Deck Staining & Sealing
Decks washed, brightened and stained with a penetrating or solid stain that suits the age and condition of the boards.
DetailsExterior painting
Fence staining and painting in Park Ridge, IL
A cedar privacy fence takes more weather than the house it surrounds: sprinklers, snow drifts, lawn mower spray and full sun on one face. We clean, repair and stain or paint wood fences and gates so they stay straight and sound.
- Both faces and post tops covered
- Neighbor side done with permission
- Plants and lawn protected
Short answer
Fence staining is washing a wood fence, letting it dry, fixing loose pickets and brushing or back-rolling a penetrating or solid stain onto every face, post and gate. Painting is the same with primer and exterior paint. Around Park Ridge and the nearby suburbs it typically costs $3.20 to $7.45 per linear foot, depending on height, both sides or one, picket style and how much old coating must come off.
Paint lines we use most, matched to the surface: Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and PPG for walls and trim, Romabio for limewash, Cabot and Sikkens for wood stain.
Benjamin MooreSherwin-WilliamsPPGBehrValsparFarrow & BallFine Paints of EuropeRomabioCabotSikkensZinsserRust-Oleum
Why suburban wood fences wear faster than you expect
Most fences we work on around Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Mount Prospect are six-foot cedar or treated pine privacy fences, board-on-board or shadowbox, built along a back lot line. The bottom of every picket sits close to the grass, so lawn sprinklers and snow piled against it in winter keep the lower foot wet for days at a time.
Fences also get uneven sun. The south face of an east-west fence bleaches and checks while the north face stays damp and grows green algae. A fence can look fine from the patio and be gray and soft on the other side. We look at both faces and the post bases before recommending a coating.
Then there is everything else a fence runs into: string trimmers that chew the bottom boards, dogs that scratch at the gate and climbing plants that hold moisture against the wood. Coating will not stop all of that, but a fence that sheds water lasts years longer than bare boards.
Stain or paint for your fence?
We recommend stain on most cedar fences. A semi-transparent stain keeps the cedar look and wears away gradually, so the next coat is cleaning and restaining instead of scraping. Solid stain covers like paint while still soaking into the surface, and it is the right pick for an older fence with mismatched replacement boards or a fence already coated solid.
Paint suits picket fences in front yards, where a crisp white or a color tied to the house trim matters. It needs a primer on bare wood and repainting when it peels, and fences peel faster than houses because water gets in at every board end. On a long privacy fence, paint usually turns into a maintenance chore.
Changing from paint or solid stain back to a semi-transparent look means stripping the fence to bare wood, which costs much more than recoating. We will tell you plainly when that is not worth it.
- Semi-transparent stain: cedar privacy fences in good shape
- Solid stain: older fences with patched boards
- Paint: front picket fences matched to house trim
- Gates and hardware get the same coating as the run
Repairs we make before any coating goes on
Stain over a loose fence just colors the problem. We reset popped nails with exterior screws, refasten pickets that have pulled away from the rails and replace cracked or rotted boards with matching stock. Leaning posts and sagging gates get flagged, since resetting a post in concrete is fence repair work rather than painting, and we tell you before we start.
We wash with a cleaner and low pressure so the wood does not fuzz, then brighten cedar so the stain soaks in evenly. The fence dries a day or two before coating. Post tops, rail tops and picket ends get extra stain because that is where water sits.
Plants along the fence are watered and covered, and drop cloths go down over mulch beds and the patio. Where the fence faces a neighbor, we stain their side only after you have talked with them, and we cover their plants too.
Fence lines in Park Ridge and the surrounding suburbs
Lots in Park Ridge, Niles and Morton Grove are often narrow and deep, so a backyard fence can run well over a hundred linear feet with a neighbor on three sides. Big parkway trees drop sap and leaf litter that stains pickets, and road salt spray reaches corner-lot fences near busy streets. Those details shape both the prep and the price.
Further out, in Arlington Heights, Palatine and Buffalo Grove, many fences sit inside townhome or subdivision associations that set a single stain color for every fence in the community. Check your association's approved colors before we order product. Some villages also have rules about which side of a fence must face out, so the nice side may be the neighbor's.
Fence staining fits the dry weeks from late May through September, when O'Hare averages highs between 70 and 84 degrees. Cooler October days can work if overnight temperatures stay above what the can lists.
Signs a fence is past due for coating
These usually show on the side of the fence nobody looks at.
Bleached gray pickets
Sun has broken down the surface of the wood and stain will not soak in evenly until it is cleaned.
Green along the bottom
Algae and mildew near the grass line mean the lower boards stay wet too long.
Cracks at the nails
Splits around fasteners let water into the board and loosen it.
Peeling paint on pickets
Paint lifting at board ends and edges needs scraping before anything new goes on.
Soft post bases
Posts that give under a screwdriver at grade need attention before coating.
Sagging gate
A gate that drags often has swollen boards or a loose hinge side post.
How a fence job runs from start to finish
Walk the fence line
We check both faces, posts and gates and note anything the neighbor side needs.
Protect plants and beds
Shrubs and flowers are wetted and covered, and tarps go over mulch and patios.
Wash and brighten
The fence is cleaned at low pressure and cedar is brightened for even absorption.
Repair loose boards
Pickets are refastened and damaged boards replaced while the wood dries.
Stain or paint
Coating is brushed or sprayed and back-brushed into every face, edge and post top.
Clean up and walk it
Covers come off, gates are checked for swing and you walk the run with us.
What fence staining costs in Park Ridge and nearby suburbs
Fences are priced by the linear foot, with height, sides and condition moving the number.
| What is priced | Typical range | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Wood fence staining or painting | $3.20 to $7.45 | per linear ft |
| Fence washing as a separate visit | $345 to $890 | per visit |
| Rotted picket, rail or post base repair | $235 to $860 | per spot |
These are typical ranges for fences around Park Ridge, and the walk-through sets the real number for your fence.
Full painting price guideWhat moves the price
- Fence height and style, such as board-on-board or shadowbox
- One side or both sides
- Stain versus paint with primer
- Stripping or scraping old coating
- Number of gates and board repairs
- Plants, beds and slopes along the fence line
Where we do fence staining & painting
We take fence staining & painting jobs in Park Ridge and the suburbs around it. A few of the places we work most:
Fence Staining & Painting: common questions
Do you stain the neighbor side of a backyard fence in Park Ridge?
Only after you have talked with your neighbor and they agree. We need access to their yard, and we cover their plants and lawn the same way we cover yours. Staining both faces protects the whole board, so it is worth asking.
How long should a new cedar fence weather before it gets stain?
New cedar and treated pine usually need several weeks to a few months to dry, depending on season and shade. Treated lumber is often the wettest. We check the boards with a moisture meter and tell you when they are ready.
Can you stain over a fence that someone painted years ago?
Not with a semi-transparent stain, because it needs bare wood to soak into. Over sound old paint we can apply a solid stain or repaint. Getting back to a natural look means stripping, which we price separately.
Will fence stain harm the shrubs planted along my fence line?
We wet and cover plants before cleaning and coating, because the cleaners and overspray are what cause damage. Plants pressed tight against the fence may need tying back. We tell you before the job if anything has to be trimmed.
How often does a stained cedar privacy fence need recoating?
A semi-transparent stain on a fence often lasts three to five years, longer than on a deck because vertical boards shed water. Solid stain usually lasts longer still. The south face and the bottom foot of the fence wear first.
Work that often goes with this job
Pressure Washing
Siding, brick, decks and walkways washed at the right pressure for the surface, as prep or as yearly upkeep.
DetailsWood Rot Repair
Soft sills, trim and porch parts cut back to sound wood, rebuilt with epoxy or new stock and primed before painting.
DetailsIron Railing & Gate Painting
Front step railings, iron fences and gates wire brushed, rust treated and coated with a direct-to-metal enamel.
DetailsCedar Siding Staining
Cedar shakes, clapboard and board-and-batten cleaned, brightened and stained in a semi-transparent or solid finish.
DetailsBook a walk-through for fence staining & painting
Call any hour. Someone picks up, takes the details and books a time to walk the job with you.