay online, pick up free at the Bolton yard or take delivery within about 100 km of us. Stick-building instead? The same premium brown stock is sold by the piece. And if you need a height or a gate we don’t list, that’s a phone call, not a problem.
