Long stretch of 6-foot cedar privacy fence on a corner lot, north and west sides, both fully exposed to wind and rain. The owner had three quotes for tear-down-and-replace ranging from $5K to $7K. We came to look first and confirmed the structural posts and rails were still solid; only the surface boards had degraded.
What we did
Eight hours, two-person crew, finished in a single day:
- Pressure-washed the entire fence at 1500 PSI with a fan-tip, strips the loose grey wood without etching
- Hand-scraped the board edges where dirt had pooled in joints
- Sanded the worst sections with 80-grit to feather the transitions
- Pre-treated knot lines with shellac-based primer (otherwise they bleed through stain in spring)
- Two coats of semi-transparent UV-blocking stain, brushed in (not sprayed), penetrates the grain
- Cleaned up every off-cut and stain drop on the patio stones below
Late-season note
End of November is the cutoff for staining outdoors in the GTA, we need three dry days above 8°C with no overnight frost. Last week of October to mid-November is the safe window. Past that, we book for spring. This job barely made it.
