AboutMichael J. Owen Expertise Most questions about how to build, repair and maintain wood decks and fences.
Experience Have built many wood and man made decks in California, Bahamas, Florida and Georgia.Now living in Panama, Central America after 25 years in the U.S.
Organizations None
Publications Just had my late mothers book published. A murder mystery set in England.
Education/Credentials High School, College graduate.
Awards and Honors None
Past/Present Clients Too many to list in three countries and three states.
Expert: Michael J. Owen Date: 7/11/2008 Subject: Fence staining
Question Good afternoon, Mike
I have several questions to ask regarding staining a wooden fence. I bought a property that came with this beautiful but not properly mantained fence 2 years ago. Last year I decided it was time to powerwash the fence but I did not realized that this was going to be a colossal job for me...as you can figured I couldn't finish cleaning the fence. This year last week I recruited a friend to clean the fence and it took us 2 days working an average of 8 hours to finish. I know..we are rookies but it took a long time to clean it. I have no idea when was the last time the fence was cleaned. My question is what is the best type of stain I can buy. I want my fence to remain stained for at least 5 years or more..the more the better. My second question is what method should I use to stain. I don't see myself using a brush since it is a long fence it is approximately 35 feet long by 35 wide. I've heard using a small spray pump to spray the stain. The design of the fence is a wood on wood type of
fence. Also, I don't want to lean to use paint because of the maintenance..you know..if will crack, peel, etc and it will take more time to clean..when time comes..
Thank you for all the advice you can give me.
Answer Hi Fernando. So much depends on where you live and how much shade, sun and humidity affects the wood. You will be extremely lucky if you can get away with little or no maintenance for five years. Two years is about the maximum period for a wood fence. Pressure washing and treating with a quality wood sealer/preserver is the least labor intensive way to go. If you paint or stain it will take so long to initially paint or stain and to re-paint or stain after a period of time. When I lived in S.W. Florida, I had to pressure wash and seal every six months.
A pump up sprayer works best as a roller or brush will not get all the edge surfaces. and in between the panels.
Sorry I can't offer any better solutions but hope this helps.
