How to Repair a Picket Fence

A fence needs to look attractive, and at the same time, do its job. A picket fence is usually designed lower than most fences, and people can see into the yard. Yet, a picket fence is still a cheerful reminder for strangers and animals to stay out. It can also be a way to keep children and pets from escaping the house boundaries and running into the street.

In any household, a break in a picket fence means a breach of safety and security. When you see any part of your fence needing repair, do it immediately.

The Problem with Escape Artist Dogs

The purpose of putting the picket fence to surround the perimeter of our front yard was to keep our family dogs there and out of the street. One dog was small enough to squeeze through the fence, so extra boards were used in the fence design. Notice the smaller boards nailed between the pickets. Even with the sharp ends of the upper boards, this same dog could also jump the fence. Since we weren’t going to the expense of removing the picket fence to replace it with taller chain link, the dog was banished to the backyard for a few months. It was returned to the front yard once it was too big to squeeze through the fence or jump over it.

Surprisingly enough, it is the older dog that finds ways to escape the front yard by destroying the picket fence. Anyone who is familiar with beagles knows that they are natural escape artists. The 10-year-old beagle was a rescue dog who had escaped his first home, but in his permanent home with us; he continues to destroy the picket fence in order to earn some freedom.

This time, he had pulled a board away from the picket fence and escaped. Luckily, he is old, overweight, and slow, and I walked down the street, calling his name. He was found only four doors down. Another look at the fence showed where he had begun to gnaw at a section of fence board. Although you notice that a big pot of cactus is pushed into the corner of the picket fence, it did not deter the dog, but provided a hiding place while he worked on getting out. We never could catch him chewing away at the wood.

The biggest problem with this picket fence is that finishing nails were used in this project. They were the wrong type of nail, but at the time we built the fence, we thought finishing nails would look better because they hid the look of your basic nail with the larger head.

This proved to be the wrong move. It would have been fine if the fence was used as something to appeal to the eye and nothing else. But in this case of keeping our dogs in the front yard, the fence needed to be strong enough to stay up. With a lock on the gate, we were serious about our privacy. The fence had a year-round job to do as something to keep people or animals in or out of the yard.

Tools and Items Needed

A picket fence has a simple design, so there is usually no need to use any power tools when it comes to repair work. Depending on the damage, a hammer and a handful of nails will do. Since the wrong type of nails were holding up the fence, a quick trip to the hardware store was required for a box of the right nails. These nails had “heads” on them and were far better when it came to keeping the fence boards intact. They made it harder for our dog when it came to prying the boards loose.

In this case, all you need to do is move the picket back to its space and nail it back on the upper and lower wood sections that hold up the fence. To deter future escapes, go down the fence and use the proper nails to nail into the remaining fence. Don’t expect the finishing nails to keep the fence intact.

Always keep in mind that any fence is not bulletproof, so don’t assume that once up, a fence will never need repair. Always check the fence when you are outdoors. It won’t take long to find weak areas and loose boards. Once you are aware of any potential problems, you can take action. As a way to keep your children and pets where you can see them, it is well worth the effort. We had installed a doorbell outside the front gate, so this allows us to be more selective when it comes to accepting visitors. The gate stays locked until we unlock it for our visitors or scheduled deliveries.

I am retired and don’t have the time or desire to deal with door-to-door salespeople. You can post a sign on your property, saying “No Solicitors,” but people ring the doorbell, anyway. They think nothing of talking to you as they stand under that sign.

Simple Design, Installation and Upkeep

I had always wanted that white picket fence, so now I have two. I am proud to say that my husband and I built those fences, and I am pleased with the results. One fence gives privacy to our front yard, and in the back, a picket fence separates our garden from the rest of the backyard. It also keeps our dogs away from what we grow.

White paint is available everywhere. I hand painted our new picket fence, but as the years pass, you can always slap another layer of paint on the boards. Using a paint gun could be a little tricky with the space between the pickets, but you can use this technique, too.

Keep Extra Fence Boards

Always keep a few white pickets around for a quick fix. You’ll find them pre-painted white in most home improvement stores. If one of your fence boards break, all you have to do is remove it and nail the new board in. You may want to paint both sides of the boards white before you store them away. It will save you from needing to paint once you have to replace a board.

Extra 4”x 4” fence posts should be painted and stored away with the fence posts. These posts provide strength and support for the picket fence. They can also be damaged at any time, so keep the extra posts available for a quick, needed replacement.

The white picket fence has always been a symbol of a perfect life in songs and literature, but it’s the simple upkeep which keeps its design timeless. With proper care, they will last a long time.