Putting up fence panels

hardy1976

Hi,

Does anyone have experience putting up fence panels? Would you do it again? Or would you get someone in to do it?

I've been quoted between £1000 and £1700 depending on fence panel and just think that is ALOT of money for essentially digging a number of holes...Thoughts please?!

I know it may be a pain getting the existing posts and concrete out but have been looking around and most seem to suggest that high lift jacks work well.

Would be good to get a few views.

Thanks

wymondham

that must be lot of fencing?

StuC75

How many fence panels , whats the ground like?

I had someone in before to remove out the panels, fit new concrete posts and gravel boards into very hard ground, and after seeing them lug everything out (the longer 9ft+ posts are heavy) and bring in the new ones and do the work, can say they earnt every penny of what was paid.

The fence was all level and I could see many parts where it would have gone wrong had I tried DIY..

Once you know how many panels you are needing then start costing up what it would cost to buy the materials in, and that will give you an idea of what they are charging labour wise, so you can then consider if you would rather pay that premium..

Ebe_Scrooge

It's an easy enough job, technically, just heavy work. You're right, it's a pain digging out the old ones, I usually just use a cold chisel, hammer, crowbar and brute force. If you've got a lot then hiring a jackhammer or something would be worth it. And consider hiring a mixer of you've got a lot of concrete to make up, that it itself is back-breaking work if you've got more than a few barrows-full to mix by hand.


Aside from that, it's just a case of taking your time, make sure the new posts are perfectly level and spaced correctly. Actually fitting the panels is then a doddle.


What posts are you using ? Slotted concrete posts are the longest lasting, and it's easy to replace panels in the future if needs be. But they're very heavy, a second pair of hands will come in helpful. Remember they need to be 8' long for a 6' high fence - 2' buried in the ground. If using wooden posts, make sure they're pressure treated, and I always slap on some more treatment as well. You can't re-paint the bottom 2' when they're in the ground :-)


If you get someone in, it's the labour that costs. There's nothing technically difficult about putting up fences, it's just heavy graft.


Hope this helps.

wymondham

if doing a fence I would always fit concrete posts again. We've had our fence 20 years and have replaced the panels a few times but the posts are as new and slotting in panels is so quick!

hardy1976

It is about 15 panels, most of it is grass, 2 between a veg patch & grass, 1 next to some decking / grass and say 2 in hard soil.

Cheers StuC75

Re fence posts - was going for 4 inch wooden ones. The fence panels are going to be 4 ft so 6ft posts.

I'm so 50/50 about doing it!!!

Also was thinking postcrete rather than mixing cement myself?! Should I go concrete route instead?

arbrighton

Doing fencing well is bloody hard and don't underestimate the time and effort to dig out the old stuff.
Whacking posts in is also tough especially to get them square and level and in line- we failed miserably with our last effort and I don't begrudge paying someone to do it this time, especially as I need to keep the dog in.

Ebe_Scrooge

hardy1976 wrote: »

I'm so 50/50 about doing it!!!

Also was thinking postcrete rather than mixing cement myself?! Should I go concrete route instead?

Postcrete is very convenient, and saves a lot of hard work in the mixing. But it's cheaper to buy the "ingredients" and mix it yourself.


It's very easy to go online and price up the parts ( look at Wickes, B&Q, Jewsons, Travis Perkins, local builders merchants, any number of places ). You can easily get a pretty accurate estimate of what it's going to cost you in materials. Then compare that with the price you've been quoted. Then make your own mind up - does the difference in price make up for a weekend of hard graft ? Tempt yourself with the thought that you'll be able to buy an awful lot of beer to reward yourself with what you save ! :rotfl:

hardy1976

Thanks all - how much do you think a day rate should be?

DavidFx

Why dig out the old posts?
The chances are that any run of fencing will end with a non-full panel.
Start here with a full panel
Saw off the old posts flush with the ground
The new posts will sit inbetween the old ones.
Use a post hole digger - the smaller the hole diameter, the less concrete you will need to fill it.

hardy1976

DavidFx wrote: »

Why dig out the old posts?

Use a post hole digger - the smaller the hole diameter, the less concrete you will need to fill it.

Just thought it was the done thing!!!!

Post hold diggers - I thought they were a no no as they throw people all over the place!