Featheredge fence problem

rajanm

stuart45 said:

No, it's not normal. The nails are in the wrong place, they should go close to the overlap. You should use a timber spacer as a guide when fixing to get an inch overlap, and also use a level to check for plumb every 4or 5.
The spacing looks uneven and they look out of plumb.

Should we ask him to put an extra set of nails where the overlap is?

stuart45

Some people nail through both boards at the overlap, others say this doesn't allow for expansion and contraction of the timbers.
The overlap doesn't look enough on some of those boards and also being out of plumb makes the gaps worse. Extra nails might help.

rajanm

An update on this, the original fencer thought the fence was ok. He offered to correct the levels but was charging £250 to do this and couldn't do it til the end of June.

The boards are developing gaps now as they dry out so they all need to be redone too. We are going to have to get the posts properly repositioned too so it's all done properly. It will be a big additional cost but I guess it's a lesson learned.

One question, we're reusing all materials apart from the boards. As we'll be making additional holes in the rails, do the old holes need to be treated in some way or are they too small to allow any kind of rot in ?

victor2

That's a shame the original fencer couldn't see the error of his ways. 
He won't be getting a 5 star review from you. Give him an honest review and let other potential clients learn from that! 
Ask the proper fencer you get to do the remedial work what he suggests to treat the reused timber, if anything.

Bendy_House

rajanm said:

An update on this, the original fencer thought the fence was ok. He offered to correct the levels but was charging £250 to do this and couldn't do it til the end of June.

The boards are developing gaps now as they dry out so they all need to be redone too. We are going to have to get the posts properly repositioned too so it's all done properly. It will be a big additional cost but I guess it's a lesson learned.

One question, we're reusing all materials apart from the boards. As we'll be making additional holes in the rails, do the old holes need to be treated in some way or are they too small to allow any kind of rot in ?

That's very disappointing. You clearly don't want the hassle of chasing him over this, and that's understandable, even tho' it gets him off the hook.

I think I'd personally give him one more opportunity to sort it, but it would need redoing properly from the gravel boards up; tell him if he thinks the job he's done is ok, then he won't mind honest reviews being posted online, which will include the pic on page one (send him that image, if he hasn't seen it). Your reviews will be 100% factual, and will include that he was going to charge an ADDITIONAL £250 to sort this, which you rightly declined, as you no longer have any trust in his work. And conclude by saying you'll update the reviews with a pic if how it SHOULD have been done in the first place.

No 'threat', no 'anger', no 'retribution' - just a simple statement of fact. And it IS what you should do; that's what reviews are for.

As Victor says, worth having the boards sprayed with clear preserver such as everbuild triple-action.

Please let us know how this turns out.

Bradden

How much does the featheredge overlap the next piece?

rajanm

Bradden said:

How much does the featheredge overlap the next piece?

It doesn't at all in places. It hasn't actually been nailed through the overlap in most places

getmore4less

A new post in a concrete in a fresh hole you try to pull it out first with a jack and if lucky it comes out in one lump and the same hole can be use adjusted for height.

rajanm

Quick question for those in the know, some of the tradesmen quoting to sort the fence out are saying the rails can be reused. Others are saying we should buy new ones.

The featheredge boards were nailed in using a nail gun. Buying new rails is a significant cost. What do you all think?

rajanm

Bendy_House said:

rajanm said:

An update on this, the original fencer thought the fence was ok. He offered to correct the levels but was charging £250 to do this and couldn't do it til the end of June.

The boards are developing gaps now as they dry out so they all need to be redone too. We are going to have to get the posts properly repositioned too so it's all done properly. It will be a big additional cost but I guess it's a lesson learned.

One question, we're reusing all materials apart from the boards. As we'll be making additional holes in the rails, do the old holes need to be treated in some way or are they too small to allow any kind of rot in ?

That's very disappointing. You clearly don't want the hassle of chasing him over this, and that's understandable, even tho' it gets him off the hook.

I think I'd personally give him one more opportunity to sort it, but it would need redoing properly from the gravel boards up; tell him if he thinks the job he's done is ok, then he won't mind honest reviews being posted online, which will include the pic on page one (send him that image, if he hasn't seen it). Your reviews will be 100% factual, and will include that he was going to charge an ADDITIONAL £250 to sort this, which you rightly declined, as you no longer have any trust in his work. And conclude by saying you'll update the reviews with a pic if how it SHOULD have been done in the first place.

No 'threat', no 'anger', no 'retribution' - just a simple statement of fact. And it IS what you should do; that's what reviews are for.

As Victor says, worth having the boards sprayed with clear preserver such as everbuild triple-action.

Please let us know how this turns out.

I will definitely be leaving a review so others don't go through what we did!