Wood fences are one of the best ways to establish a clear border for your home. Most homeowners still appreciate the natural elegance and classic look that a wood fence creates. Whether it’s solid panels, board on board fencing, picket fences or split rail fences, a wood fence can strongly enhance the look and feel of a home. When you use western red cedar fencing, pressure-treated southern yellow pine, oak or black locust as fencing materials, you’re purchasing one of the best fences your money can buy. However, because you’re using a fence made of natural materials, wooden fences—over the years—require a bit more tender loving care to help preserve them.
The flux in seasons, heavy rains, dense snow and extreme heat can all contribute to the fence’s rate of decay over the years. Wood fence maintenance requires you to clean and seal or stain from time to time to keep them looking good and protect the wood from cracking, warping, or bowing caused by UV rays and weather. Wood fence maintenance will help you preserve that natural beauty, and with that, there are some things you can easily do to get more life out of your fence.
How To Maintain Wood Fence Panels
One of the first things you can do to focus on wood fence maintenance is to clean it with a pressure washer. You can use a home-sized washer, but if you have a large piece of property, most experts would suggest renting a professional machine for a half-day to get the job done. Alternatively, you could check if any of your neighbours or relatives own their own pressure washer—a couple of six packs, some pizzas or a nice gift certificate can result in savings if your friends and neighbours are willing to let you borrow their equipment!
If your fence has mould on it, you can purchase a special solution to attach to your pressure washer to help remove it. If you don’t have the ability to attach anything to the washer, you can also buy a weed/insect sprayer and make a solution with mild soap and 20% bleach and spray that onto the fence an hour before you do the actual washing.
Some tips to ensure you don’t damage the fence while washing it:
- Use a pressure washer rated at 2,700 PSI or less; water pressure between 500 to 800 psi is ideally what you want.
- Maintain a 2 to 3 foot distance from the fence while cleaning. If the fence still has a lot of grime on it, you can move closer but make sure you’re not damaging the wood as you move toward it.
- Keep the wand in motion while cleaning; do not dwell on one spot.
- Rinse with plenty of fresh water.
Seal and Stain Your Wooden Fence
Learning how to maintain wood fence panels will allow you to prolong the life of your wood fence, one of the best things you can do is seal it within a year of installation. One of these best deck stains helps shield the wood from the sun’s powerful ultraviolet rays while also waterproofing the wood to repel water. Sealants also help prevent cracking and splitting and protect the wood’s natural colour. You can choose from a wide array of products on the market.
Need a Wooden Fence For Your Home or Business?
Don’t wait till the last minute to have a new fence installed! Contact Bytown Fence today and one of their wood fence installation experts will come out to your home and design the perfect wood fence solution to meet your needs and your budget! Believe me, you won’t regret trusting them.
