Your fence is built to last many years, but no fence lasts forever. The winter in particular can be very rough on even the best quality fences. The constant cycle of freezing and thawing as well as potential snow or frozen water on your fence can quickly damage and destroy it. Thankfully, there are options for protecting your fence even in the harshest of conditions!
Firstly, checking your fence a little more regularly during the winter time can help prevent some damage. Give it a really good look over before the really cold months come. Clean off any growths like mold or algae and keep an eye out for it over the weeks to come. The cold weather can start to trap some moisture in your fence which can lead to serious damage, so give it a good brush with water and bleach when you notice it getting dirty. If your fence is looking a bit old, giving it a quick repaint with a waterproof paint will be a huge help.
Another thing you can do to help protect your fence is to clear out all of the overhanging limbs above your fence. The cold weather can be hard on trees, meaning broken branches happen more often during the colder seasons. Those branches can damage your fence by landing on it or hanging on it, causing your fence to lean and warp, or even come down completely.
Double checking your fences posts to make sure that they are all still strong and sturdy is another great way to protect it. If a post is leaning at all, you will need to replace it before the cold season really hits. To do this, you will need to dig a hole at least a foot deep to make sure it is below the frost line- 18 inches is a smart and safe choice. Do it once right and you shouldn’t have to do it again.
We don’t always have snow in Georgia, but preparing a little channel for water or potential snow at the base of your fence can really help to save it in the long run. Water or snow that can sit at the base of the fence for too long can lead to quick and severe damage to the fence itself. It doesn’t have to be a trench, but make a little channel for drainage so that the harsh wet weathers of the winter don’t lead to you needing a new fence this summer.
Living in Georgia, we have the benefit of not having the harshest of winters. That said, when it comes to fence longevity even in Georgia it is smart to take the proper precautions to make sure you’re not left with more problems than necessary come spring time.