New fence panels warping?

callmechar

We got some 6 x 6' fence panels at the weekend. I have painted them with fence treatment. Some which we got a few weeks ago are not painted and also have warped.

They have warped really badly and only have been in a few days. Th featherboards have warped. They are in concrete posts, they are not tight in the posts. I am very unhappy with them. They are the overlap fence panels, I know they are cheap but to warp within a few days is not good.

They also have not been made very well. The nails have missed some of the featherboards in the middle and some of the wood has knots in with holes in. I am not sure what to do. Can anyone help?

phill99

If they are cheap, don't expect the timber to be of exceptional quality, hence the knots in the timber.

If you think they are not fit for purpose, return them under SOGA.

Southend1

I painted my shed with timbercare and it warped a lot of the wood. Now the shed leaks in heavy rain. I won't be using that kind of wood treatment again it does more harm than good.

SailorSam

I've said this before on here so apologies for repeating myself but what i've done to stop them blowing out, and it's worked is ......
Drill 6 holes, 3 either side, top; bottom, and middle of each panel. Say about 18mm. Now when the panels are in position you get some short pieces of strong thin rope and tie each panel to the next one, going around the concrete post.
You'll have the whole fence joined together then so very little chance it could blow down 'cos it's also joined to the concrete posts.

phill99

SailorSam wrote: »

I've said this before on here so apologies for repeating myself but what i've done to stop them blowing out, and it's worked is ......
Drill 6 holes, 3 either side, top; bottom, and middle of each panel. Say about 18mm. Now when the panels are in position you get some short pieces of strong thin rope and tie each panel to the next one, going around the concrete post.
You'll have the whole fence joined together then so very little chance it could blow down 'cos it's also joined to the concrete posts.

But that wont stop the warping!

SailorSam

But it will stop it blowing down, it wont matter that they're not a tight fit.
If you can get the fence people to swap them for you, try that first. Good luck.

Furts

Background knowledge for OP. Typically, fencing uses the grade of timber that is unsuitable for decent construction use. Think of quick grown, wet, softwood from UK pine forests. This is cheap timber but will warp, split, have knots - that is the nature of the product.

There is reasonable fencing available, but there is also a lot of poor standard, typically sold by the DIY stores.

With panels you need to check the number of slats, the overlap, the number of vertical stiffeners (aim for three, or ideally four), and the fixings (aim for serrated nails not staples)

MIL has recently had panels from B&Q - they are dire and way inferior to those that have been ripped out and replaced. I would condemn such panels but she is happy...so my lips are sealed!