Wooden fence maintenance
October 2, 2020 4:19 AM Subscribe
This is our fence, which was custom built by a previous owner of our house. The stain is wearing off, it's starting to look green after rain, and there's occasionally some visible fungus growth when it's wet. I gather that we're supposed to power wash it then stain it, but I have so many gaps in my knowledge that even hours of searching for advice leaves me feeling like I'm missing something. So how do we maintain this?
After power washing, how long do we have to wait to apply stain?
How do we apply stain given how many gaps the fence has - paintbrush? Roller? Can we rent some kind of motorized sprayer? I feel like a hand pump sprayer would be agonizing, and I'm worried that any kind of sprayer would mean more stain on the grass than on the fence.
Is it a bad idea to do this in October in Missouri? We meant to do it early in the summer but *gestures towards everything* happened.
Other things we need to know?
After power washing, how long do we have to wait to apply stain?
How do we apply stain given how many gaps the fence has - paintbrush? Roller? Can we rent some kind of motorized sprayer? I feel like a hand pump sprayer would be agonizing, and I'm worried that any kind of sprayer would mean more stain on the grass than on the fence.
Is it a bad idea to do this in October in Missouri? We meant to do it early in the summer but *gestures towards everything* happened.
Other things we need to know?
Best answer: I don't know much about the weather in missouri, but painting and staining is usually not recommended if it's REALLY hot - 20-25 degrees Celsius is kind of the prime temperature, but there's a lot more play with modern paint and stain. try to pick a time where there's no rain forecast for at least 24 hours after staining, but more than that is better. I live in alberta and the weather would be good for this job here right now, so I'm going to assume that this is actually pretty decent timing for you!
Pressure wash your fence, I'd do it a the weekend before I'm planning to paint, but I work during the week so I have to plan jobs like that - if you want real drying time it depends a bit on the weather and how humid missouri is? I would give it three days to dry completely, and one full day after any rain.
I would stain using a big paintbrush and a smaller paintbrush. Spraying is fast but is messy and gives me some anxiety about chemicals on my grass/plants and soil. ymmv on that - lots of people DO spray, but it's not totally a breeze either - sprayers clog up and need to be cleaned and other boring things. If you don't mind, it's faster, but if you don't mind painting with a brush, you can just do that. You CAN stain with a roller if you prefer - buy a cheap one from the dollar store and try it if you like. I prefer a brush.
I am in the camp that believes that spending more on high quality stain or paint results in longer lasting finishes and less maintenance. I would buy stain that the price makes me go "ugh" about, because this is a big job and you won't want to be doing it again in 3 years.
posted by euphoria066 at 8:28 AM on October 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
Pressure wash your fence, I'd do it a the weekend before I'm planning to paint, but I work during the week so I have to plan jobs like that - if you want real drying time it depends a bit on the weather and how humid missouri is? I would give it three days to dry completely, and one full day after any rain.
I would stain using a big paintbrush and a smaller paintbrush. Spraying is fast but is messy and gives me some anxiety about chemicals on my grass/plants and soil. ymmv on that - lots of people DO spray, but it's not totally a breeze either - sprayers clog up and need to be cleaned and other boring things. If you don't mind, it's faster, but if you don't mind painting with a brush, you can just do that. You CAN stain with a roller if you prefer - buy a cheap one from the dollar store and try it if you like. I prefer a brush.
I am in the camp that believes that spending more on high quality stain or paint results in longer lasting finishes and less maintenance. I would buy stain that the price makes me go "ugh" about, because this is a big job and you won't want to be doing it again in 3 years.
posted by euphoria066 at 8:28 AM on October 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
If you are not already knowledgeable in the topic, get some advice about stains. Some things that are called stain really are not, and others are coloring agents that need a protective layer, e.g. varnish, on top.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:38 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 8:38 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: 1) power washing is immensely satisfying
2) you might want to talk to your neighbor about allowing you to stain both sides of the fence, if you haven’t already and that’s not the plan? Staining only your side will be difficult, it will bleed over.
3) power wash before some sunny days, then give the fence a good few days to dry out. You don’t want to apply stain to wood that still has moisture forced into it by your power washer. Then stain before another stretch of sunny days.
4) cost to power ratio, we like our little sun joe brand power washer we got on amazon.
5) we have had luck staining our cedar house and standard 2x4 deck with PG brand transparent stain. It has held up well.
6) as you are staining, nice long smooth strokes with about the same amount of stain on the brush, working in one direction, one post at a time, watching for drips. I started on one side of the deck with a light hand, my husband had a heavier hand and started from the other side on the same board, and in the middle found we wound up with a two tone plank. Had to give it a second coat to even it out.
You’re not missing anything. This is a pretty easy DIY project and if something looks truly terrible you could sand it off and touch that area up.
Have fun!
posted by slateyness at 8:52 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
2) you might want to talk to your neighbor about allowing you to stain both sides of the fence, if you haven’t already and that’s not the plan? Staining only your side will be difficult, it will bleed over.
3) power wash before some sunny days, then give the fence a good few days to dry out. You don’t want to apply stain to wood that still has moisture forced into it by your power washer. Then stain before another stretch of sunny days.
4) cost to power ratio, we like our little sun joe brand power washer we got on amazon.
5) we have had luck staining our cedar house and standard 2x4 deck with PG brand transparent stain. It has held up well.
6) as you are staining, nice long smooth strokes with about the same amount of stain on the brush, working in one direction, one post at a time, watching for drips. I started on one side of the deck with a light hand, my husband had a heavier hand and started from the other side on the same board, and in the middle found we wound up with a two tone plank. Had to give it a second coat to even it out.
You’re not missing anything. This is a pretty easy DIY project and if something looks truly terrible you could sand it off and touch that area up.
Have fun!
posted by slateyness at 8:52 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice everyone. My neighbor on that side of the fence is also concerned about it and has offered to do the power washing since he already owns one. Not sure if I can rope him into doing some of the staining too.
posted by Tehhund at 9:47 AM on October 2, 2020
posted by Tehhund at 9:47 AM on October 2, 2020
We recently did our deck & pergola with a paint roller as well as a paint brush (for the cracks/smaller pieces), which I would really recommend. The roller was less messy than a sprayer but VASTLY reduced the time we spent on it.
Seconding the advice to wait a few days after power washing (we waited 3) and to get good quality stain even if it's more expensive.
posted by DTMFA at 10:32 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seconding the advice to wait a few days after power washing (we waited 3) and to get good quality stain even if it's more expensive.
posted by DTMFA at 10:32 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 5:57 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]