Your fence takes a beating around here. If you live out toward Gleed or down in the Lower Valley, you already know what our climate does to wood. Between the freezing winter nights, heavy winds kicking up dust off the fields, and those brutal July and August sun angles, unprotected wood does not stand a chance. Yakima Painting Company sees fences every single week that have dried out, warped, and started turning gray just a couple of seasons after going up.
Painting or staining a fence is not just about making it look nice for the neighbors. Fence Painting is about sealing the wood so moisture does not get inside when we hit those damp Yakima winters. Once water gets into the grain and freezes, splitting boards and loose posts occur. Yakima Painting Company spends a lot of time prepping old cedar and pine fences that have not seen a drop of stain in a decade.
The Battle Against Yakima Weather
People always ask when the best time of year is to tackle exterior wood projects in Yakima, WA. You cannot paint when it is freezing, and you definitely should not paint when the sun is baking the boards at 100 degrees because the product dries too fast and peels right off. Spring and early fall are your best bet for Fence Painting. The air has some moisture, temperatures are reasonable, and the wood is not radiating heat.
Sun damage is the real silent killer for fences in neighborhoods like the Terrace Heights area, where trees are sparse and the afternoon sun beats down relentlessly. UV rays break down the lignin in the wood fibers, turning them powdery and weak. A good semi-transparent stain or high-grade exterior paint blocks those rays and buys your fence another 5 to 7 years of life.
Prep Work Makes All the Difference
You cannot just slap paint onto a dirty fence covered in Yakima Valley dust and expect it to hold. Proper prep takes up about seventy percent of the actual job. Yakima Painting Company pressure washes the wood thoroughly, but you have to let it dry completely—usually 3 to 5 days depending on the humidity—before touching it with a brush or sprayer. If you trap moisture under that new coat of paint, you will be scraping it off by next winter.
Yakima Painting Company also looks out for rotted bottom boards touching the soil. Many older properties in Yakima have cedar pickets sitting right in the dirt, which draws up moisture like a sponge. Cutting those down a fraction of an inch or replacing damaged sections before Fence Painting saves you from doing the whole job over again.
Taking care of your perimeter fencing keeps your property values up and saves you from a costly full replacement down the road. If your fence is looking tired, chalky, or peeling, call Yakima Painting Company for Fence Painting work in Yakima, WA, before the next seasonal shift hits the valley.