Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Rutherford County
Bare pine fences don't last long in Middle Tennessee. Summer sun bleaches them gray, and rain soaks into the end grain, so boards cup, split and grow mildew on the shady side. A good stain slows all of that down. HomeGuide's national guide says staining extends a fence's life by several years and protects against rot and insects, and it recommends resealing pine every 1 to 2 years.
Gray, weathered fibers and mildew have to come off first, or the stain sits on top of dirt. We wash the fence at a pressure low enough not to fuzz or gouge the wood, and use a wood brightener where the boards have gone dark. Then the fence dries completely before any stain goes on.
Staining a cracked or rotted picket just makes a nicer-looking broken board. We replace the worst ones and re-nail loose pickets before staining. Bigger problems go to our fence repair page.
We use penetrating semi-transparent or solid stains. Semi-transparent shows the grain, and solid hides mismatched old and new boards. We get stain into the tops of pickets and the bottoms near the ground, where water does the most damage. Many HOA covenants set fence colors, so send us your guidelines before you pick a color.
Pressure-treated pine is wet when it's installed, and stain can't soak into wood that's still full of water. We'll tell you when a new fence is dry enough. A simple test is sprinkling water on a board: if it beads, wait, and if it soaks in, the fence is ready. If you're still choosing a fence, our wood privacy fence page compares pine and cedar upkeep.
Iron and steel fences need paint, not stain. We wire-brush rust down to sound metal, prime it, and topcoat it. HomeGuide's national prices are $5 to $12 per linear foot for an iron fence and $4 to $10 for other metal fences. Driveway gates run $200 to $1,000 and walk gates $100 to $600. See wrought iron fence for iron fence care.
HomeGuide's national guide puts professional fence staining or painting at $300 to $2,800, with most homeowners spending about $1,700. For a wood privacy fence, the range is $3 to $10 per linear foot. Many painters have a $250 to $500 minimum. Inside Murfreesboro city limits, the City counts sealing and painting as normal maintenance, so no permit is needed.
Tell us the footage and height, whether it has been stained before, and the color or finish you want. We'll look at the wood and send a quote with cleaning, repairs and stain on separate lines. Call (629) 334-2020 anytime or use the quote form.
Rather talk it through? Call (629) 334-2020 anytime.
Back to Murfreesboro Fencing Company for every fence and gate we build.
