Preparing Your Wooden Fence for Winter
A beautiful wooden boundary fence is the pretty bow you tie around the main package, your home. Your home is a bigger investment than your fence, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take steps to maintain it and protect it for the winter months. You don’t realize how much charm and curb appeal a wooden fence can give your house until it is worn down and weathered.
Staining your fence is your best defense against winter
We know there are a million things you have to do to get your home ready for winter, but throw a little love towards your fence. You don’t want to spend the first days of spring fixing your fence while you watch your friends and neighbors frolic in the sun, do you? We didn’t think so.
The good news is that most companies make wooden fences out of cedar or redwood. These types of wood have proven time again that they are strong, durable and weather resistant. If you live in a four-season state, this is good news. But that doesn’t mean your fence doesn’t need your help.
Before the frost hits, stain (or re-stain) your wood with an oil-based finish to help keep out moisture and other problems that can cause damage to your fence. Staining is a preventive strike against winter woes like rot, mildew, mold, warping, knotholes, and pests.
If you installed your fence, make sure you placed the fence posts deep enough so that they go below the frost line. Just like your wood contracts and expands with the temperature, so will the soil around your fence posts. If you didn’t dig deep enough, your posts could come loose, start to lean and sway, eventually falling over.
Last, and we’ve talked about this before,
trim any bushes or overhanging tree branches that are in danger of falling on your fence.
Now, get back to cleaning out those gutters.