Perimeter Maintenance Services

It’s important that you make an informed decision when preparing to fence your property regardless of it being a commercial or domestic application.

Homeowners and business owners have a lot of fence options to choose from and many things to consider before building a fence. It’s critical to make sure the fence you pick meets the needs of your property. Simple questions such as

1. Is your goal is to keep kids and pets contained
2. Increase privacy levels or add security or
3. Boost property value by giving things a facelift?

You must also take maintenance and cost into account, investigate neighbourhood restrictions and make sure you hire the right fencing contractor to install it.

Whether picking between a white picket fence, a wooden privacy fence or a chain mesh solution for your industrial precinct, carefully consider the type of fence you choose before making an investment.

While the team at Perimeter Maintenance Services pride themselves on cost effective solutions, a new fence costs money regardless. Depending on the size and type you buy, you need to make a good decision the first time weighing up all considerations such as land slope, vegetation, cosmetics, security, automation and more. What ever you choose will also affect the price of your installation.

Highly rated fencing companies recommend the following tips to pick the best fence for your home and family:

Pick the best fence for your yard.

Homeowners, business owners and corporates install fences for privacy, visual appeal, security or for the safety of people, wildlife and vegetation. If done well, fences are one of the key landscaping features that can increase property values through any of the above applications.

Ask yourself why you need a fence and let that answer guide your decision making. Prioritise your needs over your wants, not the other way around.

You might want a privacy fence, but need a security fence. There is a difference and this can affect resale value if done the wrong way.

Customers who don’t need privacy can turn to an aluminium fence away from timber, which gives a yard a classy, open look. In various scopes, the type of fencing used is specified as part of covenants or government projects. As for containment in a home residence, if you mainly need a fence to protect a pet or a child, no particular type of fence necessarily works best over the other.

Just make sure to build the fence with containment in mind. For example, if you want to build a fence to keep a pet confined in your yard, understand what your animal is capable of in terms of digging and jumping.

“The last thing you want is to build a new fence, let your dog out for the first time, and have him jump over it,”

Consider fence maintenance

Ask yourself how much time you want to spend maintaining your fence.

Wooden fencing requires the most maintenance because of the fence painting and staining required every couple years, but it can boost your property value by making your yard aesthetically pleasing.

Aluminium fencing requires little ongoing upkeep, which makes those fence options appealing to many homeowners. Wood fences offer the benefit of being more easily repaired than metal in most cases also. If a storm damages a few boards, you can replace them and make it blend in with the rest of your fencing.

But if you need to replace a section of an aluminium fence, you may find the fence manufacturer no longer exists or sells the product, making it hard to find fencing that matches what you already have in your yard. Sometimes customers end up replacing an entire fence despite isolated damage to only a few sections.

“The bottom line is, if you build a wood fence, it will always be easily repairable and replaceable.

Check with your council or development

You may not have a say in the type of fence you can build if you have signed paperwork to say you will comply with a particular style of application. Make sure the fence you want meets those standards for materials and height before moving ahead with a project.

Pick the right fence contractor

You can try fencing a yard on your own, but the process requires specialised tools and hard labor. Consider hiring a professional like Perimeter Maintenance Services who can walk you through the complete process for free while still deliver you are highly competitive quote to suit your needs.

Timber fences need to be cleaned and sealed or stained from time to time to keep them looking good and protect the wood from UV rays and weather.

Start by thoroughly cleaning the fence or deck using a specially formulated fence or deck cleaner following the manufacturer’s directions. Allow the cleaner to remain on the wood the recommended time (usually 15-20 minutes). Scrub the wood with a long handled scrub brush, or use a power pressure washer.

To keep from damaging wood when pressure washing:

1. Use a pressure washer rated at 2,700 PSI or less.
2. Choose a wide angle (40° or so) tip.
3. Keep the tip a consistent 12” to 18” away from the surface.
4. Move the wand constantly while cleaning.

Once the fence is clean, it’s important to stain or seal the wood to help protect it from the sun and weather. An oil stain is the best choice to really penetrate and protect a fence for years to come.

Everyone knows when you are spending a lot of time out in the hot, summer sun, you need to make sure you have on adequate sunscreen to protect yourself from the harmful UV rays. But the same principles apply to your wooden fence.

Any kind of wood that is exposed to Mother Nature will eventually turn gray—maybe even warp, crack, or cup. If your fence is looking worn, like this one, there are a few things you can do to bring it back to that just like new appearance.

First of all, you want to make sure it’s thoroughly clean. The best way to do that is by using a good cleaner made especially for fences or decks and use a pressure washer. Now, cleaning the wood will remove dirt, algae, mold, and lichens that are the reason that it is discolored.

Both the cleaner and the pressure washer will also help to open up the pores of the wood. But it’s important that you don’t allow the cleaner to dry on the fence, so rinse it off maybe within 15 or 20 minutes. Also, don’t use too much water pressure, otherwise you may damage or gouge the wood.

Now, once the fence is clean, you’ll want to stain or seal the wood to help protect it from the UV rays even longer. An oil stain is the best choice to really penetrate and protect your fence for years to come.