Sealing A Wooden Fence - Why, When And How To?

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Wood fences not only give you privacy, security, and safety, but they can also make your home look better and increase its value. Taking care of your fence is very important.

Here are some tips and tricks for sealing your wood fence so that it stays looking new and well-kept.

Know your wood

Do you know what kind of wood your fence was made of?

Some woods are naturally strong, so they last longer when they are out in the weather.

Here are some types of fence wood and how long they last:

Black locust, white oak, and yew are extremely durable.
Western red cedar, redwood, red oak, and Western juniper are all very durable.
Pine, white fir, Douglas fir, cottonwood, and alder are less durable.

All wooden fences need to be sealed to keep water out. But if you know about the different kinds of wood, you can estimate how long your fence will last.

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Why you should seal your wooden fence

Sealing your wood fence well is a good investment if you want to make it last longer. Wooden fences are always exposed to the weather, so if they aren’t sealed, it doesn’t take long for them to fall apart.

Sealing your fence is one of the best things you can do because it helps keep water out. When water gets into your wood fence, it can cause the wood to rot, mold, and mildew. It can also cause mold to grow. All of these things can weaken and hurt your fence over time.

You can also use a sealant that is made to keep your fence from getting damaged by the sun. Wood slats can dry out and expand in the sun, which can lead to cracks and warping.

How weather exposure ruins your wooden fence

Lignin is a polymer that occurs naturally in the wood. It stops water from getting in and keeps the cells together. Lignin is broken down by weathering, and then the wood fibers get loose. When it rains, wood that isn’t protected soaks up the water, which causes the wood’s surface to rot.

If you don’t waterproof a wood fence before it starts to break down, the wood will swell. When the sun dries the wood, the fibers start to get smaller again. This puts stress on the surface of the wood, making it hard for sealant or paint to stick well.

You might not notice the change in the surface of the wood until after you paint it. The paint will then start to peel and crack.

Even worse, when the paint comes off, it takes the wood with it. This makes your fence out of wood look even uglier.

Why staining and sealing fences is a good idea?

Staining and sealing wooden fencing not only keeps it looking good but also makes it last longer, especially if it is made from softwood like pine.

Even though pine is usually treated with pressure to keep bugs and rot away, it can still warp if it gets very wet and then dries out quickly in the sun. This can cause a lot of harm.

Sealants not only keep water from getting into the wood but also protect the surface from the sun’s UV rays, which can cause the wood to fade and break down.

The problem is that if the wood has been pressure-treated, the chemicals make the wood wet and prevent stains and sealants from going in, at least for a while.

Hardwoods like cedar don’t need to be treated with pressure because they have natural oils that keep bugs and rot away. Since this is the case, most hardwood can be sealed right away.

Sealing it won’t change how it’s built, but it will make the wood look old and turn a dull gray color.

You will ask if both sides of the fence need to be sealed. Most of the time, this is the best way to do things, but it’s not set in stone.

In reality, if your neighbor doesn’t stain or seal their side of the fence and it faces yours, their side will fade and yours won’t, but this won’t affect the fence’s strength.

When to seal and stain a fence?

A good rule of thumb is to wait between four and eight weeks after the fence is put up to stain and seal it. During this time, the amount of moisture in the wood will go down. If the wood was treated with high pressure, you may have to wait longer.

In general, the better the process will be, the drier it is.

Because of the heat, summer is a great time to stain and seal your fence. But you shouldn’t put these things on in direct sunlight.

How often should fences be stained and sealed?

Always follow the instructions from the manufacturer, but as a general rule, wood fences should be stained every five years and sealed every two or three.

If you are staining and sealing, it makes sense to seal after staining and vice versa. Do it in the summer if you can.

The best way to tell if your fence needs to be resealed is to splash some water on it. If water no longer beads up on the surface of the wood but soaks in quickly, making the wood darker, it’s time to reseal.

Make sure to clean your fence well before you put the sealant on it.

How to seal a wooden fence?

If you don’t want to hire a professional, you can buy a lot of products and tools to help you do it yourself. Here are the things you need to do.

Clean the fence and get it ready

The first thing you need to do is give your fence a thorough cleaning to get rid of any dirt or grime. This makes sure that the sealant sticks well to the wood.

You can scrub it well with dish soap and water, making sure to get into all the corners and spaces between the boards. Then, spray your fence with water to make sure there is no soap left behind.

For the waterproofing to get into the wood and stick to the fence, the wood has to be clean. You also need to make sure the wood’s pH is right and that the pores are open.

If you see mildew on your fence, you can kill it with a mix of bleach and water. Use 1 cup of bleach for every 4 gallons of water. If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy a mildew-killing cleaner made for wood or fences at a home improvement store.

But don’t use anything too harsh, because you don’t want to damage the wood too much.

If your fence has already been sealed to keep water out, you will also need to remove the old sealant first. If you don’t take the time to get your fence ready the right way, the sealant won’t stick to it.

No matter how good your waterproofing product is, it won’t work if you don’t clean and prepare the wood’s surface first.

People often try to take the easy way out by using a pressure washer to blast the fence with water and bleach.

This might work, but why take the chance of hurting the fence you paid good money for?

The best way to get rid of old sealers, stains, mold, and mildew on wood is to use the right wood cleaners. This will make your fence look new again.

Strip off any fence water seal or stain

If you’ve ever used a sealant or stain on your fence, you’ll need to strip the wood to get rid of it. Even if the stain is no longer visible because of weathering, it is still in the pores of the wood. The new sealer won’t be able to get into the wood because of this.

To get rid of the old waterproofing, you can use a wood stripper.

If you’ve never waterproofed a wood fence before, you’ll start by getting rid of mold, dirt, sap, and other stains on the wood. This will get the wood back to its original color.

At any home improvement store, you can find sodium percarbonate wood cleaners that are safe and won’t hurt you.

Neutralize the PH

The next step is to make the wood’s pH even. Because the cleaners you used changed the pH of the wood, you need to bring it back to normal. After you clean or strip the fence, use an acidic wood brightener on it.

The wood brightener lowers the pH and makes the wood look better at the same time. It also lets the stain or sealer get into the wood.

Let the fence dry out

For your wooden fence to dry, you should wait anywhere from one to three days, or even longer if it rains or is humid. Before you put the sealant on your fence, it needs to be dry so that you don’t trap any water inside. Don’t forget to look for water between the slats as well.

Before moving on to the next step, you can use a moisture meter to check if your fence is dry enough. Less than 12% of the weight should be water. As soon as you’re sure your wood fence is dry, you can start sealing it.

Prepare the area

Your job will be done if you just get some fence stain and put it on the fence, but that might leave a mess behind. Since overspray and splatter are a real possibility, make sure to protect the area underneath and anything else nearby.

Even before you cover the area you are working on with a drop cloth, it makes sense to do some landscaping near the fence. That could mean cutting the grass, getting rid of weeds, or raking the leaves.

Spray or paint a wood sealer on your fence

You can find fence stains at most hardware stores, but it’s best to be picky about what you buy. That’s because not all stains are the same. The quality levels are different enough that you’ll be able to tell the difference as soon as it starts to rain.

You can do the job with a brush, but if you’re in a hurry, you might want to use a roller or a sprayer instead.

Fill a garden sprayer with your wood sealer and, if needed, dilute it with water. The instructions should say how much water to add to the sealant.

Once the sprayer is full and the lid is tight, shake it well. Then you can spray your whole fence, making sure every slat is covered and that you get into all the cracks.

Do the same thing to the back of the fence, making sure to include the fence posts and any slats that connect them.

Cover the ground around the fence to keep paint from getting on it. Wear safety glasses and a dust mask to keep the spray from getting into your eyes or lungs. It’s best to do it when it’s not too windy outside.

Make sure you use high-quality oil stains or sealers to protect your fence from the sun’s UV rays, humidity, rain, and heat. The stain’s color pigments actually block UV light, so the wood doesn’t turn gray.

Even if you use clear waterproofing on your wood fence, the sun can still turn the wood gray. But the water sealer will keep water and moisture from damaging your fence.

Some stains have sealers in them that keep the wood in good shape and keep your fence from warping.

Use a medium-napped roller to spread the stain or waterproofing, and then use a brush to go over the surface right away. This makes sure that the product gets between the wood slats and into the grain of the wood.

Be generous with how much of the oil stain or sealer you use. You want to soak it so that the stain goes deep into the wood and doesn’t wear away. This will also make the wood fence darker and show off its natural grain.

For the best results, give your fence two thick coats of paint.

There are a lot of things to pick from. Ready Seal is high-quality and “goof proof,” so even someone who has never stained before can use it like a pro.

One of the best things about Ready Seal is that it saves you a lot of time. Most other stains need to be brushed back on to get rid of ugly runs or streaks. Ready Seal doesn’t leave laps, runs, or streaks, and you don’t have to brush it back.

Some products can’t be used if the temperature drops below a certain point or if the sun is shining. This isn’t a problem with Ready Seal, which can be used in full sunlight and at any temperature, even below freezing.

Let the wood sealer dry

Keep your kids and pets away from the fence until the sealant is completely dry so they don’t get any on themselves.

Cleaning up

Depending on the product you use, you may need mineral spirits to clean your brushes, roller frames, and pans. However, if you use an oil-based product like Ready Seal, you will need mineral spirits.

You can also clean out your pump-up sprayer by running mineral spirits through it. If you use rollers, make sure to throw away the roller sleeve when you’re done.

What makes a sealer different from a stainer?

Stainers and sealers are both good ways to keep your wooden fence safe, but they are not the same thing.

Most sealers are clear and shiny, and their main job is to keep moisture out. Stains darken the wood and change how it looks, so it’s best to test your stain on a small section of your fence before applying it to the whole thing.

This way, you can make sure you like the color before applying it to the whole fence.

And make sure your fence is clean all the way through before you stain it.

A wood fence can be hurt by more than just water. UV rays can turn wood gray and fade, and they can also cause it to warp and split. By staining the fence, you can better protect the wood from these damaging rays. Some stains can keep termites and other pests away from your fence.

Some people decide to use both a stain and a sealant on their wooden fence to protect it as much as possible. And if you want to save time and money, you can now buy products that seal and stain at the same time.

How can you protect your wood fence in other ways?

Aside from sealing and staining fences, there are many other things you can do to make sure they last a long time and keep their new look.

First, make sure you use good materials that are right for your yard and climate. You might need to talk to a professional about what kind of wood is best for your area.

Even though it might look nice to grow plants on your wooden fence, it is best to keep plants as far away from the fence as possible. Not only does it make your fence wetter, but it can also weigh it down, which can cause long-term damage. Make sure that anything you put on the fence for decoration is not too heavy.

Don’t grow long grass or other plants too close to your fence, and make sure your sprinkler doesn’t spray water directly on your fence. Both of these things can make your wood fence wetter.

Check your fence often for signs of damage, like cracks, mildew, or wood rot. If you see holes that need to be filled or things that need to be fixed, it’s best to do them right away so the damage doesn’t get worse.

Maintaining your wooden fence

After you’ve done all the work to prepare and seal your fence, it’s easy to keep up. You’ve done the hard part already.

The waterproofing or stain will protect your fence from the sun and rain for many years. Clean your fence and put a maintenance coat on it every few years to keep it looking like new.

Enjoying the beauty and privacy of your wooden fence

After you’ve used these tips to seal a wood fence, you can sit back and take it easy. Sit by your pool or grill on your patio and enjoy the smell and beauty of your wood fence.

You won’t have to worry about the wind, rain, or sun damaging your fence for many years.

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Conclusion

Your house is safer with a fence around it, and it can also be a beautiful part of your property.

You can’t stop weathering from happening completely, but you can definitely slow it down by taking some precautions.