Carefully inspect wooden fences for dry-rot and split planks. Look at the fence as if it were a piece of furniture outside your home. If it is damaged, weatherworn or shows signs of dry-rot, it may be best to just replace the fence all together. However, much can be done to improve the appearance and condition of a fence that is in good shape and it can be done economically. They can be sanded down, bleached and re-stained or if they are extremely weatherworn, forego the sanding and bleaching and just stain them with a solid color stain. These solid stains are very easy to apply and hide a number of imperfections in a tasteful way. It is worth the investment and is much less expensive than purchasing a new fence. If you stain the fence yourself, be sure that you apply the stain so that it looks consistent; otherwise the fence could end up looking worse than it did originally. Do research and learn how to stain a fence properly, and pay particular attention to the weather conditions required to obtain the best results. Treat wooden decks and other woodwork in the same manner so that they complement each other.