How timber fencing is installed

Step 1: Site measure and quote

The boundary is walked end to end. Length, height, slope, existing retaining, ground conditions, access and gate positions are all assessed on site.

This is where the real job gets defined, and it is free. It is also where you should raise anything you are unsure about, because decisions are much cheaper before the posts are in.

Step 2: Removing the existing fence

Where there is an old fence, it comes out first, along with its footings. Both are taken away rather than left on site.

Old brick walls can also be removed and disposed of where that is part of the job.

This step varies more than any other, because old footings range from a shovel of concrete to a substantial block, and some sit exactly where a new post has to go.

Step 3: Setting out the fence line

Before anything is dug, the line is set out. This is the step that decides whether the finished fence looks deliberate or approximate.

On sloping ground this is also where it is decided whether the fence steps or rakes, and where each step falls. That decision is made on the ground, looking at the actual fall, the house and the neighbouring fences.

Step 4: Posts

Posts carry everything. If the posts are wrong, nothing else saves the fence.

• Posts are either timber or 65mm x 65mm steel
• Each post is set 600mm deep into the ground
• Each post is 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
• Gate posts carry swinging loads, so they are sized and set for that rather than treated as ordinary posts

Step 5: Rails

Horizontal rails span between the posts and carry every paling. Rail count follows the finished height, so a 2.4m fence carries more rails than a 1.5m fence.

Gate openings are framed at this stage so the opening and the posts either side can carry the gate.

Step 6: Palings

Palings go on one at a time, fixed to the rails and kept plumb, working to a consistent line along the top.

How they are set out depends on the system: side by side on a single paling fence, overlapping on a lapped or capped fence.

On a lap & cap fence, the capping rail then runs along the top over the paling ends, following the top line including any steps.

Step 7: Gates

Gates are built to match the fence in the same timber and to the same top line, then hung and adjusted.

Adjustment matters. A gate that swings and latches properly on the day it is hung is a gate that has been set up rather than just fitted.

Step 8: Clean up

Offcuts, old fencing material and debris are removed from site. A fence job is not finished while the old fence is still stacked on the driveway.

How long it takes

A standard 30 metre timber fence, including demolition and removal of the existing fence, typically takes 1 to 3 days.

Longer runs, difficult access, rock, sloping ground, retaining work and multiple gates all extend that.

Work usually starts within 1 to 2 weeks of a deposit being received, and materials are usually delivered within 2 to 3 days.