You’ve lived in your Oakland home for a while and really enjoy the backyard- except for its weathered and warped wood fence. To refresh your backyard’s look, you’ve finally decided to demolish that old fence and replace it with a new one.
Tearing out a wood fence and lawfully disposing of the debris afterwards isn’t easy, so you’ll need to devise a game plan to bring it all together. Using these fence removal tips will help ensure that your demolition project goes more seamlessly.
How Long Do Wood Fences in Oakland Last?
Although natural wood is versatile, durable and beautiful it doesn’t last as-long-as other construction materials. Depending on the material type and upkeep the average wood fence lasts between 15 and 30 years.
But if you live in a neighborhood down by the ocean, like Prescott, salt water can shorten your fence’s lifespan.
These are some of the more common types of wood fences that you’ll see around Oakland:
- Untreated pine- lasts 5 to 12 years
- Pressure-treated pine- up to 20 years
- Untreated cedar- 15 to 30 years
- Pressure-treated cedar- up to 40 years
- Spruce- 4 to 7 years
In addition to rain, humidity and salt water other forces that can affect a wood fence’s longevity include sunlight, insects, mold and wood rot. And although pressure-treated lumber lasts longer than untreated wood lawfully disposing of the debris can be challenging.
Tips for a DIY Wood Fence Removal
You’ve called some friends and stocked your cooler with plenty of cold beverages. Before they arrive, you’ll need claw hammers, a crowbar, heavy nails, old bricks, a thick piece of lumber, long-handled shovels and some sturdy rope.
First, trim any overgrown weeds, shrubs or tree limbs that might get in the way and start a green waste pile.
When you’re ready, here’s how to remove an old wood fence:
- Using the hammers and crowbar pry all the wood slats off. Once that’s done, you’ll be left with the horizontal pieces of wood and the fence posts.
- Next, knock the horizontal lumber pieces from the posts with your hammers. After removing each piece pull the nails out (don’t forget the wood slats). This will make disposing of the debris easier and help prevent injuries.
- Now it’s time to tackle the posts. If they’re buried in only dirt the removal will be relatively simple. Use shovels to remove the dirt around each fence post. About 12 inches above the ground drive heavy nails into each side of the post.
- Next, stack some old bricks into a pile close to the post and lay a piece of heavy lumber over the top of the bricks. Wrap and knot some thick rope around the fence post under the nails. Tie the rope’s other end to the lumber on the far side of the bricks. Use the lumber as a lever to gradually loosen the post from the ground.
If the posts are set in concrete, you may also need a pickaxe to dig deeper into the ground around and under the concrete. Once the post is removed using the brick and lever system knock the concrete off with a sledgehammer. Thankfully, your posts aren’t in concrete!
Lumber Disposal Challenges in Oakland
As your fence removal project unfolds stack the old lumber in a pile. In Oakland untreated (clean) wood can lawfully be collected curbside. However, you’ll have to schedule a bulky pickup appointment first and it could take up to two weeks for them to arrive.
On the other hand, pressure-treated, painted, varnished or stained wood all contain harmful chemicals and must be hauled off to a hazardous waste disposal center. Untreated or not, you certainly don’t want your wood to end up in the landfill south of Oakland International Airport where it will take up too much space and potentially harm the environment.
To make life easier why not recycle your old lumber by building a wooden compost bin out of it? Once your compost receptacle is finished dump your green yard waste in there. But if some of the lumber is beyond use, you’ll have to haul it off to a designated disposal center.
Those old metal nails, gate hinges and screws can be responsibly recycled by placing them in your recycling cart for curbside pickup. Once installed, your new fence is going to look amazing!
Your Oakland Yard Waste & Debris Removal Experts
Cleaning up after a home or yard improvement project can be a hassle- especially when you have better things to do. Save yourself a lot of trouble by calling the reliable yard waste and debris removal experts at West Coast Junk. Our no contact residential, commercial and business services include lawful junk removals, junk disposals and junk haul offs in Oakland for yard waste, appliances, electronics, furniture, untreated wood, clothing and a whole lot more.
Once our friendly team arrives, they can even help you clean up your yard! Before starting your next fence-demolition project contact the junk removal experts at West Coast Junk first to schedule a convenient pickup appointment.