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Looking after your garden fencing is extremely important and it can really help to cut costs for long-term replacement. The more time you take to look after your fencing, the longer it’ll end up lasting. Fence panels can last for many, many years if looked after correctly, but it’s true that they are one of the vulnerable parts of your garden when it comes to degradation.
Wooden fences can suffer all kinds of damage, whether from weather, anti-social behaviour or even just accidents, and it is extremely important that you know how you can maintain and repair them. Similarly, however, it is also important to understand when your fence panels reach the point where they cannot be repaired and need to be replaced.
1. Repairing Broken Panels – Now, as soon as panels break, many people tend to think that they need to be replaced immediately. Whilst that is true in extreme circumstances, you can easily repair smaller breakages and splits in the wood. So long as the wood is completely dry, you can simply glue wood back into place or alignment.
For the best results, you’re going to want to use heavy-duty, specialised wood glue and ensure that the wood is clamped or taped into place as the glue dries. In this way, it can be fairly simple to replace individual panels without having to take the entire fence down.
2. Remove Old, Grey Surface Wood! – Simply, if your fence is starting to grey with age, you can use a power washer to get rid of dead surface wood. This can not only improve the appearance of the wood, but also reduce the likelihood of rot or damp developing in the wood.
3. Use Oils And Preservatives – There is a diverse range of oils and preservatives out there which can help your wood to be more weather-resistant. Many oils also carry a subtle colour boost with them, which can help your woods to appear darker, richer and more noticeable.
Decking oil, for example, often makes an excellent treatment as it can help to keep the entire panel supple and resistant, as well as offering sun-resistance to prevent wood bleaching. A great oil or treatment will drastically help to improve the lifetime of your wood and can really help to prevent discolouring and splitting.
4. Stain Your Wood Deliberately! – Fence stains can provide an incredible colouring to your panels without losing that natural wooden look, if that’s what you’re going for. Most importantly, however, they can offer fantastic water resistance which is absolutely essential for fence longevity.
Ideally, you want water to bead on the surface of your fencing and not soak into the wood. With fence stain, you can refresh this seal and prevent water from soaking into the wood.
For the best results, you also want to ensure that your stain contains UV inhibitors. This will help to slow down bleaching caused by direct sunlight. It’s also a great idea to choose a type with a mildew killer, which will actively slow down the growth of fungus which is a major contributor to weakened wood.
Here at Challenge Fencing, we are proud to offer a diverse range of fence panels of all styles and a variety of different wooden materials. For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local Challenge Fencing branch today or, alternatively, get in touch with our HQ by using our online contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
