Dream homes are built one feature at a time, and too many homeowners fail to appreciate and take care of the assets their home has. Although a rundown fence may not hinder your everyday life in the same way a broken washing machine, drafty windows, or a clogged drain might, but your rundown fence is a wasted opportunity to maintain your home’s distinctive features and amenities. A yard without a fence is just grass waiting to be trampled on by neighborhood kids or leered at by nosy neighbors. With a fence, your yard becomes an outdoor home with privacy and security. And ambiance. Here’s what you need to know to motivate yourself to finally start taking care of your rundown fencing.

Fence Maintenance, aka Fence Repair Prevention

Your wood fence may show preliminary signs of stress with discoloration, splintering, or warping. Did you seal your fence last year? Do you live in a humid climate? Too many homeowners, especially in today’s economy, are putting off their fence sealing till next year, quite possibly with costly consequences. Once wood fence panels have reached even a moderate state of deterioration, the only viable remedy will be to replace the affected panels. Interestingly, the average cost of both fence sealing and fence repair is just over $500, but the final result is anything but the same. Once you let your wood fence reach a state where repairs are needed, these replacement panels will return your fence only to a manageable state, while wood fence sealing will return your fence to like-new condition.

Fence Repairs: Don’t Get Frustrated or Overwhelmed

If you do need repairs, you may find it harder than you imagined to get professional, reasonably-priced service. The best fence contractors tend to stay where the most money is in fence installation. But there are diamonds in the rough for most cities and locations. ServiceMagic actually seeks out qualified contractors for our homeowners. Carpenters, for example, may be more than qualified for fence repairs and willing to take local jobs during down times. Often, even the contractors most oriented toward big jobs will pick up a few fence repair requests during the off-season. If, at first, you don’t succeed, keep looking, expand your search, and/or wait till next season. That said, not all opportunities are good ones. Don’t get suckered in by the person who knocks on your door and claims to be able to give you a deal because “they’re in the neighborhood” or “have extra materials from another job.” Ask for their business card and, then, tell them you’ll follow up. Never hire them on the spot or give them money that day. Check out their business. Usually, their credentials will fall through upon investigation.

Rundown Fencing and Curb Appeal

Many homeowners neglect their aging fences because they have no pets, no children, and other things on which to spend their money. But a rundown fence is a pox on the entire house that causes guests, passers-by, and neighbors to think the rest of the house is rundown and the owners lazy. If you live within the parameters of a HOA, you may have no choice but to mend or replace the fence. And for good reason: a rundown fence may affect the property values of your neighbors’ homes, not just your own. When it comes time to sell your home, you won’t leave the fence as is. You might as well try to sell your car with chocolate and soda stains on the floor and caked-over mud on the windows and body. Since you’ll eventually need to repair or replace your fence anyway, you might as well do it this year and start enjoying your new fence now.

Long-Term Replacement Fencing: The Last Fence You’ll Ever Need

Many homeowners avoid this logic because they mistakenly believe the sooner they install a replacement fence, the sooner this new fence will need maintenance and repairs. New fencing products remove this concern. Vinyl and aluminum residential fencing doesn’t require annual maintenance and needs only a good pressure-washing to stay clean and shiny. In fact, some of these fences are so tough the manufacturer will market the product as the last fence you’ll ever need, with a warranty to match. Your new vinyl or aluminum fence may not have the same classic look, but it will still look substantially better than your dilapidated wood fence. Instead of being seen as lazy or negligent, you can claim your new fence is green, as it eliminates the need for sealing products with volatile organic compounds.