Ottawa winters take a toll on Ottawa fencing – the deep snow… the wet show… the freezing rain and ice storms. All of this creates moisture that just doesn’t hit your fence to be dried off shortly by the Ottawa sun, but sits and soaks your fence to what could be the point of ruination.

Professional fencing contractors can be consulted for minor repairs, as well as new or replacement fencing, but there are many “do-it-yourself” steps homeowners can take to preserve the appearance as well as extend the useful life of their fences.

For Ottawa wood fencing… Protect against wood rot by refinishing the fence – power washing, sealing and staining. If you have dry rot anywhere… don’t stain over it! Pry or cut the damaged section out, and replace the section you removed with the same type of wood that was used in the original fence.

For winterizing Ottawa metal fencing… Seal off any worn (already coated) aluminum. Doing so keeps along with sealing and repainting will prevent the winter weather from causing the metal to rust.

Ottawa steel or wrought iron fencing that has rust needs to be repainted after removing a stiff metal brush to remove rust.  Once you have, wash your Ottawa fence thoroughly, then prime and paint with a rust-proof paint.

And finally, don’t forget your gate hardware as they’re the most used and most prone to being worn down. We carry a variety of gate hardware to replace your old, faulty, or rusting hardware.

The post Winterizing Your Ottawa Fence is a Must appeared first on The Fence and Deck Store.

The latin name for Western Red Cedar is “Thuja Plicata.” Thuja is the name of the resin that produces that distinct aroma of the Red Cedar. This is a naturally occurring resin that not only prolongs the life of the Western Red but enhances its durability. Unfortunately, this resin in not inherent in Eastern White Cedar.

The overall size of an Eastern White Cedar tree is much smaller on average yielding a greater portion of the tree to sapwood. This increased sapwood portion increases its susceptibility to disease and decay.

All Red Cedar trees coming for Western Canada are grown under a recognized sustainable forest program such as FSC, PEFC or SFI. For every cedar tree removed it is replaced! This is not the case for Eastern White Cedar. Still viewed largely as a weed tree,  large stands of Eastern White Cedar still remain unharvested.

The choice is still always in the hands of the consumer. But, if your are looking to add a little flare and value to your home along with helping the environment the choice is Western Red Cedar.

The post The Great Debate Red vs. White Cedar appeared first on The Fence and Deck Store.