What colour is your fence in the garden???

[mrsherbal]

I've tried Ronseal 'Medium Oak' for the shed, which looks awful! It's red/orange ish brown, so we tried 'Dark Oak' for the fence by the garage, which wasn't dark enough as shown on the website...

Now DH is doing up the garden and putting up the new fence. Cuprinol does very nice colours, but it's very expensive! We have to paint 2 X 100 ft(both sides), so hoping to spend £1 for 1L.

Do you have any recommandation?

Thanks in advance.

We're going for black but finding a black wood preservative in the diy sheds is not easy - I've seen a few online and will purchase it from there. Know what you mean about the oak shades being a bit orangey, not my thing at all.

i splashed out on the cuprinol stuff and did them white. one of the gardens down the road also has a new fence painted white but i don't know whether she used the cuprinol stuff as well. i kept thinking there must be a cheaper option but it does look good in white - it was quite overgrown and shady before and looks great behind the trees and climbers.

Thank you for your replies, redorlead & naturalbaby. I wish I can afford cuprinol!!!

I was expecting Ronseal 'Dark Oak' as very dark/black brown, but it looks much lighter than the picture on the tin...

Tempted to go for Ronseal 'Forest Green' just because it's only £7.49 for 9L from Screwfix, but not sure about green...

Green naffo IMO

Al colours fade with time- they soon wont resemble how they first applied

Why do you have to paint it at all?

Get treated wood and there is no need to paint it, it will age well. We have just replaced our fence and made sure we put a kickboard at the bottom to prolong the life of the fence. No need for painting.

Ours is currently dark brown but can't remember what we used - possibly a Wickes own-brand one? I want to repaint it grey but can't see that I will ever get around to it!

Cuprinol old English green. The colour is not "naffo" but weathers well and is a very neutral backdrop to plants. Big compliments from my (Scottish) neighbours until they were told the name!

I like mine in dark brown. Most of the DIY sheds and builders merchant chains have an own-brand which is far cheaper than the Cuprinol or Ronson versions, but not much choice of colours. They usually have a sample board with small pieces of wood treated with the different products. An extra coat will darken it a bit, but preferably apply it the same day before the waxy water-repellent layer hardens, otherwise you have to wait until it has weathered and gone dull, or the next coat will not stick.

The water-based stains are very easy to reapply every few years, you just need to get any dirt of mould off first with a hose and a stiff brush. They are water repellent stains, not wood preservers which are quite different and a lot more expensive. Fences do not suffer from rot much as they are so thin that they quickly dry out after rain, so do not stay in the "slightly damp" condiition for long enough to rot much. Timber in contact with the ground will rot very badly though, as it has both air and water in the right proportions.

I happen to like concrete fence posts and gravel boards, as they do not rot, and I paint them with "bitter chocolate" masonry paint which makes them blend in with the dark brown stain I use on the timber fence.

I like my fences to be as dark as possible as I think it gives a nicer backdrop for planting, so always go for dark oak. I have found though that the depth of colour varies considerably from brand to brand. The best in for colour I have found to be Wilkinsons own brand. I have been more adventurous with my sheds, trellising etc. and have used various colours from the Cuprinol 'Shades' range, my favourite being 'Iris', a lovely deep blue.

i like colours too, ours were blue and they're quite hard to cover if you want to go lighter, but they faded well

plain golden colours are 'naffo' imo