You put in a summer weekend, buy quality stain, and step back from a fresh fence that looks like a catalog photo. Then by fall, sheets of color start curling off the boards. That early failure almost ...

Q: We had our backyard fence replaced last year. The new fence is redwood, with lattice on top, in a neighbor-friendly style. It is exactly 1 year old and has darkened to a grayish hue. I was told we ...