Dangers of Owning a Wood Fence in Southern California’s Beach Cities
Living near the beach is a SoCal dream, but there is something to consider about beach weather that many people may overlook. Typically, when one envisions the beach, they think of sunny skies, warm, balmy air, and salty spray caught on the wind.
While a little bit of salt spray is charming, too much can begin to eat away certain structures—primarily wooden fences. If you own a wooden fence and live near the beach, chances are your rustic boundary isn’t going to last many marine mornings.
Instead, consider switching to sturdier and much more aesthetically pleasing vinyl fencing.
Why You Might Want to Rethink Your Wooden Fence
It’s no secret that water naturally causes erosion over time. The very cliffs your beach home overlooks were carved away over thousands of years simply by the waves and the salty wind wearing down the rocky shore. In the same way, water erodes rock; it can also ruin the wood.
While it doesn’t necessarily eat away at wooden surfaces, moisture-rich air can cause wooden structures and fences to warp and rot over time, ruining them forever. While your wood fence may be part of your beach property’s charm, owning a real wood fence in a SoCal beach city is not a good idea. When the wood begins to rot, it becomes susceptible to insects and other pests that speed up the deterioration process and eventually cause the fence to break down, become brittle, or worse. Similarly, moist air from either the marine layer presently common near the beach can saturate wooden fences, causing them to swell, warp, and eventually rot. Apart from not looking very nice, warped, rotting wooden fences can be dangerous and a health risk. In short, owning a wood fence in a SoCal beach city just doesn’t work in the long run, which is why you need a working alternative.
Similarly, moist air from either the marine layer presently common near the beach can saturate wooden fences, causing them to swell, warp, and eventually rot. Apart from not looking very nice, warped, rotting wooden fences can be dangerous and a health risk. In short, owning a wood fence in a SoCal beach city just doesn’t work in the long run, which is why you need a working alternative.
The marine layer is a thick wall of cloud or fog that can hang over a beach city for hours, days, or even weeks. As the day wears on, the marine layer is often burned off by the sun, but this isn’t the case every day. No matter how long the marine layer actually stays, however, the few moments, hours, or days in which this moisture-rich air is hanging over your wooden fence is enough to do some sort of damage.
When exposed to small doses of the marine layer, a wooden fence can wear down over a number of years, slowly but surely becoming less sturdy and pleasing to the eye. In wetter beach cities where the marine layer tends to hang around longer, the moist air can saturate your wooden fence—almost to the equivalent of the fence standing out in a heavy rainstorm or standing water for days. The marine layer may seem harmless enough, but when it comes to your wooden fences and structures, the damage is always being done.
Try Home Team
Different from the wood fence is the vinyl fence. A much stronger competitor and a better economical choice, vinyl fencing is a much better choice both for looks and endurance. This non-natural substance is a man-made plastic material also known as Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC resin. It is created from ethylene, a substance found in crude oil, and chlorine from regular table salt. When these two elements are combined, they create Vinyl, which is an extremely durable plastic that can be used to make a number of materials, including fencing.
Switching your wooden fence to a vinyl one from Home Team may be one of the best decisions you can make for your wallet and your home. Instead of having to replace or discard a wooden fence, a vinyl fence can last for decades due to its resistance to moisture and humidity. Thanks to the strong PVC plastic it’s made of, vinyl fencing is also impervious to bugs and insects that can wear away a common wooden fence over time. What’s more, vinyl fencing can come in a number of styles that include the classic white picket look, and even a faux-wood design. This gives your fence that classic beach looks without the drawbacks of an actual wooden fence. With vinyl, you don’t have to worry about the marine layer causing irrevocable damage and you can save money on a fence that is going to last upwards of 15 or even 20 years.
At Home Team, we ensure that our customers have their needs met. We know that a good-looking fence is important to many home and property owners, especially in the beach cities of SoCal. However, with all the disadvantages that come with wooden fences, Home Team offers an amazing alternative that looks great, lasts long, and won’t be worn out, warped, or susceptible to rotting just because of some moist, beachy air. Visit the site today to learn more about Home Team and what we have to offer!