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Benefits and Maintenance of Wood Fences

You Can Trust the Wood Fence Experts at NRV Fence & Handrail, LLC

This quarter, we’d like to discuss the benefits and maintenance of wood fences. NRV Fence & Handrail LLC knows that wood fences can add an aesthetic touch to any home or business. We’ve helped the New River Valley with its fencing needs for over 15 years. Choose from assorted sizes and styles to create an aesthetic and functional perimeter around part or all of your property. While wood fences need regular maintenance and tender loving care, they also have several benefits, like:

  • Wood fences are all-natural and environmentally friendly
  • Wood fences come in a wide range of styles
  • You can customize wood fences with paints, stains, and accents
  • Upfront costs and installations of wood fences are usually inexpensive

 

Wood Fences are Made All-Natural and Environmentally Friendly

Trees grow naturally in the environment. Wood comes from trees. That makes wood an environmentally friendly and all-natural option for fences. Furthermore, because trees grow naturally, wood is a renewable resource. As an environmentally friendly, biodegradable material, wood fences are safe to disassemble and dispose of if ever necessary. Finally, you can treat wood fences with environmentally-friendly preservatives. Preservatives protect wood fences from swelling and insect damage.

 

Wood Fences Come in a Wide Range of Styles for Homes and Businesses

Wood fences can be highly versatile. The composition of wood makes it a material that’s effortlessly shaped and formed into a vast range of styles. Because of the various kinds of trees—oak, cedar, cherry, spruce, pine, etc.—wood fences abound. Whether using large, thick boards and posts, or thinner strips, the range of styles for wood fences truly complement homes and businesses alike.

 

Rail, Lattice, and Picket Wood Fence Styles Are Popular Additions

Among the popular range of styles are rail, lattice, and picket wood fences. The fencing company usually makes rail fences of split logs. The logs lie across each other at angles. Thin diagonal strips are part of lattice wood fences. To create the lattice effect, the factory arranges the strips in a crisscross pattern. Picket wood fences have a series of vertical boards—also known as pickets. The vertical pickets fasten to two or three horizontal pickets.

 

Consider Unique Wood Fence Styles for Your Home

More unique range of styles for wood fences include louver, gothic, scalloped, and flat top. Louver style wood fences are thin, staggered boards. Louver fences create privacy, but have an open view from the side. Gothic wood fences are similar to picket fences in design, but the strips are smaller and spaced further apart. Scalloped is also a picket wood fence, but the convex or concave cuts give the style a wavy effect. Flat top picket wood fence boards have smooth tops.

 

Customize Your Wood Fence with Paints, Stains, and Accents

Property owners like to change things up from time to time. The simplest way to customize and achieve different aesthetics with a wood fence is by painting or staining it. As a bonus, painting or staining a wood fence can negate damage from ultra-violet rays. Another way to customize a wood fence is using accents. Some like to hang flower baskets or decorate with fence art. Others like to install solar fence post lights or add a trellis and vines.

 

Upfront Costs and Installations of Wood Fences are Usually Inexpensive

Up front, wood is much more inexpensive than most other fencing materials. According to www.homeadvisor.com, wood ranges from $2 to $10 per picket. Whether they get installed D-I-Y versus professionally could tip the scales, but, overall, wood fences are also inexpensive to install. That being said, these costs certainly vary depending on the style.

 

Wood Fences Need Regular Maintenance and Tender Loving Care

Unlike aluminum and vinyl fencing, wood fences require more regular maintenance and tender loving care. When kept in good condition, wood fences can last up to 20 years or longer. Regular maintenance and TLC of wood fences includes thorough cleaning, making repairs, and touching up stains and paint.

 

Here is How to Clean a Wood Fence

The simplest form of regular maintenance and TLC is cleaning. Mix one part chlorine bleach and two parts water to create a wood fence cleaning solution. To clean a wood fence, work from the bottom to the top. Coat the fence in its entirety with the cleaning solution. Let the solution sit on the fence for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a pressure washer to rinse off the solution and let the fence dry for a minimum of 24 hours.

 

General Repair Keeps a Wood Fence Looking Like New

Repairing a wood fence as part of regular maintenance and TLC helps keep it looking new and prevents injuries. To fix minor damages, we recommend using waterproof wood glue. Apply the glue to splits or small cracks and tape it for 24 hours. Remove the tape after a day. Sandpaper or wedges work well to smooth out any rough spots and prevent splintering. Finally, if you notice any loose screws or nails, replace them. We recommend stainless steel screws. You should also fill the tops of the holes with caulk to keep the screws in place.

 

Touching Up Stains and Paint on a Wood Fence

If your fence is unstained, another method of regular maintenance and TLC is staining it. Use a roller and work with the wood grain, not against it, to maintain an even color. The same is true with painting and touching up paint. If your painted wood fence is fading, flaking, or chipping, you might want to consider repainting it. Never paint over peeling paint. Use a scraping tool to remove loose paint, or apply paint thinner. Once you’ve removed the old paint, we recommend using a paint sprayer and applying a minimum of two coats.

 

Call NRV Fence & Handrail, LLC, at (540) 392-8060 for more information on residential and commercial fences and handrails. We would be glad to explain the benefits and maintenance of wood fences.