Faulty Fence Panels

DoaM

Perhaps if the OP returns they'll confirm whether these were pre-assembled panels or individual boards ... if the former then I agree that it was a fault at manufacture, if the latter then it was an installation fault.

row7

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Just to confirm that they were all supplied as made up panels and the fault is with the nails used by the manufacturers so it might be that they got a bad batch themselves as my suppliers say they've never seen this issue with panels supplied by them before. My suppliers have been round and tried a pressure washer to see if that will remove the marks as suggested by the manufacturer but that hasn't worked so is going back to them to try again before we go and speak to them directly.

Aylesbury_Duck we like natural wood finishes and have used stains on things we've done internally but these marks don't look natural at all and given that we can see them every time we look out the lounge windows I'd prefer not to have to wait a year to see how they look and as you agree they'll probably need new nails sooner rather than later which defeats the reason we went for these panels over the lap panels we've had before.

Aylesbury_Duck

row7 said:

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Just to confirm that they were all supplied as made up panels and the fault is with the nails used by the manufacturers so it might be that they got a bad batch themselves as my suppliers say they've never seen this issue with panels supplied by them before. My suppliers have been round and tried a pressure washer to see if that will remove the marks as suggested by the manufacturer but that hasn't worked so is going back to them to try again before we go and speak to them directly.

Aylesbury_Duck we like natural wood finishes and have used stains on things we've done internally but these marks don't look natural at all and given that we can see them every time we look out the lounge windows I'd prefer not to have to wait a year to see how they look and as you agree they'll probably need new nails sooner rather than later which defeats the reason we went for these panels over the lap panels we've had before.

Understood and thanks for clarifying.  Yes, they've been manufactured poorly.  Keep on at the landscapers, but don't let them fob you off to the supplier.  Your relationship is with the landscaper if you paid them to supply and fit.  

DoaM

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Understood and thanks for clarifying.  Yes, they've been manufactured poorly.  Keep on at the landscapers, but don't let them fob you off to the supplier.  Your relationship is with the landscaper if you paid them to supply and fit.  

That's the important bit ... if the landscaper supplied and fitted then you have no recourse with the manufacturer; to you the responsibility lies with the landscaper. (Whether they then have any claim with the manufacturer is an entirely different matter, and none of your concern).

Bradden

FWIW it's not an uncommon problem.. it's not due to the nails themselves. The issue is generally caused by the pressure being set too high for the air guns in manufacture. This causes the heads to lose some of the galv finish leading to staining. 
The nails themselves will not work loose and the staining will eventually fade.
I'm sure you would prefer to have the supplier replace them but I can understand why they would be reluctant to replace them for what is essentially a cosmetic issue. 
Panels I bought did exactly the same which I why I know a bit about this.. mine are still standing after 10 years.

row7

DoaM said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Understood and thanks for clarifying.  Yes, they've been manufactured poorly.  Keep on at the landscapers, but don't let them fob you off to the supplier.  Your relationship is with the landscaper if you paid them to supply and fit.  

That's the important bit ... if the landscaper supplied and fitted then you have no recourse with the manufacturer; to you the responsibility lies with the landscaper. (Whether they then have any claim with the manufacturer is an entirely different matter, and none of your concern).

I thought that might be the case but was hoping there might be something since they don't seem keen to do anything beyond asking the manufacturer to replace them and giving up if they say no again.
Bradden said:

FWIW it's not an uncommon problem.. it's not due to the nails themselves. The issue is generally caused by the pressure being set too high for the air guns in manufacture. This causes the heads to lose some of the galv finish leading to staining. 
The nails themselves will not work loose and the staining will eventually fade.
I'm sure you would prefer to have the supplier replace them but I can understand why they would be reluctant to replace them for what is essentially a cosmetic issue. 
Panels I bought did exactly the same which I why I know a bit about this.. mine are still standing after 10 years.

Reassuring that longevity might not be an issue but how long did yours take to fade? With all 17 panels in the back garden affected it's not something that can be easily ignored.

Bradden

It took about 18 months to really weather down I guess.

Shambolic2020

Normally you just paint the fence with weather protection paint easy fix

DoaM

Shambolic2020 said:

Normally you just paint the fence with weather protection paint easy fix

Would a stain/paint change it from "a natural wood finish"? I agree that this is probably the simplest resolution (hence why I mentioned it on page 1) but the OP has already stated their preference.

Bradden

Unless you go for a really dark colour the stains are just going to show through.