Timber fence heights

Common heights

Timber fencing is built up to a maximum height of 2.4m. The heights that come up most often are 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.1m and 2.4m.

Why 1.8m is the default

At 1.8m a fence sits above eye level for most adults, which is the point where a boundary fence stops being something you look over and starts being something you look at.

It is also the height most Sydney residential boundary fencing is already built to, which matters when you are replacing one section of a run and want the new work to match what is either side of it.

Ground level changes the answer

A fence has two sides, and the ground is often not at the same level on both. A 1.8m fence measured from the high side can be well over 1.8m when you look at it from the low side.

That means the height you actually want depends on which side you are standing on and what you are trying to screen. It is one of the main things worked out at the site measure, standing on the boundary rather than looking at a plan.

Fences above retaining walls

On sloping Sydney blocks it is very common for a timber fence to sit on top of an existing retaining wall or block wall.

When it does, the wall height adds to the visual height of the barrier from the low side. A 1.8m fence on a 600mm wall reads as a 2.4m barrier from below, even though the fence itself is 1.8m.

This affects two things: the height you actually want, and how visible the top of the fence becomes. A very visible top line is where a capping rail earns its place.

Sloping ground: stepping and raking

Where the ground falls along the fence line, the fence either steps down in sections or rakes to follow the ground.

Stepping keeps each section level and creates a series of deliberate steps along the top. Raking follows the slope so the top line runs parallel to the ground.

Which one suits depends on how steep the fall is, what the fence has to screen, and what looks right against the house and the neighbouring fences. It is a site decision.

Height and structure go together

A taller fence carries more load. It catches more wind, it carries more palings, and it puts more leverage on the posts.

So height is not a standalone choice. It affects rail count, post selection and how the fence is built.

• Taller fences carry more horizontal rails than lower fences
• Posts are set 600mm deep and secured with at least one full 20kg bag of concrete
• Posts can be filled with concrete up to one third of their length for extra strength
• 65mm x 65mm steel posts are often chosen for taller fences and gate posts
• A lapped or capped fence weighs more than a single paling fence at the same height

What we cannot tell you generically

What height you are permitted to build on your property is not something that can be answered accurately in a general guide. It can depend on where the fence sits on the property, what is either side of it, whether the fence forms part of a pool barrier, and the requirements that apply to your property.

If your fence relates to a pool barrier, that is a regulated area, and requirements are confirmed with your council or an accredited certifier rather than assumed.

The practical approach is to raise the height you want at the site measure so any constraint is identified before work is scheduled.