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Wood weathers to a grey. Cedar shakes become a grey with age and there are many homes that have that look intentionally. Simply put, grey isn't ugly. Your perception is that it is ugly.
This. Cedar naturally turns silver-gray. Some people prefer the natural, weathered look like you'd see on a cape home and others do not. I was "on the fence" about whether or not to treat mine or let it go gray. I decided to go with a semitransparent stain after I saw how easily the natural wood was discolored from dirt.
The down side to treating/painting is the wood can't be composted at the end of it's useful life, it has to go in a landfill. Unless all 4 sides and the ends are sealed, treating a western red cedar fence doesn't radically alter it's durability.
Yep that picture totally looks like my fence and I hate it too. It's 25 years old now and I have my eye on an arts and crafts iron and wood fence. We'll be working on that project soon. Can't wait.
The main reason that I like the weathered look of these "gray" fences is that a) the look is homogeneous (no dark, light, streaked blotches), b) the fence itself tends to disappear visually (assuming there are either plantings or natural views on either side of it), c) the look is uniform (all fences in the neighborhood develop the same soft look).
If you want the fence to be the most important visual in your landscape, then paint it, or stain it, or buy vinyl. If the fence is there to insure privacy or keep animals in (or out), then let it become natural. Bigger properties are more likely to allow the fences to gray out, and it is not only because it is less trouble. Suburban fences like that in the photo need landscaping on both sides in order to look good, however.
We are 113 patio homes in an HOA. Each backyard is fenced in with a 6ft shadow box style (each side looks identical)privacy fence made of the wood you are talking about. It takes about 2 years for it to age. We talked about refinishing the fences but the cost would have been outrageous thus that idea was dropped.
I have no issues with the sliver-grey aging color.
We are 113 patio homes in an HOA. Each backyard is fenced in with a 6ft shadow box style (each side looks identical)privacy fence made of the wood you are talking about. It takes about 2 years for it to age. We talked about refinishing the fences but the cost would have been outrageous thus that idea was dropped.
I have no issues with the sliver-grey aging color.
I just had my shadow box fence stained after it finished aging because I don't care for the grayish aging look. It cost over $2,500, but well worth it. It is a beautiful shade and I have received many compliments.
Even when treated, why build such ugly fences? Dont you agree?
Edit: how do I post a proper link?
The grey is caused by the natural weathering of the wood used in the fencing.
As far as to you link question, per the TOS:
Creation of active links is enabled for users that have been here for more than three days and have a couple posts already. So is our blog feature. Links to competitors' sites are treated differently than other links and are likely to be deleted.
What I find odd is that some can have really nice gardens and yet have those gray fences. And they are really common I find. Could it be that the HOAs demand the homeowners to build those untreated fences?
I've lived in a pretty big masterplanned community that did not allow any decks or fencing to be stained or sealed.
Everytime I see those gray weathered fences they are usually in some sort of disrepair or neglect. It would drive me nuts to have on my property, I'd be out staining or painting it when needed.
Of course I'd much rather have a nice wrought iron, aluminum, or vinyl fence. The house we used to live in had a chain link that was starting to rust in areas. It was fugly but the house was not mine so I was not about to invest the money to fix it. However I did fix the stop sign, street sign, and telephone pole support by painting them black. The rusty poles were unsightly.
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