The Low-Down on Water Seal for Your Fence

Although the fence that has been built at our new house is cedar I still wanted to water seal it. In our neighborhood you can really tell which fences have been sealed and which have not.

Here is a picture of a fence that is about 2 years old that has not been sealed.

This one is barely 6 months old and it is already about to deteriorate.

This fence has been sealed but stained also.

Finally, here is a shot of our brand new fence as it looks today.

Well I really did not know too much about water sealing so I headed down to my local Home Depot to go check it out.

I was fortunate enough that there was a employee there that worked in the paint section that had just sealed a portion of his fence the year before.

From what he told me there are 3 different ways that you can go when sealing your fence.

They are -

• Clear seal (preserves the original color of the wood)
• Stain with seal (alters the color of the wood but the wood grain is still visible)
• Paint with seal (alters the color of the wood without the grain showing through)

The prices range from $60 to $120 for 5 gallons.

Before we moved into the house I sealed the fence with the mid-level stain. Here are pictures of the finnal result – Water Seal Pictures.

Technorati : DIY, Fence, Water Seal, Wood Fence