Cedar fence need any maintenance?

[dean]

I have about 500' of 4-year-old cedar fence, with 4x4 posts sunk in concrete foundation posts. Some of the fence has been beaten a little with trimmers, etc, and it appears quite weak and brittle. Do I need to seal it? Pressure wash it first? Or just leave it? For now its ok, but I want it to last me 20-30 years. Are people treating fences like decks here on this group?

[Roger]

See my comments several threads above, on preserving Rough Sawn Cedar. Cedar will gradually fade to a silvery gray, and sort of stabilize on its own. Staining it will add some cosmetic value, but not necessarily stop slow rotting and splitting. I personally like the silvery gray it turns, with no staining. Key area is underground. When fences fail, they either blow down, or their posts rot through at or below the soil line, where the post is always damp, as it is subject to dry rot, fungus, and termites. I just wait till I can wiggle a post, and see that it is clearly weak or loose or rotted. Then I saw off the post near the base, break up the concrete with a punch bar, or pry it out of the ground, and replace it with pressure treated or synthetic wood, and leave lots of crushed 3/4 inch gravel in the base of the hole for drainage. One can also twin the posts, avoiding digging the concrete out. Bottom line: I would just leave it, and wait, and check posts now and then. Roger

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[dean]

Hi Roger - the posts I think are pressure treated, so I don't think they will ever fail. Its just the fence itself, just seems kind of weak, plitting here and there and broken in a couple of places. The wood just seems so weak.

[Roger]

It may have been poorly seasoned "green" cedar, which will split as it dries in place. I would tend to just replace the badly split ones, as needed. Staining/preserving fences is such a sweat, and results aren't always what you want. You might ask your neighbors - the ones with the better looking cedar, what they use on theirs.