That I could certainly do. But if I don't, will the fence warp?

Amy

Warping has not been an issue on the fence that I share with my neighbor, even tho their side is stained and mine is not. Like you, I prefer the natural greying. However, I don't know if the stain used makes a difference. You might ask your neighbor to see the product and read the label.

My sister has a cedar fence about 13 years old that is silver AND warped. It gets overspray from the sprinklers and so that might be an issue. It's in bad condition. I'd consider some type of clear sealer.

Hers reeeeally gets baked in the summer though. It's west facing and we have temps over 100 from June - September.

Any wood that is exposed to the elements should be sealed with a good sealer (i.e., not ThompsonÂs ) every a couple of years (and more often for extremely hard, dense woods) for protection from moisture. As was indicated, a clear sealer (as opposed to sealer or stain that is pigmented) will still allow the wood to be exposed to UV rays which is what causes the silver/grey patina over time.

I have 2 follow-up questions--

-What brand sealer do you recommend for protecting fences?

I believe my fences are redwood (recently power-washed). Will they silver over time? I would prefer they stay brownish.

Thanks for helping!

In this region cedar = Thuja plicata. Seems like redwood doesn't go silvery, but maybe someone else knows for sure.

If you want the silvery look now, you can put a wash on it first and then seal it. I use Dunn-Edwards "Weathered Brown" exterior paint diluted with water and seal over it.

I stained the south (street) side of my fence two years ago (6 months after it was built). It is now pretty severely warped toward that side. I'm considering staining the north side to even it out, even though nobody sees it. Hopefully that won't take two years, since it's already due for another coat on the south side. I'm also wondering if that would work at all, since the north side gets no sun. Anybody have experience with this problem?

Sikkens is a good brand. A little pricey but it wears very well and extends the amount of time between resealings. We sealed our fence and deck a couple of years ago and are very happy with it. We didn't use clear, so I'm not sure how wood with that looks as it ages. We purchased our's at a Benjamin Moore paint retailer.

Solve the fence staining before it happens. I found this product on the internet and it works great.

Here is a link that might be useful: sprinkler shield

I personally really like benjamin moors black forest stain but thats just me, I think a black fence "in the right setting" looks amazing.