Lap, bow-top, arched and decorative panels fitted between concrete or timber posts, set to a level line with the tops running true. Good for garden boundaries, screening a patio and anywhere the fence is something you look at rather than just a line on a plan. Quicker and cheaper to put in than closeboard, and it looks the part.
The line and the levels get pulled before a post goes in. It is the difference between a run of panels that reads straight from the house and one that wanders and steps for no reason.
Curved-top panels change how a garden feels, particularly round a patio or a lawn. Fitted so the arches run consistently along the line instead of each one landing at its own height.
Concrete posts where the run is exposed or the ground is wet, timber posts with post supports where the look matters more than the wind. We will tell you which one your garden actually needs.
A gravel board keeps the bottom of the panel out of the wet and takes the wear from strimmers and soil. It is a small part of the cost and it is what decides whether the panels rot from the bottom.
Lap panels are the cheapest and are fine for a boundary you do not look at. Closeboard panels are heavier and last longer for the same footprint. Bow-top and arched panels are the ones people choose when the fence is part of the garden, round a patio or a lawn. It is worth walking the garden together, because the right answer often changes between the front boundary and the bit you sit in.
On a sheltered garden boundary, yes. On a fully exposed run taking wind straight off the sea, a panel fence is the weaker option and closeboard is the honest recommendation. Where panels are still the right choice we use concrete posts and make sure they are seated properly, because most panel failures are the panel lifting out of the slot rather than the panel itself breaking.
Yes, and it is a common job after a bad winter. If the existing posts are concrete and sound, swapping individual panels is quick and cheap. Where the posts have gone, replacing a panel on a rotten post is money wasted, so we will tell you honestly whether you are looking at a repair or a new run.
A typical garden boundary of ten to fifteen panels is a day, sometimes two if the old fence has to come out first or the ground is heavy going. Posts set in concrete want a day before the fence takes any real load, so we set them and fit in sequence rather than hanging everything off green concrete.
Most come pressure treated, which protects the timber but does not keep the colour. If you want it to stay a particular shade, it needs a coat of fence treatment every couple of years, and the easiest time to do the first one is before the garden grows back up against it. Gravel boards and posts are the parts worth keeping an eye on.
Closeboard built board by board on site: concrete posts set in, rock-faced gravel boards along the bottom, featheredge nailed to arris rails and a capping rail over the top.
ServiceGarden and side gates made to match the fence and hung so they still shut in five years, plus repairs to runs that are not ready for replacing.
ServiceGarden hedges cut back to a line and shaped, from a beech boundary to an overgrown leylandii that has got away.
ServiceRegular grass cutting through the growing season, edges done, clippings taken off and the paths blown down before we leave.
ServiceOne-off clearances for gardens that have got on top of people.
Ring us, WhatsApp a photo of the job, or use the form and we will get back to you quickly.