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Replacing Fence
LLM
Posts: 52
Hi all,
We are looking to replace our back fence as the lovely British winter has managed to destroy the old one.
There is a flower border next in front of the fence, about 4m x 1m that slopes down. I am thinking of leveling this out.
The old fence has rotted due to this heavy clay border, so I am worried that a new fence will do the same.
Has anybody come up against this before? Any suggestions welcome.
0
Posts
Are you replacing the whole lot, posts and panels?
My fence is made up of slotted concrete posts, with concrete gravel boards at the base. This prevents the problem of rotting at ground level, as only the fence panels need replacing over time.
They can look grey and ugly, but it's easy to cover them up with a lick of paint if you want to. I've slapped on the same stuff I was painting the panels with in the past.
Edit: Forgot to ask. How steep is the slope?
Last edited: 04 January 2018 11:04:30
Please, when renewing your fence take a look at the Hedgehog Street website and remember than hedgehogs are dying out because they are being prevented from meeting up to breed and find food because of our efficient garden fences ......... there are ways to incorporate access for hedgehogs when replacing fences ... have a look here https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for this!
Replacing the whole lot, so will be having new gravel boards posts and feather edge. That's great to know about the concrete gravel boards, do you have a soil border near the fence?
The slope isn't too steep, say 20/30 degrees. with the border is built up we will be adding an extra foot height.
Thanks Dovefromabove, very important to look after wildlife. I'm afraid our new fence will be sporting an even bigger hole to fit our cats through too!
Yes LLM, the soil goes right up to the base. Snapped a pic to show what I mean.
This bit isn't painted, just weathered ?. Over half of it is buried underground, so is deeper than what you can see. At a guess, I'd say they're roughly a foot high, and the width of a standard 6ft fence panel.
I assume they can be cut to length with an angle grinder if you wanted to create a gap for hogs/cats.
One neighbour has used them exclusively to surround their garden. My hubby calls it Colditz
.
It's a bit similar to this image (minus the barbed wire)
.
Gives you a better idea of the size though. I have one at the bottom, topped with a 5'x6' wooden fence panel, making it 6'x6' overall.
Haha, that made me chuckle!
Yes definitely a good idea with the concrete boards, I will do some research.
I have the same as Kitty 2 (concrete posts & gravel boards)and can confirm my panels are over 10 years old now & show no signs of deterioration. Mind you they were treated with the old style Cuprinol which is now considered too toxic to be sold.
Gravel boards are available in 6" and 12" depth. You'll probably need 12" given the slope on your garden, that way the board will be almost buried at one end but will still keep the fence panel away from the soil to prevent rotting.
I have to confess that I hadn't thought about hedgehog access and we have a solid run of gravel boards down one side. I'll have to look at hedgehogstreet to see if I can do something to create access.