Many painting contractors have found increased profits by adding fence staining to their list of services. Have you wondered if you should start staining fences for your company? Fence staining is an easy way to increase your profits with quick jobs. You may be able to add this service to your existing jobs without having to go find new customers. Read below to learn the top 3 reasons every painting contractor should consider staining fences.

#1 Fence staining uses the same equipment as painting.

Whether you will be rolling and brushing the stain or using a sprayer, a painting contractor should already have all the necessary equipment to apply the stain. The same drop cloths you use to protect your floors can also be used to protect landscaping and sidewalks. All your masking supplies will work equally for stain as they will for paint. An airless sprayer is a great way to apply stains to fences.

The skills needed to stain a fence are very similar to applying paint. The ability to effectively mask surrounding surfaces and then evenly apply coatings will apply to both types of products. This should make it easy to train your crew in how to stain a fence. Stain, especially oil-based stain, behaves a little differently than paint, so it is worth investing in a little further education before you begin.

Taken together this means that there is a low barrier to entry for a painter to start staining fences.

#2 Fence Stain Jobs are Fast

An experienced crew should be able to stain a fence around a small backyard in an afternoon. A larger fence may take closer to a day to complete. Either way, fence staining is a quick job that results in a quick paycheck. Because these jobs can be completed quickly, they are easy to fit in between bigger jobs. They make great filler jobs to fit into the schedule when needed.

A faster job also results in a faster paycheck. Completing and billing a job in one day can smooth out your company’s cash flow.

#3 You can sell to your existing customers.

Many of the houses you are already painting will have fences that need to be stained. This is especially true if you work in new construction. Fence staining can be a great add-on service to an exterior paint job. When you arrive to quote an exterior paint job, take a look at the fence to see if it could use some stain. If it does, offer the homeowner a free quote to stain it while you’re there painting the house. I often offer a 10% discount on the staining service if they have us do it at the same time as the painting. Because your crew is already at the house with their equipment ready it is not difficult at all to stain the fence too.

Fences need to be stained more often than houses need to be repainted. Most stain manufacturers recommend staining every 2  to 5 years depending on the exact product used. By keeping a list of the customers you have worked for you can have a lot of extra work. You would simply need to contact the customer when it is likely time for them to stain again. You can even offer them a customer loyalty discount for having you maintain their fence.

Taken together, these three reasons make fence staining a great choice for painting contractors. It would be wise to at least consider adding this as a service. If you try it and find it is not a good fit for your company, you can always cease offering the service.