How do you maintain a fence?
Updated August 2026
Keeping a fence standing is a yearly walk of the line, mostly a probe of the post bases for rot, plus a wash and reseal every 2 to 3 years on wood so the boards stop drinking rain. Do that and a wood fence reaches its 15 to 20-year life (vinyl 20 to 30) instead of one post letting go early. The rotted post base is the failure point almost every time, and swapping one runs $75 to $200 against replacing a whole leaning run.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Hose down and scrub off mildew and green film | Yearly | 1–2 hrs · DIY |
| Tighten hinges, latches, and backed-out fasteners | Yearly | 20 min · DIY |
| Push hard on each post to feel for give | Yearly | 10 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Probe post bottoms with a screwdriver for soft rot | Yearly | 15 min · DIY |
| Clear soil and mulch piled against the boards | Yearly | 30 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Clean, then reseal or stain wood pickets and rails | 2–3 years | $100–300 DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Reset or replace a leaning, rotted post | When it leans | $75–200 per post |
| Re-hang a dragging gate with an anti-sag kit | When it sticks | $25–60 DIY |
What neglect costs
Skip the reseal and untreated wood grays, cups, and wicks moisture straight down to the post base, which is where fences die. Once a post rots through at the soil line the section leans and the fasteners pull, and a lone reset that could have been $75 to $200 becomes a replaced run at $20 to $45 per linear foot installed. A wet, blackened fence also grows the mildew that eats stain faster, so each skipped cycle shortens the next. The repair-or-replace math almost always favors catching the post early.
Leave these to a pro
Setting a replacement post plumb in fresh concrete is the one job worth handing off if you do not own a post-hole digger; a fencing crew charges roughly $150 to $400 per post depending on depth and whether they demo old concrete. A full teardown and rebuild of a tired run, posts and all, is a weekend of labor most people would rather buy at $20 to $45 per foot. Everything else here, the wash, the hardware, the stain, is squarely DIY and costs only the price of a $30 gallon of sealer.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
Should I stain or paint a wood fence?
Stain, in almost every case. It soaks into the grain and fades rather than peels, so touch-ups blend and you never face a scraping job. Paint sits on top, and the day it cracks water gets under the film and lifts it in sheets. Semi-transparent or solid stain reapplied every 2 to 3 years keeps a fence sealed with far less prep than repainting, and it lets the wood breathe so trapped moisture does not blister the finish.
How can I tell if a fence post is rotted?
Press a screwdriver or an awl into the post right at the soil line, where rot always starts. Sound wood resists; rotted wood feels spongy and the tip sinks in. Also grab the post and rock it: a solid post barely moves, while a rotted or loosened one wobbles at the base. Dark staining, mushrooms, or a hollow thud when you tap it are the other tells. Catch it here and a single post is a cheap fix.
Can I fix a leaning post without digging it out?
Often, yes, if the post itself is still sound and only the footing failed. A steel post-anchor spike or a bolt-on E-Z Mender braces the existing post by driving alongside it into firm soil, no concrete demolition needed, for about $25 to $50 a post. If the wood is rotted through at the base, though, bracing only buys a season. Then you dig, cut off the old stub, and set a fresh post in gravel or concrete.
Do vinyl and metal fences need sealing?
No sealing, just washing. Vinyl and aluminum do not rot or absorb water, so they skip the 2 to 3-year stain cycle entirely; a yearly rinse to clear mildew and dirt is the whole routine. Check vinyl for cracked pickets after cold snaps and confirm the posts have not shifted, and check aluminum for chipped coating that could let a scratch rust. Vinyl runs 20 to 30 years, and quality aluminum often outlasts that.