When winter rolls around, the elements can do quite a number on your property and outdoor amenities, especially your fence. Sure, the heat and blazing sun of summer time can also cause discoloration and wear-and-tear on your fence, but winter has the ability to be especially destructive, especially if you don’t take precautions to protect your fence. Here are some of the reasons that winter is so harmful to your fence…
Moisture increases rate of damage
First of all, in many areas across the country, winter means snow, as well as other forms of precipitation. The wet conditions of winter are one reason that fences go through such a beating during the season. For example, if water gets into the grooves of a wooden fence and then freezes, then it is going to expand and causes breakage and cracks to grow larger. On top of this, moisture wears away paint and just tends to increase the rate of deterioration on a fence, in general.
Iron fences inevitably rust over time
Wooden fences aren’t the only type of fencing that needs to worry about moisture. Even extremely durable iron fences can experience damage from the snow and rain. If the protective coating of an iron fence is worn away by friction, it will make it easier for an iron fence to rust, which means that it can get bent and broken, easier, as well as be unpleasant to look at.
Shifting soil
Because the ground gets wet during the wintertime, it causes the very ground beneath our feet to move. In terms of fencing, it causes the soil around fence posts to shift around, which can damage the foundation upon which fences are put into the ground. This makes it more likely for a gust of wind to knock your fence over, which can cause breakage.
Changing temperatures warp wood
Although it has the ability to get incredibly freezing in the winter time, it probably isn’t going to be that cold, every day. During the winter, it is possible to experience 20-30 degree temperature shifts on a day-by-day basis. It’s these major shifts that really cause damage to your fence, as it can cause wood to warp, which can damage a fence and make it aesthetically unpleasing, as well as unpractical.