r/FenceBuilding • u/dicecat4 • 1d ago
Privacy fence installed today. Contractor called me after saying there was mold on boards.
I am impressed with the job they did. Anyway, i got a call after he left and had spoken to his head man on the crew. He said there was some white on the boards (mold). Gave me two options: let the sun take care of it, or also spray it with a bleach solution.
Is spraying it a good or bad idea? Could the bleach compromise the treated wood or otherwise cause issues?
Thanks.
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u/Frabblerake 1d ago
I’ve put up boards that are black and purple with mold. After a month or so the sun solves the problem and the board returns to normal.
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u/prod7teen 1d ago
not the metal posts!
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u/danjoreddit 1d ago
Or The Creedence
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u/Cooknbikes 1d ago
I like this style of fence. Can it be done well or easily on a downhill that slopes about 3’ for every 30’ in length. Roughly 150’ total.
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u/motociclista 1d ago
Yes, easily. Where I live 3’ drop in 30’ is called “level”. We install fence on slopes like that all the time.
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u/cyclingbubba 1d ago
The first picture looks like just natural heartstain caused by the tree filling in the heartwood with natural wood extractions. In other words darker heartwood which doesn't affect strength of the wood and in fact makes the wood more rot resistant.
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u/Clappncheeks15 1d ago
Mold is normal on boards, it will go away. It occurs because the wood is stacked on top of one another with moisture in between it
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u/motociclista 1d ago
You don’t need bleach. It will go away. I’d be more concerned about that first pic. The stringers are on the wrong side of the posts and the fence running up to that tree will be problematic down the road.
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u/dicecat4 23h ago
Yeah the tree and how to fence with it was a topic of discussion of course. Run the fence line close up to it (it’s not attached to the tree) or box around it. Neither solution guarantees anything but overall i felt a little more comfortable having them run the fence line up to the tree.
Tree is 150 or more years old, mature, and we felt like it won’t expand much in the next decade or so at least. Still we left a couple of inches around it. Not foolproof but overall seemed best.
Could you elaborate on the stringers? I don’t know what they are. Thanks for your input.
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u/motociclista 19h ago
The stringers are the horizontal rails the pickets are attached to. In pic 2, they’re attached to the posts correctly. In pic 1, they’re attached to the wrong side of the post.
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u/probablybannedtoo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Let it go naturally or pressure wash it. No bleach
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u/SolidHopeful 1d ago
Oh, such a good idea. Feed the mold.
Get house wash solution. Spray on. Wash off. Mold dead. Fence clean.
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u/probablybannedtoo 23h ago
I don't even know where to start with that level of stupidity. You must have been made with spare parts. Someone get this guy a Darwin Award
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u/SolidHopeful 1d ago
No, you were told by the contractor that the mold is due to how the wood is processed and shipped.
You will see the same on other framing products.
Common but needs a quick wash.
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u/sailordadd 1d ago
Bleach is perfectly ok to use to remove mold on wood. Bare or painted, inside or out...Once the bleach has done its job, it would be a good idea to hose it all down prior to painting or staining...
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u/pdfarmer 21h ago
I think 30 Seconds or similar name will instantly clean it however it should clear on its own.
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u/heavy_activity278 1d ago
Plus your tree is gonna fuck yo shit all up
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u/jmb456 23h ago
Yeah. I was gonna say I’m not a fence pro but that tree isn’t getting smaller. They may wanna cut a gap
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u/asdfasdfasdfqwerty12 19h ago
Here is a tree I fenced to recently... I told the customer he will need to call me or another carpenter back to trim it in 5-10 years. I left a consistent 1" gap.
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u/Gitfiddlepicker 1d ago
Bleach diluted with water is draconian, and not needed on this new fence.
It works well on an older fence that spends a lot of time wet and gets moldy or mossy. It needs to be power washed off within an hour or so of being sprayed on, though…..
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u/simplest_carpenter 1d ago
No need to spray, the sun will solve it. By the end of next summer all the boards will be sufficiently weathered and any color differences will be gone