Wood fence maintenance is something you should learn how to do your self, and doing it right will help ensure your fence looks new for very many years. If you have wood furniture in your home, then you know that you have to dust it and polish it several times or once a week. What you will need to do is stain it again after a few years, and of course, washing it down is recommended. But that’s only if you have a stain on it already, or you want to apply the first stain to it.
Fence Style
As you know, the style that is generally known as the classic picket fence may cause you to do more with maintenance and other care techniques than you may want to do. At least worrying about a broken picket structure should not be high your list depending on where you live and what kind of people or kids you have in your neighborhood. How quickly you are able to expedite a fence section or other part will probably depend on if you are willing to pay for an expedited shipping process. When you take a look at a picket fence, it becomes apparent that the pickets are merely vertically mounted wood strips that are finished and to a specific design spec. Any time you call a contractor with a broken part of your fence, he will want to order a new part and charge you extra for it.
Never assume that wood fences never experience worn-out parts or certain areas of the fence that get more use than others. But usually, it’s the pickets that are more prone to damage because they’re thinner, so what you can do is simply create a little project in which you fabricate your own pickets.
Staining
Newer stain on the brand new picket or even rail could make it stand out more and look unusual, and there are ways to make the new stain look worn. And if you’re skilled, you can stain the new pickets so it doesn’t look brand new and stand out like a sore thumb.
Care needs to be taken when removing dirt and other matter from a wood fence because you have to remember there is a stain on it. There are some exceptions you may wish to take which can deviate from the scheduled maintenance. A diluted solution containing bleach and water in a good ratio is effective for removing mold growth. You want to dilute the bleach to about 60% with water, and never apply full-strength bleach to the fence because you can erode and damage any stain that’s on it with full bleach. Then be sure you rinse well with water from your hose and then let it dry on its own.
Wood maintenance on your fence should be taken seriously and with an effective action plan. Most of the time you’ll just be doing a visual check but it’s still important to do this. Everything is designed to make this better and more effective, and it will keep your fence in pristine condition for a very long time.