Since you are checking out these tips, it means you either have a wooden fence already and want it refurbished or you had decided you wanted to change the vinyl one for wood. Whichever one of the two is the case, we’ll give you some great tips how to make your fence look great and enjoy it.
In case you didn’t know, there are two basic types of wood fences:
a) Natural look split rail (it comes in three or four rails set between posts)
b) Barricade fencing or privacy fencing (keeps pets in and your neighbors’ eyes out)
Both fence types if built in the past ten years or so, both types of fence should have been made out of pressure treated wood. This type of wood can withstand rot and insect damage better than standard framing or white woods that are most commonly used for our yards.
In scenarios where they’ve been taken good care of, the average life of a pressure treated fence is 20 years, sometimes even more. To keep your fence looking good and keeping good quality, you need to make sure it’s maintained properly, especially because years build up dirt and pollution which can turn it dark. Further, fences aren’t strangers to becoming victims of mold or moss that could be growing on it.
This is what you should do for proper fence maintenance:
Cleaning it
The first step to any refurbishing is cleaning the fence with a pressure washer. You have two options – go with a home sized pressure washer or rent one. Using the first one will take more time than the rented one, so it’s maybe better you went with a rental. For a large yard, renting a washer for a half a day will do the trick.
Apart from washing, you can buy special treatment products to remove mold. They are easy to use – as they come in plastic bottles, all you need to do is attach them to your pressure washer. If you’d rather go for another option, you can buy a pump up weed / insect sprayer. A combination of 20% bleach solutionwith a mild soap like clothes washing liquid will be more than enough. Just apply it to the fence about an hour before you pressure wash it.
Making Repairs
Before coating the fence and after you’ve washed it, it’s time you did some repairs. Check for parts that need to be fixed or replaced, such as loosened fasteners, firm soil that hasn’t washed away, broken wood parts, etc.
If you have three rail fences, tall wire fencing material is what you need as it’s the best option for stabilized the fence. You do it by wrapping the outside surface with the wire. You can buy the material in most garden centers. Not only will this fencing add structure, but it will reduce nuisance pets and animals from entering your yard. To secure the rails to the post, adding a wood deck screw will stop kids from taking down your fence to cut through your property.
We suggest using cordless power tools for any sort of fence reparations, as they are really practical and easy to use.
Staining Your Fence
Before applying stain, give the fence a week to dry in the hot sun. Unlike paint that just attaches to the surface, stain will seep into the top layer of wood as it is petroleum based product. Make sure the fence must be dry before you begin in order for it to be properly absorbent.
The stain can be applied with a brush or a power sprayer. If you are going for latter, make sure that you use a tip that is rated for stain. It will not need as much pressure to coat the surface as it is much thinner than paint. If, however, you are opting for a pressure sprayer, you may want to use a wet paint brush afterwards – this way you’ll add texture to the surface on the final pass.
Author: Damian Wolf is a writer and DIY hobbyist. He enjoys in all types of home improvements around his house and close neighborhood. That’s the main reason why Damian is so popular in his living community.
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