Blog / Fence care

Looking after a timber fence

A timber fence asks very little of you, but the little it asks matters. Most of what kills a paling fence in Canterbury happens at ground level, at the fixings, or where the garden meets the wood — all of it cheap to deal with early and expensive to ignore.

Keep the base clear

Soil, mulch and lawn piled against palings hold moisture against the timber and invite rot. Keep a small gap along the bottom of the fence and let air move. The same goes for posts: ground that drains freely around the post base adds years compared with timber sitting in a damp pocket. If you're landscaping, slope soil away from the fence line rather than toward it.

Watch the fixings

Nails work loose as timber moves through wet winters and dry summers. A rattling paling is a five-minute fix with a couple of new fixings — left alone, it flaps in the nor'wester until it splits and needs replacing. Once a year, walk the line and push a few palings. Anything loose gets re-fixed; anything split gets swapped before it takes its neighbours with it.

Finish both faces when you can

Stain or paint both slow how fast weather greys and cracks the surface. Coating the neighbours' side too, where access allows, roughly doubles the benefit — moisture attacks from whichever face is bare. Recoat when water stops beading rather than on a fixed schedule; Canterbury's nor'west sun is harsher on north-facing runs.

Cut back the garden

Ivy and creepers look charming and quietly destroy fences: they hold moisture, lever palings off rails and hide rot until it's structural. Keep climbers trimmed clear of the rails and check behind them once in a while. Shrubs should brush the fence, not press into it.

If the walk-around turns up leaning posts, soft rails or widespread splitting, that is beyond maintenance — see our notes on signs a fence needs attention, or phone 03 349 0227 for a straight answer on repair versus replacement.