Taking Care of Your Wood Fence

Why You Need to Annually Maintain Fences

• Fences, especially wooden fences, need to be taken care of and maintained regularly to ensure they last the full span of the fences lifespan. Fences are fairly easy to maintain, they require annual cleaning, and every few years a fresh coat of stain or paint to help protect them from the elements that over time will decay and destroy the fences.

How the Elements Decay Your Fences

• Wood is a durable material, however if left untreated the sun and the precipitation will decay and destroy it over time. The suns UV rays will decay your wood fences, so it is important to have a good UV resistant stain or paint to prevent the UV resistant stain or paint to prevent the UV from decaying your wood fences

• Additionally, the wet elements can cause water intrusion that will damage wood. Ideally, you need to prevent water from soaking into the wood as it will rot it and eventually cause it to be destroyed. Also, mold or mildew can take hold on your fence and cause damage as well.

Things You Need to Do

• Cleaning – Taking time to annually clean your fences and ensuring that mold or mildew does not have a foothold on your fence that will damage your fence.

• Maintenance – If your fence is not regularly maintained, then it will be subject to rot and decay much more quickly than if it was maintained properly. The essential maintenance is that the fence has a protective covering of stain or paint that is designed for exterior use and for wooden fences.

• Repairs – If a fence has wood that has been damaged from an accident or possibly even wind or other elements of weather. It is wise to have extra fencing material from the original installation if possible. Otherwise you will need to get matching material for any repairs or sections of fence that may need to be replaced.

How to Get it Done

Cleaning and/ or staining your fence is a great DIY project. You can easily clean it with a hose and some scrub buckets. Both of these projects will take some time and elbow grease and save you some money. However you might find it to be more desirable to hire out a local fencing contractor to come do a professional job for your fence staining needs. If you ever find yourself in need of professional assistance with any of your home improvement projects, remember you can count on your friends at Tenlist.com to always connect you with your trusted local contractors.