Can Painting My Fence Make It Last Longer?
Painting or staining a wood fence will extend its life and improve its appearance. Either option would help your fence last longer by protecting it from rot, insects, and wear and tear.
However, when choosing between the two, we still prefer staining a fence rather than painting it.
Wood absorbs stain even more thoroughly than paint. This means that as paint ages, it begins to crack, peel, and become worn, necessitating near-immediate treatment as soon as signs of wear and tear appear. Stain, on the other hand, would actually fade over time.
Cedar, in particular, does not take paint well. Since paint prevents the cedar from breathing, the fence's lifetime would be shortened. This would be a shame, because one of the more appealing aspects of using northern white cedar (the only wood we use) to build a fence is its long lifespan.
When you stain a fence rather than painting it, you don't have to sacrifice color. What you need now is a good stain.
Brown isn't the only choice. Stains in bright colors including red, blue, green, yellow, indigo, purple, peach, pink, and grey are available.
If you prefer the natural appearance and feel of wood, just use a transparent or semi-transparent stain in a more natural color that allows you to see the wood grain.
There's still a question about whether paint or stain is more expensive in the long run.
This is dependent on how you calculate the costs. Stain is less expensive per gallon than paint, but you'll need more of it. On the other side, since the stain won't need to be replaced as often, you'll end up buying less of it in the end.
It'll also be necessary to factor in the time you'll spend scraping and sanding away peeling paint so you can repaint a fence. You can easily clean and reapply stain to an old stained fence, making the project go much faster.
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Choosing a stain
There are a few key factors to consider when selecting the best stain for you.
You'll want to go for an oil-based stain with a UV inhibitor, which will keep moisture out, keep the wood from rotting, and reduce the sun's damaging effects. In terms of price, most stains cost between $15 and $50 per gallon.
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Clear stains do not change the wood's natural color, semi-transparent stains are slightly darker but still allow the wood's natural grains and color to show through, and solid color stains are thicker and come in a wide range of color choices, making them a good alternative to paint.
While a solid color stain provides UV defense and moisture resistance, it is the most likely of the three to peel and chip because the pigment does not soak into the wood and instead coats the surface like paint.
One last thing to think about when choosing a fence stain is the rest of your home's and yard's color scheme. If you have any other wood features in your back yards, such as a deck or a wood bench, match the stain color to the color of the other features to bind the yard together.
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Every 3-5 years, re-stain your fence.
Staining your fence will certainly prolong the life of your wood fence, but experts recommend carefully cleaning and re-staining your fence every three to five years to get the best results and keep your fence looking the best it can.
This will allow you to remove any possible moisture trapping and properly protect the wood underneath.
Do You Need a Fence Contractor You Can Trust?
Why pay more when you can restore? That's our motto and the way we approach every project. Fresh Coat Restoration specializes in new deck builds, new fence builds, deck repairs, fence repairs, arbor restoration, fence restoration, deck restoration, pressure washing and sealing/staining. If it's in your backyard chances are we specialize in it! When you call FCR you will be working with a licensed, insured, honest and reliable contractor with years of experience and thousands of satisfied customers. We are the top Fencing contractor in the Vine Hill neighborhood of Martinez, California, serving the fencing installation and restoration needs of homeowners throughout Contra Costa, Solano, and Alameda Counties. Contact us today to start your project!
