When you install a wooden fence around your home, you will find that after sometimes, the fence gets discolored and shabby-looking. When you see this, you may be asking yourself whether you can really still save that fence. What you have to know however is that underneath that thin gray skin lays the glow. What you just have to do is to remove the surface layers of the aged wood cells so as to expose a fresh layer. There are a number of measures that can be taken so as to prolong the life of a fence. Some of these measures include the following:
Power washing
The aggression of the power washers enables them to strip the wood and at the same time it cleans off the dirt and grime. As a precautionary measure for you not to erode the wood too deeply and ruin it, you are supposed to use the right sprayer tip while applying the correct technique. The power washer’s spray slightly raises and roughens the grain on smooth wood allowing more sealer to soak in and improve the finish. While using the power washer, you are supposed to first fill the pump and the hoses with water before running it so as to avoid damaging the pump.
Making simple repairs
Once the fence is clean, you are then supposed to look for damaged boards so that you can either fix or replace them. This practice also entails refastening loose boards and making sure that any protruding nail is countersunk. In case there are split or broken boards, you are supposed to use waterproof glue to fix them. While pulling loose pieces tightly together, you replace nails with corrosion resistant screws so as to prolong their life. In case you find that the gate is sagging, you use turnbuckle support to straighten it. Lastly, you should ensure that you coat the posts at points where they emerge from the ground or concrete with a wood preservative.
Staining
Once you are through with the repairs, the last thing that you do is to stain your fence. While doing so, an exterior semitransparent oil stain is favorable as it preserves the natural color of the wood. Furthermore, these stains seals the wood while allowing the grain and color variations to show through. The stains that you are using also should be having ultra-violet inhibitors so that it can slow down bleaching by sunlight.
Conclusion
A good fence is all you need to secure your compound with. For this reason, you should at all times ensure that you renew it once it gets old so that is can stay longer while being effective. You should also keep it neat if you would like to have your compound to be impressive. So answering the question as to whether you can still save your fence, the answer is yes you can.