Fence / Shed Care

[P-Jay]

Please be kind, I am less than useless at DIY and Gardening.

I have a fence, and a little shed, and I want to 'treat' them in order to preserve them and make them look pretty again, in the minimum amount of time possible.

One of those spray you see in B&Q appealed as it'll obviously be quicker, but an old friend of the family warned against them as (in his words) to make the stuff spray-able it's not very good and actually just a stain with waxes in it, rather than a proper preservative like Creosote.

It's only a very modest garden and shed so I'd guess it would be a case of spending a morning with the spray or a day with a brush and tub of Creosote.

Anyone have any experience with the sprays? I caught my neighbour using one at the weekend and he offered me the use of it, so I'd only be buying the actual liquid so there's no cost advantage to ether.

[ColinM50]

Spray every time.

Your mate's sort of right about the chemical ingredients in that it's very thin and watery but I did our fence and shed four years ago and it's as good as ever. Only thing I'd add is the sprayable stuff works better on rough wood, on planed smooth wood it's very streaky and runs quite a lot. I think if I were doing a shed made of planed wood I'd use a brush, but fine for a normal fence panel. You'll need a brush too, to get rid of build ups and runs. Did another fence last week, 5 panels long both sides in a cvouple of hours

[P-Jay]

Thanks for the feedback.

Spray it is, four years is enough for me, we've be moved by then.

[Mr GrimNasty]

The stuff you are talking about is little more than colour and won't significantly extend the life of your fence, also once coloured, it needs redoing every few years or it looks rank. Also spraying in situ is a VERY stupid idea.

[P-Jay]

Mr GrimNasty said:

spraying in situ is a VERY stupid idea.

Apart from Wind / Spray / Clothes / Face interface problems - how so?

As above, I am not, what you might call, a practical man.

[shimmey69]

Spray is a great idea and covers the fence panels well it also covers
The grass
Trees
Shrubs
Walls
Paths
Cars
Next doors cat

Basically they are a great idea in theory but in practise the slightest wind or mis spray and it goes fking everywhere!!!