Putting up fence advice

modelreject

Thanks ic. Getting more clused into what needs done as we go. Very much appreciate the prices you listed!

ic

Four/five years ago I had the same guy in, and he charged about the same but for a six foot fence. I guess it'd be more now, but the price doesn't go up dramatically as the fence gets taller. There's pretty much the same amount of effort involved, and the individual parts don't cost much more for the taller bits.

Note if you're doing a six foot fence, the posts will need to be buried two foot deep. That's a lot of digging!

Ebe_Scrooge

ic wrote: »

Note if you're doing a six foot fence, the posts will need to be buried two foot deep. That's a lot of digging!

Agreed ! I've replaced several fences in my time, and you don't appreciate just how deep a 2' hole actually is !

I'll reiterate what everyone else has said - concrete posts all the way. The other big advantage is that, if a single panel gets broken, it's a doddle to just slide it out and slide a new one in, no messing around with screws or fixings.

If you're planning on DIY-ing it, it's perfectly possible to do a good job yourself. As always, spend time in the preparation, make sure the posts are the correct distance apart, perfectly upright and in a dead straight line. It's not difficult, but they are very heavy, borrowing an extra pair of hands will make it much easier.

modelreject

Pretty confident I can do this. Just have to make sure that the posts are level as you say. If there is a slight slope in the garden, how can I make sure that I can get a piece of string level. In theory, if I had a very, very long spirit level ...lol

Ebe_Scrooge

The usual way is to use a straight-edge, such as a long plank of wood that has a true edge, lay that down then rest your spirit level on top.

Decide how you want to deal with the slope - the most common solution is to "step" the panels, so each panel is itself level, but each panel will be a few inches lower or higher than its neighbour - if that makes sense ! So you only need your level to stretch the 6' or so width of each panel.

modelreject

Great stuff. So do the gravel boards just slot down into the posts as the fence panels do?

Steve_xx

Yes they do.

modelreject

Cheers. Another quick one. What would I do if the panels don't fit the length of the garden. For example, if I had one metre lwft at the end of the garden would I have to cut the fence length and put a concrete post closer to the previous one?

Also, the fencing on the left suide of the garden would be connected to the house extension but teh other side runs past the extension a few metres to a sidegate at the driveway. I envisage a problem hain gthe panels and posts lining up ion either side of the garden unless I start at the back and work my way towards the house. If that is the case then, as my previous point notes. I may have a short panel connect to the house which might look odd.

Any advice on this, just so eveything looks professional.

Thanks.