Prep Your Wooden Fence For The Cold Season

If you have a wooden fence on your property, you need to make sure that it will survive the winter months and the bitter cold. Your fence has made it through the summer heat, but ensuring it can withstand the cold weather will involve some effort on your part.

Inspect Your Fence Before Winter

The first step is to ascertain your residential fences‘ condition. The things you should check include:

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  Getting your fence ready before the winter strikes is crucial to keep its lifespan.

  Determine whether the fence shows any signs of rot, as you would have to address this issue before winter sets in.

• Check the fence’s structural strength and make sure its stable.
• Ensure that there are no damaged or loose boards in your wooden fences. If you find any, repair them without delay.
• Check the gates, hinges, latches, and any other hardware on the fencing. If you find any rust on them, replace them now.
• If large sections of the fence are rotting, the entire structure’s replacement is the only solution.

The snow that accumulates on and around fences during winter can cause rotting in the wooden boards. The snow’s weight will also bear down on it, and a shaky or damaged structure will ultimately collapse during winter. A sturdy fence will be able to withstand this pressure and not warp or buckle with the snow’s weight.

Fence Prepping Tips

Here are some other basic fence prepping tips to follow:

Just splash some water on it and check whether it beads. If not, you will need to waterproof the surfaces with a high-grade waterproof stain/ sealant. If you skimp on the quality of these products, it can affect the wood’s integrity and allow moisture to seep in, which will result in rot.

Make sure no leaves are piling up near and around the fence. Once it begins to snow, the leaves start collecting moisture, which causes rot build-up in wooden residential fences.

During the winter months, shovel as much of the snow as possible, away from the fence.

If you are too busy or not confident with handling this essential pre-winter wooden fence maintenance, contact professionals for the job. They will manage the inspection, maintenance, and repair work so that your wooden fence will endure the harsh weather during the winter months.