I’ve got some really sweet old clients who want a nice cedar fence built right in the smack of winter. It’s not a huge fence, in fact it’s not even a fence per se, but a slatted screen which gives their house a modicum of privacy and leads the eye into their beautifully landscaped backyard. The design is going to be very pretty, kind of Japanese inspired. But I told them there’s really no way to finish it now (short of pre-staining all of the pieces in my shop, which also wouldn’t work since it’s basically unheated), but would have to wait until spring.
Now I’m having second thoughts about it, since it seems like a PITA to build it now and then have to clean it down before staining it in a few (several) months.
I’m in the Pacific NW so there’ll be a lot of rain until June or so, and it seems like that cedar will get pretty crummy pretty fast. If it were a true fence it seems like it wouldn’t take that much to scrub it down before staining it, but this is going to be a lot of thin strips that would take a lot more effort to get looking good.
Any advice on what approach to take? Scrap the project until better weather? Find a super rainy cold-weather magical finish?
I’m also not sure if I’m worrying too much that the cedar will discolor in that amount of time; but it is a fairly shaded yard and right next to the drip line of the house.
Paul
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The last cedar fence I installed in the Puget Sound area took almost a year before there was an appreciable amount of discoloration. 4-6 months should be no problem. If you're worried about slime build up then just spritz it with a spray bottle and diluted laundry bleach or better still, just a quick, light going over with a power washer.
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I think the next sunny day we are gonna get here in Seaside will be around July, By then it will have a nice slime green patina, Bleach works good but simple green seems more forgiving.
Could you rent a heater for your shop and stain the fence there? Guy I work with even runs a salamander while he's staining and varnishing (with oil-based, which makes me nervous about fire) in his unheated shop. Seems a lot easier to do "fussy stuff" before it's assembled
I did this a few years back in an unheated garage in the winter. Just used a radiant heater ($60) screwed to the cieling. Stained all the boards and leaned them up against the wall to dry. The fumes get bad, best to wear an organic vapor cartridge respiratory.
Use a garden sprayer and spray it down with Thomson's Water Seal now.
It'll be fine come time to stain it.
With a fence pre-staining is the only way to go. Otherwise you never get decent coverage, especially on a complex one like you describe.
You just need to get the temp up into the 50s. Electric heaters will do the job if you tent off a corner of your shop. Or run a kero heater to get the temp up, then shut it off before you crack open the stain.
Narrow parts can be dipped, using a trough framed with wood and lined with plastic. (Run the plastic up a ramp on one side so you can lay dipped parts there to drain back into the trough.)