Old garden fence

Balmed Out

Just bought a new house and so dont have much money. The fence isn't in great shape. It hasn't been treated in years and I'm wondering is it ok to clean, sand and paint or is it too far gone?

Its fairly big and I enclosed two pictures one of the back end but if you imagine it comes along both sides too and the other is a close up picture of a fairly bad section.

The garden is obviously overgrown and I will pay someone to do it as I dont have the tools but the other thing is that there's a lot of thorny brambles coming through from behind which is a farmers field. The farmer has a wire border around the field between one and two meters back from the estate with an over grown ditch in the space (as well as a few years of grass cuttings and a few Christmas trees behind each house). Im guessing whoever cuts the grass might not be willing to do work in the farmers field so ill hop over and cut them back myself which is apparently what others do. Will cutting them at this time of year cause them to grow back with avengance, should I spray them with something too?

jonon9

Looks Ok judging by the pictures. How are the main post are they loose, rotten?
Take a screwdriver and go along the fence and poke it if its rotten than the screwdriver will go through it. If its ok than clean it down and treat it.

Calahonda52

No need to clean or sand and definitely not paint it: ever.
That brown look is from stuff u can get in woodies or B&Q and just brush it on
The bigger question is if the posts in the ground are timber or concrete because they don't last for ever so have a good look at them and budget for replacing them.
Re the brambles etc, where is the legal boundary on your title maps

Balmed Out

Not positive about boundary but reckon it's farmers though neighbour says farmer ignores it and they cutie back themselves every now and then.
The wood is set in top of a concrete Base so none of it goes into ground.

What's the best way to clean it before using ronseal or something given theres algae on it?

Thanks for the replies

The_Chap

Balmed Out wrote: »

Not positive about boundary but reckon it's farmers though neighbour says farmer ignores it and they cutie back themselves every now and then.
The wood is set in top of a concrete Base so none of it goes into ground.

What's the best way to clean it before using ronseal or something given theres algae on it?

Thanks for the replies

Best way would be to run a pressure washer over it then let it dry, or use a wire brush but that depends on how much time you have

muffler

The_Chap wrote: »

Best way would be to run a pressure washer over it then let it dry, or use a wire brush but that depends on how much time you have

A power washer will do it in no time. Using a brush will take for ages.

If using the power washer just make sure you keep it the right distance from the fence to remove any algae but not damage the fence itself. Try doing it on a warm dry day if you can find one. Do it early morning and allow to dry out in the heat/sun during the day. Make sure its completely dry before applying any coating of preservative.

Also check for any boards that may have come loose during the washing. The wood will expand and then contract when dry so you may need to pop an odd nail in here and there

Balmed Out

Tried out the powerhouse before doing it properly tomorrow, I presume its necessary to completely remove the algae?
Doing that strips away all the old stain - much of which comes off easily enough anyhow.

Calahonda52

All the loose stuff needs to come off anyway so it looks good when cleaned

Balmed Out

Half way through cleaning my side. One neighbouring property is empty so could do another I guess is up to them but the back by the farmer is problematic. When we went sale agreed I could easily have hoped over and done it but it's gotten completely overgrown.
It's one thing our side looking nicer but I'd like it to last too.

sunny2004

Balmed Out wrote: »

Half way through cleaning my side. One neighbouring property is empty so could do another I guess is up to them but the back by the farmer is problematic. When we went sale agreed I could easily have hoped over and done it but it's gotten completely overgrown.
It's one thing our side looking nicer but I'd like it to last too.

what about applying weed killer over the fence and then doing it ?

Balmed Out

sunny2004 wrote: »

what about applying weed killer over the fence and then doing it ?

That's the plan but presume the weed killer will take some time.

sunny2004

Balmed Out wrote: »

That's the plan but presume the weed killer will take some time.

you just need the weeds to die back to work ? wouldn't think that would take more than 3-5 days.