WITH summer on the horizon, chances are you’ve got a list of gardening chores as long as your arm.
But if you’ve been putting off painting your fence for weeks on end, then you’re in luck…because a savvy homeowner has revealed a genius 49p trick that’ll make the arduous chore much “easier and faster.”
In a clip shared to TikTok (@tdld_scotland), the social media user can be seen dipping a large yellow sponge, which can be bought for as little as 49p from a supermarket, into a tub of brown fence paint.
They then demonstrate how easily it glides over the wooden panels of the fence, covering much more surface area than a paint brush would in the same amount of time.
The homeowner, who also puts on a pair of protective rubber gloves to ensure the paint doesn’t stain their hands, captioned the post: “That time of year… but this makes the whole process so easy and fast with no sore wrists.”
Sharing another top tip for others looking to do the same, they also advised the thicker the paint or stain the better because it means “less spill and spray.”
It wasn’t long before the post went viral, racking up a whopping 1.4 million views and hundreds of comments and questions from other gardening fans.
That time of year… but this makes the whole process so easy and fast with no sore wrists
TikTok user
“I’ve learned more from TikTok in the last 6 months than I did my whole life,” wrote one.
A second penned: “It’s taken me three days to paint my fence I wish I knew about the sponge lol.”
“Have been painting my fence’s with a sponge for years wouldn’t dream of using a brush again,” a third commented.
The social media user replied: “I discovered the same years ago – it’s a game changer.”
Meanwhile, another commented: “Just about to do mine and will be doing this! less drips!”
A further added: “I’ve done mine this week definitely easier than a brush.”
Elsewhere, a fourth intrigued social media user asked whether the trick works on already painted fences.
The savvy homeowner advised: “Give it a light sand and go darker with colour of stain – if you want to go lighter colour – have to sand back to bare.”
A further was eager to know whether using a sponge would also help to stop the paint seeping through to next door’s fence.
“Yeah – you can control it more and get in the edges or not depending on what side of the fence is yours,” the social media user said.
Despite what many people think a garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission for any fence taller than 2m.
Any fence under 2m does not need planning permission.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.
