Fence Staining in Florida

Fences fail from the ground up

Posts tagged fence staining Florida deal with the vertical side of outdoor wood. Unlike a deck, a fence sheds water quickly from its faces. Its trouble spots are the bottom few inches, where soil, mulch and sprinklers keep the wood damp, and the post tops, where end grain drinks in rain.

Fence lines also tend to run through the wettest parts of a yard, along property edges where drainage collects and shade from neighboring trees lingers. That means a fence often needs more mildew control and more drying time than you would expect from looking at it.

Fence-focused practices

On long privacy fences, consistency matters as much as coverage. Stain from different batches, or applied to boards of different ages, can dry to noticeably different tones, so mixing batches and testing on a few boards first is worth the time.

• Pull mulch and soil away from the bottom of pickets where possible so the wood can dry.
• Redirect sprinkler heads that spray directly onto the fence.
• Seal post tops, or add caps, since end grain is where rot usually starts.
• Settle which side of a shared fence will be coated, and talk to your neighbor before work begins.
• On sprayed fences, back-brush the stain into rough-sawn boards for even penetration.

Related services

See our deck and fence staining service, or local pages such as fence painting in Newberry. Heavily weathered fences may need a cleaning first.