We spend time and money choosing our ideal garden fence. We think about the purpose of the fence – division, shade or privacy, which type of timber to use, the look and style we want to achieve in our garden and ensure it’s fitted safely and securely to withstand the elements. But once a garden fence is fitted, it’s essential to regularly take good care of the timber and ensure it performs and looks good for as long as possible.
Three top tips for fence maintenance
We recommend regular care of your timber fence every two to three years. This will preserve performance, lengthen its life, and keep it looking good.
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Give it a good scrub
It sounds simple, but a good old scrub is a great place to start when keeping your timber looking fresh. Firstly, protect any grass and plants near the fencing. Use your handy garden tools to clean the wood of any growth, remove the dirt, moss and weeds. The Roughneck MUTT multipurpose scraper is a great item to have in your shed, and the perfect tool for cleaning timber fencing.
Soap and water can help give the timber a good cleanse, or invest in some Ronseal garden cleaner we’re currently selling 5 litres on our website for £6.20 + vat. This timber cleaner helps on tougher growth like algae and won’t affect existing treatment on your fence.
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Remove rotten wood
Once the timber has had a good washdown, you’ll be able to see and feel any timber which is rotten and needs to be removed. Check both the fence posts and panels for signs of rot – rotten timber should be removed as soon as possible to stop the rot from spreading across the fence.
Carefully use a crowbar to loosen fence panels from the post, watch out for nails – saw through them with a hacksaw or knock them it to the wood to secure them. For fence posts you’ll need to remove the panels either side before you use a good spade to dig out the rotten post. Make sure the post you replace it with is the same size. This might be an opportunity to replace your posts, check out our recent blog on fence post material – timber, concrete and galvanised steel.
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Add a pop of colour
Once clean and free of rotten wood, revive the garden fence with your chosen treatment to really freshen it up.
Ronseal Shed and Fence Preserver is available in Black, Autumn Brown, Dark Brown, Green and Light Brown. It colours, waterproofs, and prevents against rot so your garden wood looks good for longer.
Ronseal Fence Life Plus is available in ten colours, including Cornflower Blue, Red Cedar and Forest Green. You can use it on all rough sawn and smooth planed sheds and fences. It’ll stand up to rain, frost and snow and won’t lose its colour in the sun. Apply two coats on rough sawn or three coats on smooth planed wood and you won’t have to do it again for up to 5 years. Easy to use, you can brush it or spray it on and even apply to damp wood.
Ronseal Precision Finish Fence Sprayer is ideal if your short on time, it can treat a single fence panel in as little as 3 minutes. The two spray width settings allow accuracy and speed, making it easy to do the hard-to-reach bits as well as filling in large areas.
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