Fences and decks
Fence, gate and deck painting
Outdoor timber is exposed to rain, sunlight and, on decks, foot traffic. We choose the coating to suit the timber, its existing finish and how the surface is used.
Choosing a coating for decks and fences
A fence sheds water. A deck holds it. The amount of water a surface holds affects which coating is suitable.
Water sits on a deck board after rain, sits in the gaps, and sits under anything you leave on it. Add UV from directly overhead and shoes dragging grit across it every day. A film-forming paint on a deck looks great for a season and then lifts in sheets, because water gets under the film through the end grain and the screw holes and has nowhere to go. Once it starts lifting, the repair needed is to strip the lot.
That's why decks get an oil or a penetrating stain that soaks in and wears back thin, rather than a coating that sits on top and fails in flakes. It needs redoing more often. It also never peels, and a recoat is a wash and a fresh coat, not a strip.
Decks
What's already on there decides what can go on next. Oil over oil is straightforward. Oil over an old film needs the film gone first, and that's most of the cost.
Merbau, which is on half the decks in Melbourne, bleeds a red-brown tannin for the first year or two and will stain pale paving underneath it. It wants a wash and a neutraliser before anything goes on. Treated pine needs to have weathered a few months before it will take a coating at all. Old hardwood decking that's gone silver is usually fine once it's cleaned back, and the silver is surface, not damage.
We check the frame while we're there. There's no point coating boards that are screwed to a bearer that's gone soft, and you can only see that from underneath.
Fences and gates
Timber palings take a proper exterior paint or a stain happily, and the failure point is always the bottom 200mm where the pickets wick moisture out of the soil, and the posts at ground level.
Merbau and hardwood screens are the ones people want to keep looking new, which means oil, and oil on a vertical surface in full north sun is a yearly conversation. We'll tell you honestly how long it'll hold.
Colorbond can be repainted once the factory finish has chalked. It needs washing, a light key and a primer made for the coating already on it, not a general metal primer.
Wrought iron and steel gates are a rust job first and a paint job second. Any rust gets taken back to sound metal and treated, or it comes back through the new coating within a year.
The boundary fence conversation
Discuss boundary fence work with your neighbour before booking. A boundary fence is usually shared property, and painting your side is generally fine, but changing the look of a fence your neighbour also sees can sour things quickly.
Tell us if only one side is in scope. We'd also rather know if your neighbour is likely to want theirs done at the same time, because doing both while we're set up is much cheaper for both of you than two separate visits.
Fences and smaller jobs
A fence or a single gate is often a half-day, and can fit between larger jobs. We slot them between larger jobs. Same written quote, same drop sheets, same clean-up, and the same warranty.
What affects the price
- Whether we're recoating or stripping. Stripping a failed deck film can cost more than the coating that goes on after it
- Linear metres of fence, and whether it's one side or both
- Boards or palings that need replacing before anything is coated
- Rust treatment on metal, which is the whole job on an old gate
- Access, especially a deck with no side gate wide enough to get gear through
The rest of the outside is on the exterior painting page, and weatherboards specifically are on weatherboard painting.
Preparation and aftercare
Read our painting preparation and aftercare guide for arranging access, protecting belongings and checking when the painted surface is ready to use or clean.
Want a price on a fence or a deck?
A photo and a rough length is usually enough for us to give you a number. Free quote, in writing.
Free quote