From frosty mornings to dark evenings, winter is well and truly here. It’s around this time that the seasoned gardener should turn their thoughts to protecting their garden during the harshest, coldest months of the year. A definite point of focus should be the timber fencing that surrounds your lovely garden.
With some planning (and a little TLC), you can make sure your timber fences survive the winter months without any damage. Read on for Somerlap’s top tips on protecting and maintaining your timber fencing.
Protect your fence posts
As important as the fence panels they support, timber fence posts are at risk of rotting if not properly cared for throughout winter.
Moisture in the ground is a major cause of rotting fencing posts. During the winter, there are less days when warm weather helps the ground to dry out. As the cold temperatures shift from day to day – from quite chilly to absolutely freezing – warping can also become a problem, causing cracks which allow even more moisture to enter the wood.
Here are some ways to protect your fence posts:
- Make sure you buy pressure treated timber posts when fencing your garden. All Somerlap fence posts are made from pressure treated timber.
- Treat the wood with a good quality wood preservative, such as Protek Royal Exterior Superior Wood Finish.
- Use a Postsaver to protect posts from rot and decay below the surface.
- Keep the base of the fence posts free from leaves and debris to avoid additional moisture encouraging rot.
- Use tightly packed gravel around the base of the fence post to allow rainwater to drain away quickly from the wood.
Protect your fence panels
You can take similar steps to protect your timber fencing panels and ensure they come out of the other side of winter looking as good as they did before:
- As with fence posts, buy pressure treated timber fencing panels and regularly clear the base of leaves and debris.
- Use Wet & Forget to clean your timber fences and remove any moss, mildew, dirt, and fungus.
- During heavy wind, storms and snow, branches and tree limbs can fall on fence panels, so it pays to keep any trees in your garden trimmed back.
- Apply two or three coats of a good quality wood preservative, such as Protek Royal Exterior Superior Wood Finish, allowing 24 hours between coats.
Somerlap are here to help you maintain your fencing this winter
From wood preservatives to timber fencing itself, we here at Somerlap have everything you need to keep your garden looking lovely even during the coldest months. Contact us today with any enquiries, or visit us at our site in Mark, Somerset.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 8.00am – 4.30pm | Saturday: 8.00am – 12.30pm | Closed all bank holidays