power washing a wood picket fence

Posted by mm on July 28, 2008, 4:55 pm

What are the pros and cons about powerwashing a wooden picket fence
(42 inches high fwiw).

Am I right about the cons:
It will take a long time to get at the fence from all angles,
including the sufaces neaer where the rails and th and pickets meet
the round posts.

I'm going to break several of my pickets that might last for years if
I don't touch them. (I can no longer find pickets to match, I only
have 80 new ones left, and I can't make more because they are flat on
one side and rounded on the other.

If I don't do a very good job, there will be noticable lines and spots
that are still dirty.

Even if I seem to do a perfect job, it will start getting dirty again
and maybe not evenly.

I just don't like the whole idea. In my world, certain things were
not expected to be cleaned. I replace the pickets that break because
of age, and I replaced the ones that had visible termite damage.

The pros are that it will be cleaner and lighter colored for a couple
years or more.

Something said to me makes me expect that I will be pressured to do so
some time in the future.

Posted by J. Clarke on July 28, 2008, 6:42 pm

mm wrote:

> What are the pros and cons about powerwashing a wooden picket fence
> (42 inches high fwiw).
> Am I right about the cons:
> It will take a long time to get at the fence from all angles,
> including the sufaces neaer where the rails and th and pickets meet
> the round posts.
> I'm going to break several of my pickets that might last for years
> if
> I don't touch them. (I can no longer find pickets to match, I only
> have 80 new ones left, and I can't make more because they are flat
> on
> one side and rounded on the other.
> If I don't do a very good job, there will be noticable lines and
> spots
> that are still dirty.
> Even if I seem to do a perfect job, it will start getting dirty
> again
> and maybe not evenly.
> I just don't like the whole idea. In my world, certain things were
> not expected to be cleaned. I replace the pickets that break
> because
> of age, and I replaced the ones that had visible termite damage.
> The pros are that it will be cleaner and lighter colored for a
> couple
> years or more.
> Something said to me makes me expect that I will be pressured to do
> so
> some time in the future.

Hey, if somebody wants your fence cleaned tell them they are welcome
to clean it.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Posted by mm on July 29, 2008, 12:55 am

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:42:56 -0400, "J. Clarke"

>Hey, if somebody wants your fence cleaned tell them they are welcome
>to clean it.

Good answer. I may really use it.

Posted by SteveB on July 28, 2008, 6:54 pm

mm wrote:

> What are the pros and cons about powerwashing a wooden picket fence
> (42 inches high fwiw).
>
> Am I right about the cons:
> It will take a long time to get at the fence from all angles,
> including the sufaces neaer where the rails and th and pickets meet
> the round posts.
>
> I'm going to break several of my pickets that might last for years if
> I don't touch them. (I can no longer find pickets to match, I only
> have 80 new ones left, and I can't make more because they are flat on
> one side and rounded on the other.
>
> If I don't do a very good job, there will be noticable lines and spots
> that are still dirty.
>
> Even if I seem to do a perfect job, it will start getting dirty again
> and maybe not evenly.
>
> I just don't like the whole idea. In my world, certain things were
> not expected to be cleaned. I replace the pickets that break because
> of age, and I replaced the ones that had visible termite damage.
>
>
> The pros are that it will be cleaner and lighter colored for a couple
> years or more.
>
> Something said to me makes me expect that I will be pressured to do so
> some time in the future.

Power washing is one of my services.

If you like the look of weathered wood, leave it alone.

If you, or SWMBO, prefer the look of new wood, power washing *can* do a
good job of refreshing the surface if you do it right:
* Don't get the wand too close, or you'll gouge the wood. I once did
this on purpose to my many-years-old-and-never-maintained cedar deck.
Careful work gave me a rustic look.
* Talk with a pro at a real paint store about their wood cleaning and
bleaching products. If you put them on right, your fence will look
almost new.
* Yes, it will be a lot of trouble to get into all the corners.
* Once you finish renewing the wood, apply a transparent finish to
keep it looking that way. You'll have to reapply the finish every few
years, since *all* finishes eventually fail outdoors. Your new buddy at
the paint store will be glad to help you.

Note: You *can* get new pickets, but you'll have to find a woodworker
with a shaper. They're actually pretty common. Ask around at church;
you probably already know someone.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX

Posted by mm on July 29, 2008, 1:05 am

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:54:12 +0000 (UTC), "SteveB"

>Power washing is one of my services.

Wow. I'm lucky to have you reply.

>If you like the look of weathered wood, leave it alone.

I do. It's fine with me. I'm sure there's enough work out there
without me.

>If you, or SWMBO, prefer the look of new wood, power washing *can* do a
>good job of refreshing the surface if you do it right:
> * Don't get the wand too close, or you'll gouge the wood. I once did
>this on purpose to my many-years-old-and-never-maintained cedar deck.
>Careful work gave me a rustic look.

I'm good at being careful for a while, but there's maybe 100 feet. I
know that's not much by a lot of standards, but it's well past the
point of fun to the point of work.

> * Talk with a pro at a real paint store about their wood cleaning and
>bleaching products. If you put them on right, your fence will look
>almost new.
> * Yes, it will be a lot of trouble to get into all the corners.

Great. I'm glad to have a knowledgable person agree with me. I'll
never do a good job on something I didn't want to do in the first
place. (It's the HOA architectural chairman who owns the power
sprayer, and who said I could use it. :( )

> * Once you finish renewing the wood, apply a transparent finish to
>keep it looking that way. You'll have to reapply the finish every few
>years, since *all* finishes eventually fail outdoors. Your new buddy at
>the paint store will be glad to help you.
>Note: You *can* get new pickets, but you'll have to find a woodworker
>with a shaper. They're actually pretty common.

I didn't want to spend much money -- they were a dollar a piece when I
could get them -- but I will pursue this anyhow.

I had thought that the semi-round pickets were the end pieces when a
log was cut into lumber, that the round side was what was just under
the bark. Any truth to that?

Or were they all made with a shaper to begin with, and that's too
expensive for mass sales now.

Or is there some thing about cutting up logs that doesn't leave the
outside piece anymore, like higher demand for particle board?

BTW, what is T1-11? It seems like it's a mixture of some segment of
wood with maybe a lot of glue. It takes a long long time to rot, but
it doesn't look like treated plywood either, if there is such a thing.

>Ask around at church;
>you probably already know someone.
>--
>Steve Bell
>New Life Home Improvement
>Arlington, TX

Good luck on all your services.

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