Service

Fence & Deck Cleaning

Gray, weathered cedar brought back to actual wood color — cleaned at a pressure that will not fur the grain.

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What it is

What fences actually involves

A gray fence is not a worn-out fence. That silver-gray layer is oxidized surface fiber plus mildew, usually no more than a fraction of a millimeter deep. Under it the cedar is still the color it was the day it went up. The job is removing that layer without removing wood along with it.

This is where technique matters more than equipment. Wood cleaned at concrete pressure comes out "furred" — the soft spring growth blasted away, the hard grain standing proud, the whole surface rough enough to catch a sleeve. It looks clean for a season and then weathers twice as fast because you have quadrupled the surface area. We clean wood with a chemical-first approach and only as much pressure as the board will take.

We handle cedar privacy fences, board-on-board, wrought iron with wood infill, composite and Trex decking, pressure-treated pine, and pergolas and arbors. If you are planning to stain, this is the prep step that determines whether the stain lasts two years or five.

North Texas

Why it happens here

Cedar is the default fence material across the metroplex, and DFW weather is hard on it in both directions. Summer sun at 100-plus degrees drives out the natural oils that make cedar rot-resistant in the first place. Then Gulf humidity and spring storms soak the boards, and the cycle repeats forty times a year.

The north-facing side of any fence in this area also tends to grow a green-black mildew film, especially where it runs along a shaded property line or backs up against a neighbor's landscaping. Homeowners often assume that side is rotting when it is simply covered.

Sprinkler overspray is the quiet killer. A head that hits the bottom two feet of a cedar fence every morning keeps that zone permanently damp, and that is where you will find both the worst mildew and the first real rot. We flag it when we see it, because cleaning does not fix an irrigation problem.

Process

How the job runs

No surprises, no upsell in the driveway. This is the same sequence every time.

  1. 01

    Assess the wood, board by board

    We check for rot, loose pickets, protruding nails, and any section where cleaning would do more harm than good. Anything structurally questionable gets pointed out to you before we start — cleaning it will only make the problem more visible.

  2. 02

    Pre-treat and protect

    Adjacent beds and turf get pre-saturated. Then the wood gets a cleaning solution matched to what is on it, applied and given time to break down the mildew and lift the oxidation so pressure does not have to do that work.

  3. 03

    Clean at wood-appropriate pressure

    We use a wide fan tip at a fraction of the pressure used on concrete, moving with the grain in steady overlapping passes at a consistent standoff distance. The goal is a clean board with the grain still smooth to the hand.

  4. 04

    Neutralize and brighten

    A brightener goes on to bring the pH back down and restore the warm tone of the cedar. Skipping this leaves the wood chemically hot, which is the most common reason a stain applied afterward blotches or fails early.

  5. 05

    Rinse and dry check

    Everything gets a final rinse and we check that the wood is even side to side. If you are staining, we will tell you how long to let it dry first — usually two to three clear days in North Texas, longer after a wet week.

Questions

Fences questions

  • Can you make my gray fence look new again?

    In most cases you get remarkably close. The gray is oxidized surface fiber, not permanent damage, and removing it exposes the original cedar tone underneath. Boards that have been gray for a decade may come back slightly lighter or more varied than new wood, and any board that is actually rotting will still be rotting. We will set expectations honestly on the walkthrough.

  • Do I have to stain it after cleaning?

    No, but it is the best time to. Clean, brightened wood accepts stain evenly and holds it far longer than dirty wood does. If you clean and do nothing, the cedar will begin oxidizing again immediately — you will get a year or two of good color before it starts graying. If you are going to stain within the next five years, do it now.

  • Will you damage my composite decking?

    No. Composite and Trex get a chemical-forward, low-pressure treatment specifically because the surface can be permanently marred by aggressive pressure. Composite tends to grow mildew in the embossed grain pattern, which responds very well to the right solution and very badly to a high-pressure wand.

  • How long should I wait before staining?

    Two to three days of dry weather for most cedar fences, and up to five for a thick horizontal deck surface that holds moisture. Staining wood that is still wet inside traps that moisture and causes the finish to peel. If you have a stain crew scheduled, tell us and we will time the cleaning to work with them.

  • What about the neighbor's side of a shared fence?

    We can clean both sides, and honestly it looks better if we do — a fence cleaned on one side only has a very obvious line at the top. It does require access and your neighbor's okay. Plenty of our fence jobs end up being split between two households on the same street.

Often booked together

What else the same trip can cover

Most of our jobs are two or three surfaces at once. It is cheaper for you and it means the whole exterior matches instead of one clean wall next to a gray driveway.

We run fences across Grapevine, Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Roanoke, Trophy Club, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Westlake, and Argyle.

Defend your exterior

Ready for a house that looks maintained?

Tell us what needs cleaning and we will get you a written number. Most quotes take one phone call.

Call (214) 668-5907Request a free quote
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