New fence- storm damaged

mills705

Hi all. 

In November of 2020 I got several quotes and went with a company I had heard rave reviews on from other people and my parents had used them before. I paid just shy of a grand for 2 sides of my garden to be re fenced 6ft high with boards together. 

Storm Arwen hits and I wake up to find that some of the fence has come away from the posts. 
The posts have also been pushed back and forth. 
On looking at the posts there is very little postcrete attached to the post and on one there was no postcrete you could lift the post straight out the ground. 

Am I right to approach them to complete remedial work on the posts and put the fence back up? 

comeandgo

No, storm  Arwen was severe, try your insurance if you are covered.

mills705

There's the posts in question

Bendy_House

It's a toughie, but I'd suggest that the posts shouldn't have moved - they should have been positioned deep enough to withstand such winds - but the actual panels might be considered 'consumables' depending on their quality.

I speak as a fellow victim of Arwen. My, admittedly cheap, 'lap' fence panels were ripped to shreds by that bar steward, but the posts (mostly) still stand.

I even had two posts which snapped, but that's clearly down to the posts themselves, and not the installation. Had they fallen over, taking the ground with them, then I'd be saying "That install chust ain't good enough...".

So, is the damage down to poor installation, or just a cheap fence? For cheap 'laps' like mine, I'd say 'cheap fence'. If the posts keeled over, then 'poor installation'. And I'd be in touch with the installer.

mills705

Thanks for the reply. 
The panels are really all solid wood 6ft pieces of wood a few inches wide and an inch or so thick. They are attacked to 3 horizontal pieces between posts. The screws between the horizontal lats and posts have stripped meaning the fence element can just be re used I think with a little man power and some new fixings.

The posts weren't keeled over but you could see where they had been moved by the wind gusts over the night. Causing the hole to open up. 

I've sent them a message to see what they say but in my eyes a 1 year old solid fence should have withstood the winds. 

My other side has the cheap panels you mention and that side was also destroyed but thats complicated due to the layout. 

donemedosh

The fence has been up a year so I don't think you can ask them to come back to fix it. Plus the wood posts will move as the wind blows against it thus it moves then when the storm comes they are allready loose. Go for concrete posts with gravel boards it is stronger & if you know a storm is coming you can lift the panel up a bit to let the air get past.

JGB1955

A solid fence is going to struggle against an intense storm - the more holes in it (e.g. lap larch) the more it's going to be able to cope with the elements.  A wooden upright is going to struggle when compared with a concrete upright.

twopenny

In my mind there should be enough substance in holding a fence post up against storms if it's recent.
The depth of that post is laughable. I've had 2 people work on the boundaries of the property I've moved into and both did better than that.
However the ground looks like clay. It's more easily moved than mixed soil. I'd get in touch with them again and look for a compromise. They reinsert and you pay for concrete supports for the posts as an added support. Looks like the ground plus the wind direction is a problem.
But they should have been in deeper than that.
A mix of poor insertion plus extreme weather - which will happen again.

TELLIT01

Storm Arwen was apparently the most severe some areas have experienced in living memory.  On that basis I do not think it reasonable to expect a fence to stand up to it.  A fence will stand up to constant pressure far better than it will stand up to gusts.  Gusts will cause movement and then release the pressure.  Do that repeatedly to any fence post and it will move eventually.

Ganga

Our front fence and garden gate were pushed over by the gales , i knew it was strong winds as it took about 5 or 6 ridge tiles of the roof ,it also blew down the fences on both our neighbours gardens ,put it down to act of god and think yourself lucky it was only fences and not your lives.
As others have said a solid fence panel is asking for trouble as the wind cannot get thru it so will always be pushing against it.

Bendy_House

Pfft, you lot! (eyes roll heavenwards...)

Having just seen you pic, Mills, and if that the whole length of embedded post in t'ground, then I'd personally say (without looking up how to install fences) that it just ain't deep enough inj that type of soil by a giant margin.

That's a good fence you have there, and it's hopefully still largely intact, so 'all' it needs is re-erecting, but at a much greater depth - at least a further foot.

That soil also looks 'wet', sodden, so them posts just ain't going to last from a rot pov.

I'd suggest seeing if you can arrive at a compromise with the fencers - say you pay for concrete stub posts and concrete, and they do the labour?

Looking at that current depth, and the type of soil, I suspect you could wobble these posts fairly easily by hand?

Do some research first, tho' - look up guidelines on how to install fences. If you can find enough to suggest that it just wasn't good enough, then tackle them - nicely, but firmly. Bear in mind that they are likely to be very busy right now, so you are a reasonable person - you are happy to wait a bit, but you strongly believe the depth used wasn't enough - "here's the evidence..."