Anyone can renew a wooden fence. It’s true. You need to be careful about it, you want to pay close attention to detail, otherwise you could end up doing more harm than good through your efforts. But don’t let that stop or intimidate you from taking on this task, wood fencing needs some level of routine annual maintenance that you should already be performing and the renewal of the wood is something you should probably do every three to five years.
While wood is a resilient material that can withstand a lot of wear and tear over time, the appearance of the wood can become dull and blemished. Restoring the wood is something you can do to combat these challenges to the aesthetic and even structural integrity of your fence.
So, if your fence is in dire need of some tender loving care, here are the things you need to do as you work towards restoring it and preserving its life span for years to come.
Assess the Condition of Your Fence
This is critical to do before you get started. Restoring your faded wood fence might require you to do a little work in the repair department first. You are not going to clean and stain a damaged fence, there is no use in doing all of that work for wood that has sustained some form of deterioration. So, before you get started on the aesthetics of renewing your wood, do a full inspection of the condition of the wood.
There are a couple of things you should be looking for in particular. The first is areas of rot. These are noticeable as soft spots in the wood and you should narrow your focus along the boards and the posts. The joints are also a common area for these types of weaknesses in the fence. From there, check to see if any of your boards are cracked or fractured. Look for signs of mold or mildew or evidence of pest infestation.
Once you’ve conducted a full examination of your wood and you have discovered any indications of disrepair, you must do the necessary fixes in order to restore the integrity of the fence. This will prevent it from further deterioration and possible collapse. Do your repairs first and then you can move on to the next steps in the process for restoring your faded wood fence.
Cleaning Your Old Wood Fence
The next step is part of why you went through the previous step of inspecting the fence in the first place. You are going to need to clean the fence but cleaning it is where you could potentially do the most damage to it. That is, if it’s damaged in any fashion.
The reason being that you are going to want to use a pressure washer to get the work done. One of these units delivers a powerful stream of water, strong enough to rip away years of thick, caked-on grime, gunk, dirt, and dust. But if your fence isn’t strong enough to withstand the force of that water, you could end up doing more harm than good.
Not only can it wipe away the gunk and grime, but it can peel away the top layer of dead wood cells. This will make your wood surface ready to take on the next step of the process of restoration. But before you start washing the fence, test it first. Choose an inconspicuous area of the fence to test the resilience of your fence against the powerful stream of water.
Once you start power washing the surface, you’ll be creating a clean, rough texture on the wood that will absorb your paint or stain a whole lot more effectively, to ensure that it firmly bonds with the surface. So, feel free to give your fence a good, hard cleaning, just be careful not to splinter any of your wood boards or posts. For those of you who aren’t sure about performing this step on your own, feel free to call a fence cleaning service in Shawnee Mission to do the work for you. That way you know it’ll be done right and without the fence becoming damaged in any way.
Applying Your Stain or Paint
Now it’s time to do the job you have set out to do. You’re going to revitalize and restore the aesthetics of your wood. But if you pressure washed it first, be sure to let it dry completely prior to starting this next step.
Once it’s all dry, put down your first coat in long even strokes. Use liberal amounts, especially if it’s stain, you’re laying down. Allow this coat to dry and then you can decide if you need to add second or third coats to the fence to get the look you want.