very pretty!!! looks low maintenece too!

Really looks great. You have me rethinking my own fence plans! Thanks for posting.

Thank you ! It is BM stain and would be cleaner LOL if I had placed mulch along the base. We had rain right after it was stained and it splashed the dirt all along the bottom. Hope this helps. I had a lighter green Sycamore....I can't tell you how much I hated it. I can find a pic and show you...

Trailrunner,
Did you say that picket fence was stained and not painted? That is beautiful. I'm faced with the same situation ... unpainted picket fence, getting ready to paint. Think I'll hold off until I investigate that stain.

Judy

Judy: There are exterior coatings called solid-hide stains that actually look and go on very much like paint. The difference is that you don't need to use a primer if you're putting them on new wood. (It just needs to be clean and dry.)

There are also semi-transparent stains that have some solids in them, and if you keep them stirred up as you apply them they end up allowing only some of the wood grain to show through.

Both these products are commonly used on fences that have rough cut boards. I'm guessing that Trailrunner is referring to one of these when she says she used a stain.

That dark fence does look nice, Trailrunner!

You never want to paint pressure treated wood, either. You want to use an opaque stain. Lowe's and probably Home Depot can mix it to almost any color you want.

That looks wonderful! I like it so much better than the white.
I does just blend beautifully.

There is a lot of very conflicting advice out there about pressure treated wood. Here is one article. It is not true that you can't paint it . If the wood is allowed to dry and then primed w/ Zinnser or another good primer and then topcoated w/ a good deck/porch paint them the surface will hold up very well. I have recently redone 2 porches that were done after the wood had dried but we didn't use good quality products. I just primed them w/ 2 coats of Zinnser and used 2 coats of Behr Deck/porch paint. They look gorgeous and so far...so good. I of course will keep an eye on them.

In the light colored pic that is opaque stain, I personally hate it. I didn't want to see the grain/knots through the color...looks dirty all the time. My fault for not going darker . I like either a solid stain, that is what the dark green is as treelover said, or else primer/paint.

Anyway here is one opinion/article---

The following advice comes from the website: http://www.hereandthere.org/oldhouse/painting-pressure-treated.htm

Allow pressure treated lumber to age at least 90 days or preferably six months before painting. This allows excessive protective chemicals to ooze out of the surface, lowering the moisture level to improve paint adhesion.
If the new pressure treated lumber shows any signs of mold, mildew, or algae growth, pressure clean the surface just as you would for prepping for any paint job, using a dilute solution of chlorine and water. Surprisingly, mildew grows quite well on unprotected, pressure treated lumber and it must be removed before painting.
It is recommend to paint with an appropriate primer and topcoat system. The recommended system for best durability is to prime with one coat of a 100% acrylic primer and then topcoating with a 100% acrylic flat or eggshell. The use of vinyl acrylic, acrylic blends, or low quality, non-100% acrylic primers and paints is specifically not recommended.
We do not recommend clear waterproof sealers on pressure treated lumber, as the nature of the lumber eliminates the ability of these sealers to penetrate properly. Sifting on the surface, these sealers can actually attract dirt, mold, mildew and algae causing more damage than you would get if you just left it alone. Staining pressure treated lumber is also not recommended, again due to the inability of stains to properly penetrate into the lumber. It is our experience that a proper primer and topcoat of 100% acrylic premium paints has the best chance of adhering and withstanding the excessive moisture and shrinkage of pressure treated lumber.

http://www.southernpine.com/ptsealers.shtml

I have not used the product they refer to ...sealer/water repellant. I didn't know about it until recently and it was too late anyway as everything had already been coated in some other fashion. It is not clear in this article if they mean you should put the sealer on wood that has had other stains/paints applied in the past. I think it would not work at all as the wood won't absorb it but they don't make it clear. Due to this article I am rethinking how I do my arbors and pergolas.

Good Luck..it is always a good thing to get lots of info. :)

Oh, thanks Trailrunner! The fence looks great! Sorry I didn't get back to you right away-we are already back at school and then I had a class last night, so I never checked GW until tonight. Really, work is putting a crimp in my gardening and forum-reading time-LOL! Tomorrow night is Back to School Night, so I'll have to stay until 9 pm-ugh. Much more fun looking at your pics and improving my own garden, so maybe some day, I'll want to post pictures, too! Thanks again. I love everyone's gardens and fences. Cynthia

Thank you all so very much for the information on paint vs stain. I will mull it all over plus talk to the folks at Lowe's (again) before I make a decision. I had already painted the porch with an acrylic (I assume that's water-based) primer and painted the small picket fence in front of it with Zinsser oil-based primer. Both were to be second and third-coated with acrylic/latex high gloss paint. Then I got entangled with medical problems and have not been able to do any more until now. The fence coating (oil based) has held up better than the porch coating. Both are pressure-treated wood. Lowe's recommended the oil-based primer several years ago. I still have lots of picket fence to do but will hold off until I can get more information. Wish I had discovered this forum years ago. You guys are amazing.

Judy

Thanks cyn and I hope you can get all you need to do on the way soon. I know I have more projects than hands LOL.

Judy, were the porch and the fence both new never painted wood/stained wood? If you read up on this they say that latex is better than oil base these days. It used to not be the case. There are several really good latex primers out there...Zinnser is one and also BM has one called Stix , I think ,that we have used and it is great. Now that you have put primer you can't stain as it won't soak in. I listened to my paint guy on the picket fence . Even though it doesn't look bad in these pics up close IRL it is not good. I don't know what was on it before and my paint guy said I could still use stain. He was wrong , of course. Now I need to prime and paint it to get a good lasting sheen to it.

You just need to make sure that the porch primer is a good primer and then make sure you are using porch paint, as some paints are not for horizontal surfaces.Latex again really is better. The cost of using mineral spirits to clean up is HUGE .

If by now you are thoroughly confused I don't blame you !! I have a headache everytime I talk to the store folks. I did find that HD has started really training their people and they know WAY more than the folks at Lowes. It is a nationwide improvement plan at HD and I am honestly impressed lately every time I go in to ask questions. Please e-mail me if I can help. I hope you feel better soon !!! c

I got my advice from a Lowe's painter. She's been painting houses and such for years. She said stain on P/T lumber lasts longer and doesn't peel. That settled it for me. You can paint it, but I would rather stain it.

Trailrunner,
Thanks so much for the detailed advice. And, yes, I am confused but I was confused to start with because even the people at Lowe's gave conflicting information. I HATE oil based paint/primer because of the mess and the difficulty in cleaning up but both the professional painters and the person in the paint dept. at Lowe's recommended oil based because they said it would be absorbed by the wood and it would protect it ... sort of the same way a stain would, I suppose. All the paints I have used, both latex and oil-based, are suitable for interior or exterior.

Stubbornly (typical me), I used latex primer on the porch (built in 2003), the first to be painted. The support posts, floor and rails are all pressure-treated wood. The top frame and ceiling are regular lumber. That part was painted by professional painters immediately after it was finished because it didn't have to dry out like the pressure-treated wood. That is still beautiful, but, of course doesn't get direct rain. The latex primer on the rest of the porch lasted about two years and then started flaking badly. It looks pretty bad now but I have someone who will paint it for me this fall (not a professional. I just can't afford one). I'm trying to decide what kind of paint/stain to buy. I just HATE that I can't do it all myself anymore. Grrrr

The picket fence was added in late 2006 (pressure-treated) and I painted it with the Zinsser oil-based primer in the spring of 2007, intending to top it with the high-gloss latex in the summer. More medical problems intervened and it was never done. It still looks pretty good, but you can get away with a picket fence looking "rustic" more than you can a porch.

Tom, I would really rather use a stain on the fence as you suggest because I think it would soak in and not look as bad as time went by. (Not peel, as you said. Makes a lot of sense.) I haven't bought anything yet and think I will check HD's advice before I make a decision.

I wish I could show you photos but I don't have a Photobucket account and wouldn't know how to start one. I do have an album on Facebook and it says you can share it without the recipient being a member. Has anyone ever done that? I have shared photos on Dave's Garden but they take just plain jpegs.

Thank you all again for the advice. Trailrunner, I am better, thanks, but have had to slow down a lot and that, unfortunately, is permanent. I did twist the cardiologist's arm and got him to allow me to lift up to 40 lbs. which is, of course, the exact weight of a bag of topsoil, or manure, or fertilizer, or Sakrete ... heh heh heh.

Judy

Oh Tom is right if the wood has not had anything done to it at all. In fact several folks have said that you should heat the oil stain in the hot sun and make sure the wood is hot and then use it. The problem is the wood has already had other stuff put on it you can not use stain.I am attaching the link to the Behr stain. It is their best product. It states right on it that you must strip off whatever is on the wood and open the pores. Since you have already primed the fence w/ oil based primer you will have to use paint. As for the porch the reason you are having trouble with the peeling is that primer is not intended to go w/o being painted. Since it has weathered for 2 years it really needs to be sanded lightly to remove all loose primer and then reprime with a really good primer. Then paint as soon as it is dry. Use 2 coats of paint. Here is the link for the Behr stain...read all of the directions and you will see what I mean. I sure hope that you get this settled. I would for sure talk to the HD person...not that they are all wonderfully bright LOL. As Tom pointed out his Lowes painter is great. I am sure sorry you are having all this problem. I wish I was there. I would gladly do this for you !! c

Here is a link that might be useful: Behr stain

Wow! What a great link, Trailrunner. Thanks so much. I still have lots of "raw" picket fence besides the painted one in front of the porch that I may get by with staining instead of painting. However, I'm leery of the part that says ..." allows wood grain to show through .." Don't care for that. And the other fence has held up so well that I may just go with the primer/paint process on the rest of the fence too. Maybe I can get a sample of that stain and do a test piece to see what it will look like. My biggest problem is going to be the porch (and the biggest job). Maybe I'd better bite the bullet and get an estimate from a professional. It will need to be scraped/sanded and re-primed. It doesn't look too bad from the street but up close ... yuk! And big hanging baskets full of petunias can only cover up so much. LOL.

Just to try, here's the URL from Facebook. It says you do not have to be a member to view the photo. Please let me know if it works.

Many, many thanks again to all of you for the input.

Judy

Here is a link that might be useful: Judy's porch and fence

Well, it worked for me but I'm a member and it's my page. Hope it works for someone else.

Judy

Trailrunner, I love your little hanging baskets on your fence. That gives it so much charm!

Judy, I could see your pic. Loved the white picket, the gingerbread and especially the hanging baskets.

Oceanna,
Thank you so much. The petunias in the hanging baskets now cover the porch rail they are so full. I have worked so hard turning my little cookie-cutter tract house into a cottage. (Now all I need are the cottage gardens!) But you can see the mess I have on my hands. That porch is in bad shape. At least I have a lot of options to think about thanks to the folks on the forum. And now that I know the FB photos will work, I can post photos of my progress. It is so great having people to toss ideas around with. And the photos of everybody's yards and gardens are so inspiring. I, too, was admiring Trailrunner's hanging baskets on her fence. So charming.

Thanks again, all.

Judy

Judy, the link worked for me, too, and I am not a member of Facebook. What a darling place you have! Can't wait to see more pics. Cynthia

OH JUDY !! Your place is so sweet. I just realized you are near me !! Right up the road...Newnan. I would love to come help. The sanding is NO problem at all. I did mine w/ my orbital sander and your porch is not nearly as big as that bear of a front porch that I have. Also the Behr people have a solid stain ...I used BM solid stain when I did the dark green for my fence and it doesn't show any wood grain at all. So don't give up hope on that.

As for the porch I am serious. You are 45 min from my house. I would be happy to help you any way I can. I sure wish my petunias were as nice as yours. Mine got all leggy/brown stems and I pulled them out. I found the wall baskets at a local antique place and painted them Charleston green now so they look different. I like them better dark.

Judy you can e-mail me through GW....Caroline

Trailrunner,
I am tempted to take you up on your offer but it would definitely have to wait at least until October or November. When I go outside these days I have to come right back in because I just can't breathe in that heat and humidity. September is usually not that much better. You are so sweet to offer and I am very grateful.

I have wanted to get a an orbital sander myself and I may go ahead and do it. I have one of those little Mouse sander thingies but it is not for big jobs. I checked your photo site from your GW page and I am in awe of your lovely home and all you have done. We have similar tastes. I have a brick pile too. And there is a "window" planter hanging on my porch. Our wicker chairs are very similar. Maybe we were separated at birth. :-)

I have been lucky with those petunia baskets but have had to water every other day plus give a couple of doses of bloom booster.

Will definitely email you through GW.

Judy

Judy, how lucky you are to get that offer from Caroline. What fun to find a new friend so close by! Take her up on it-hard to find good help these days-LOL-and having a fellow gardener will make the work go so much more quickly. Caroline, loved your photos, too! I like the blue floor on the one porch. We are thinking of painting the ceiling of our porch (really, just an overhang with room for one narrow bench, alas) blue. You are both lucky to have such pretty homes and porches. Cynthia

I know, Cyn. I think I am sort of taken by surprise at such a generous offer and don't quite know what to say, except "thank you." It would definitely be a fun project with someone else to do it with. I could also use some help with how to design and plant my gardens. I have pretty much decided what I want to do, but two heads are always better than one.

And, Caroline, I forgot the blue porch floor. I had been toying with that idea for mine since I thought it would make the white wicker furniture "pop." I had even checked and Valspar makes a dark blue glossy porch floor paint that's compatible with my house color. Well, there is my example on your porch! Now it's a definite.

Gosh. I am so excited at all this. :-)

Judy