Author Topic: new fence - leaving one side unstained?  (Read 12902 times)

coffeefueled

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« on: February 20, 2020, 03:20:56 PM »
I have a new 6ft wooden privacy fence between my house and the neighbors that sits pretty close to the neighbors' chain link fence. I planned to seal/stain it to help with longevity, but now that it's in I'm not sure I'll be able to get to the back side of the fence. I'm glad to not lose part of the yard, but I didn't think about the pain staining would be when we planned the fence. In some places I think it's only six inches off the neighbors old chain fence.

What does it do to the longevity of the fence if we don't stain it at all? How bad is it to only stain one side? Should I plan to use a roller to get the back in between the two fences?

I'm hoping there's a magic answer here that doesn't mean I've shot myself in the foot by not thinking about this before the fence went up.

fell-like-rain

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 187
  • Location: Massachusetts
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2020, 03:58:47 PM »
It really depends on what kind of wood you used. I’d assume that the posts are pressure-treated pine, but what about the slats? Any unsealed wood is going to get gray and cracked and splintery, but whether it’ll decay will depend a lot on the type of wood.

Rufus.T.Firefly

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 272
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2020, 04:00:54 PM »
If it's made of pine, the unstained side will grey significantly. I stained & sealed my fence because I saw that unsealed fences at other houses in my neighborhood tend to warp significantly over time. I think the sealing contributes to preventing the warping. I've only had my fence for three years so it's hard to tell if those will hold up, but so far so good.

Sibley

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7428
  • Location: Northwest Indiana
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2020, 06:23:42 PM »
Have you considering asking your neighbor if you could spray your fence THROUGH their fence? I'm not sure what that would do to the appearance of their fence though, so research that before you bring it up.

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2020, 06:27:27 PM »
It would make their fence look terrible.

coffeefueled

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2020, 06:10:16 AM »
We're going to talk to the neighbor this weekend about options for the side that faces their yard. Most of the family is spanish-speaking, but hopefully with some friendly patience and gesturing we'll be able to figure out if they'd like to remove the chain link in that section or if we can come through with a long roller to do stain/seal side. They're good neighbors and take good care of the place even though they rent (the owner lives on the other side of the country), but we haven't had much contact with them besides the occasional wave because of the language barrier.

Dogastrophe

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 433
  • Location: 44.6488° N, 63.5752° W
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2020, 06:41:38 AM »
Few thoughts:

1. Great opportunity to meet your neighbours.  Language is never a barrier for people who want to communicate.

2. Is the fence pressure treated lumber?  If so what type?  CA, CCA, ACQ, micro pro, etc?  All have differing qualities of protection.  You will gain a year or two more life out of the fence compared with non-PT if you reapply stain every 3 to 4 years.  PT wood tends to have warranties of 15 to 25 years against rot, fungus, etc.  However, consider these a marketing warranty that you are unlikely to ever utilize (at minimum you need original receipts, documentation of install process, the store you bought from will need their original invoice for the manufacturer, need to hope store is still in business). 

3. Most commercial stains are good for up to 5 years on vertical surfaces despite what the can says (again, marketing warranty).  Realistically they start to show their age around the 3 year mark (in Northern climates with freeze/thaw cycles). If you leave it, it will grey. 







Fishindude

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3075
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2020, 06:51:02 AM »
If you get along with your neighbor, you could possibly remove their chain link fence all together since the wood fence is in place and then it would be easy to access and stain.
Unless you used cedar or treated, staining will be required if you expect it to last very long.   And staining would also improve the looks and longevity of cedar or treated. plus it would look better on your neighbors side.

lthenderson

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2252
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2020, 07:10:04 AM »
I've never seen slats held on by much so my vote if the neighbors don't remove their fence is to remove the slats, stain the back and pop them back in place. I would not try spraying them through the chain link fence as you will most likely get a lot of runs and/or stain on your neighbors chain link which probably wouldn't sit well. I suppose a roller might be possible but it would be awkward to do from the top. Of course all this advice might change depending on type of material used. Some materials don't have to be stained.

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2020, 11:29:49 AM »
Surprisingly metal fences are a lot more expensive than wood. The slats get brittle with age so I wouldn’t let someone remove them because if they break the color can’t be matched.  Plus you need the owners permission to remove the fence or slats not the renters.

coffeefueled

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2020, 03:31:06 PM »
The fence is about 300 ft of pressure treated pine in a solid privacy style with no gaps. The rest of the property is split rail which we plan to let weather.

Any recommendations on stain/seal brands? I'd love for this fence to last 10-20 years and to be able to go 5 years between stain applications, if possible. Maybe that's too optimistic? I don't have an opinion on color (and don't mind the grey look), but I want to prevent warping and general decline.

Telecaster

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3551
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2020, 03:37:58 PM »
I've had good success with Penofin.   

SunnyDays

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3489
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2020, 06:02:43 PM »
I also have a pressure-treated pine fence that's about 7 years old, and it hasn't greyed at all, but is just losing it's colour.  I'm going to stain it this year, using Behr semi-transparent.  My neighbour's fence did grey a lot without any stain.  (Apparently, he thought it was cedar, so just left it.)  Greyed pine is not attractive, so do whatever you have to in order to get the neighbour's side stained, but it should be able to wait a few years without unduly affecting the wood.  Depends on your climate and the exposure of the other side.

coffeefueled

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2020, 08:03:47 AM »
Thanks for all the info. We're going to wait until the summer when we have more time and better weather and then do a stain/seal.

Sibley

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7428
  • Location: Northwest Indiana
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #14 on: February 26, 2020, 09:38:35 AM »
I'm going to sidejack your post, sorry.

I have a pine pressure treated fence, installed Sept. 2018 that I plan to stain this year. For reasons, I can't personally go onto my neighbor's property to do one side of the fence. I may be able to manage hiring someone and having them do it, but that's even in doubt. There are lawyers involved and I will be talking to them.

So, assuming that I can't/it's not worth the hassle, what would likely happen to my fence if I only stained the one side? Obviously, it'll grey. I'm less concerned about appearance and more structure and longevity. Does having only one side of a fence stained cause additional warping, rot, etc?

lthenderson

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2252
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #15 on: February 26, 2020, 10:42:46 AM »
Does having only one side of a fence stained cause additional warping, rot, etc?

A pine board exposed to weather with only one side preserved will warp, check and rot just as if neither side was preserved. If I wasn't doing the back side of the fence, I probably would just save the expense and not stain my side either. If I had a problem neighbor, I would stain it before I put it up. Since it is up already in your case, I would probably look at unfastening sections at a time so I can do both sides before rehanging it. It that isn't feasible, I would just let nature take its course and when it inevitably checks and rots away, I would replace it with a more hardy wood like cedar that can be exposed to the weather.

Sibley

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7428
  • Location: Northwest Indiana
Re: new fence - leaving one side unstained?
« Reply #16 on: February 26, 2020, 02:13:48 PM »
Does having only one side of a fence stained cause additional warping, rot, etc?

A pine board exposed to weather with only one side preserved will warp, check and rot just as if neither side was preserved. If I wasn't doing the back side of the fence, I probably would just save the expense and not stain my side either. If I had a problem neighbor, I would stain it before I put it up. Since it is up already in your case, I would probably look at unfastening sections at a time so I can do both sides before rehanging it. It that isn't feasible, I would just let nature take its course and when it inevitably checks and rots away, I would replace it with a more hardy wood like cedar that can be exposed to the weather.

Good to know. I will see what the lawyer says, hopefully I can manage to get it stained with the rest of the fence.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!