I noticed newly installed fence board have wet bottoms after raining. I
think water is wicking up from the bottom of the fence board.

Would painting just the bottom (the side that faces the ground) of the fence
board (a 4x1 cedar) fix this and prolong the life of the fence? Since it's
impossible to repaint the bottom once the fence is installed, whatever
paint/stain/sealant is used should last 10 years or more in an outdoor
environment. Any suggestions?

Remove the bottom board or let it be, nothing you can do to stop it.

peter wrote:
I noticed newly installed fence board have wet bottoms after raining.
I think water is wicking up from the bottom of the fence board.

Would painting just the bottom (the side that faces the ground) of
the fence board (a 4x1 cedar) fix this and prolong the life of the
fence? Since it's impossible to repaint the bottom once the fence is
installed, whatever paint/stain/sealant is used should last 10 years
or more in an outdoor environment. Any suggestions?

1. Saw sufficient inches from the bottom to prevent the pickets from
touching the ground.

2. If number 1 looks odd, cover the resulting space with horizontal boards.
When they rot, replace.

Never have wood in contact with the ground. If the wood is wet, it is
likely to get termites. If the fence contacts the house, termites can
infest the house that way. Even treated wood can be infested after
about 10 years.

Stretch

I noticed newly installed fence board have wet bottoms after raining. I
think water is wicking up from the bottom of the fence board.

Would painting just the bottom (the side that faces the ground) of the fence
board (a 4x1 cedar) fix this and prolong the life of the fence? Since it's
impossible to repaint the bottom once the fence is installed, whatever
paint/stain/sealant is used should last 10 years or more in an outdoor
environment. Any suggestions?

Since It's Newly installed , I bet the fence guys will tell you that's
normal.............It's not good, whether it's normal or not, if the
fence boards touch the ground, moisture will fairly quickly cause the
fence boards to rot at the bottom.

I also recommend that the bottom of the fence be made of a
sacrificial, horizontally mounted board, just above the ground. Not
touching the ground.

I have no pets, and don' plan on it, so I made my fence sit just high
enough I can slide my foot under it about halfway ( with shoe on ).
This helps with using the weed whacker thing and not chewing the fence
up also.

It's also a good plan, if keeping pets in to build a concrete curb
with the fence posts in it to help keep the critters from digging
under easily, and this keeps the water from becoming a problem too.

Lots of thought goes into putting up a solid, proper fence for
whatever application.

As another reply suggested, I'd recommend cutting the bottom off a
little and putting in that treated lumber bottom piece horizontally.




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One giant leap for attorneys.

"Would painting just the bottom (the side that faces the ground) of the
fence
board (a 4x1 cedar) fix this and prolong the life of the fence?"

Yes, that's always good practice and will help prevent premature rot.
Also make sure the bottom of the wood is not touching the ground. You
could use a urethane type of sealer for even better protection.

Use either plastic fencing materials in the future. I suppose if you
had put 3 coats of oil based varnish on the boards when they were new,
then that would probably also work, but I don't see anyone doing that.

On 24 Mar 2005 06:30:50 -0800, scribbled this
interesting note:

Use either plastic fencing materials in the future. I suppose if you
had put 3 coats of oil based varnish on the boards when they were new,
then that would probably also work, but I don't see anyone doing that.

Even that plastic will become brittle and crack and/or shatter under
impact (from things such as soccer balls, baseballs, hail stones,
etc.) I'd rather take the time to properly design and build a good
wood fence out of good materials. It will take some maintenance
eventually, but the parts are easy to find and replace.


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Hi Pete,

You don't say that the bottoms are actually in contact with the ground. If
the fence is professionally installed I doubt that would be the case. Could
what you are observing simply be that the rain water run down the fence,
allowing the top of the fence to dry while the bottom, which is now wetter,
hasn't. Sort of like when you hang something on the cloths-line - the top
of the item gets dry while the bottom takes longer?


"peter" wrote in message
news:lzf0e.12490$wL6.7533@trnddc03...
I noticed newly installed fence board have wet bottoms after raining. I
think water is wicking up from the bottom of the fence board.

Would painting just the bottom (the side that faces the ground) of the
fence board (a 4x1 cedar) fix this and prolong the life of the fence?
Since it's impossible to repaint the bottom once the fence is installed,
whatever paint/stain/sealant is used should last 10 years or more in an
outdoor environment. Any suggestions?

Since it's impossible to repaint the bottom once the fence is
installed, whatever paint/stain/sealant is used should last 10 years
or more in an outdoor environment. Any suggestions?

Under those conditions you won't find anything that lasts 10 years.
Wood expands and contracts with changes in weather, eventually leaving
whatever you paint on the bottom with cracks. Even a stain that absorbs
won't last 10 years.

I agree with all the suggestions that say make sure the wood is not in
contact with the ground. And I'd make sure to keep vegetation trimmed
so it's not in contact with the wood.

replying to mwlogs, texan wrote:
Easy-breezy... It's called FLEXSEAL in a can. NOT the spray! I used an
aluminum pie plate. Pour a little Flexseal in the pie plate, dip the end of
the picket, let it dry, install. I only went about 1/2 inch up the picket
sides. It comes in colors, brown matched my fence. The Flexseal will allow
expansion/contraction of the wood without failing. Prevents wicking
ONLY....wet soil next to the fence will still rot it out after a few
years...Kind of expensive and a P.I.T.A. to do, but beats spending thousands
on a new fence every few years...

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