Another modification to our master landscape plan is the use of a fence instead of a hedge.

After lugging home 6 posts and 4 panels of cedar fencing (another story in itself), I decided to stain the wood before installation. Cedar is naturally more weather resistant than many other kinds of wood. However, we did not like the gray-ish color of aged/weathered cedar. Serena being who she is, opted for the white picket fence look (she really likes white colors). We briefly considered a PVC fence - weather resistant and practically maintenance free! - we couldn’t get past the “plasticky”look and feel.

All the paint shop was done on the front lawn, which subjected me to lots of neighborly gawking, but I had no place else.

fence staining set up
Fence staining set up

Since cedar wood has a lot of natural oils and tannins, the local Benjamin Moore dealer recommended I prime the wood first, so the oils do not bleed into the stain itself. And as for the kind of stains, there’s semi-transparent, semi-solid, and solid stains. Basically, they’re all different opacities. What’s the difference between solid stain and paint? I asked the paint store rep, and he responded: “They’re basically the same, except the stain goes on thinner. So you can see the grain and texture of the wood more.”

staining the fence

Tig staining the fence

I’ve read about allowing cedar to age and weathere a little bit before staining, but didn’t look into it much. I figured it would be a lot easier staining the fence before it was installed.

fence panels drying

Here are all the panels primed and stained.  It took me two and a half days to finish that phase of the project.