Dunno if this falls under gardening but I am looking to put up some of the largest wooden fencing panels you can usually get 6ft by 6ft
Do you guys recommend the concrete post or wooden post option? both have their costs but not sure which is easiest
would go down the conrete post route but it loosk liek unless you get the measurements perfect you will be in deep shit if the fence doesn;t slot in properly!
concrete posts allow you to quickly change a broken panel and should outlast a wooden post by many years
That is one of the reasons for having a gravel board at the bottom - it sets the spacing of the posts as you put them in (and then later stops the panels rotting so fast by keeping them off the wet ground).
If you don't want to worry about spacing, then use posts with aris rails, and nail feather edge boards on them later.
Definitely concrete. Put the first one in straight, then a panel, then concrete the next one in, prop it up straight.... and so on. Don't need a ruler, just a spirit level.
Concrete posts are much longer lasting, so better value for money long term, plus as others have said its easy to replace the panels & concrete gravel boards make the panels last lomger.
One point, concrete posts are very, very heavy. I doubt anyone could easily lift an 8' concrete post, I certainly can't. Its a two man job. With wooden posts its easy to try the post in the hole to see if its deep enough, not what you would want to do with concrete posts. Use a scrap piece of timber marked with the depth.
As others have said, install the first post, slot in a panel & use that to mark the next hole position. If you use Post Fix or Postcrete its 'set' for practical purpose in 15mins.
If you are doing a few posts, invest £18 in one of these
We chose wood. Mainly on the grounds of how they look. We did a thorough survey of the fences in the neighbourhood and found no concrete posted fences that looked good. (Actually we saw very few fences we liked at all!) To some extent this was due to the various treatments applied - either the concrete posts were not painted or, when they were, they looked very different to the panels.
Mind, we have chosen to use 4 inch posts, which look better (IMHO) and seem to be much sturdier.
Time to brag:
The other day I was out in the garden doing things (just about to cut my hand) and someone who lives nearby stopped and said "I think what you have done with your fences is wonderful. Especially at the back." (Or words to that effect.) Considering I am still doing the fence at the front, this was not a surprise.
I know it is not the world's finest fencing, I know all the imperfections, but that really was a nice pat on the back and made it seem even more worth the effort. And thank you, neighbour person, for bothering to tell me.
Where is the cheapest place to get the panels and posts?
I am looking at 6 panels I think
Don;t mind doing it onlien as I will have to pay delivery eitherway.
Not much to choose from between Wickes & B&Q, Wickes are slightly better quality IMO. Local timber merchants are well worth checking out.
I have done both. The concrete posts will last far longer. The first ones were done over 30 years ago and still OK now but it was a real struggle on my own to fit but they were not the ones with slots in so I made up bolts from studding to go though post and panel. The posts were free as long as I took them away. Wooden posts are much easier but with this ever increasing wet weather how long will they last?. Fence panels fitting in slots is easier but a friend of mine who lives in Greenford near the A40 had the yoboes gain entry to the back garden by lifting a panel straight out! I made up brackets to stop that happening again. Best of luck Alan
Photo(s) please...
-- Nige Danton
Yeah pickys! We want pickys, we want pickys...
I prefer the look of wood posts, and they are easier to put in.
I've used 3 foot metpost spikes before now, and they make it a complete doddle, measure-drive spike-drive post-fit panel-next, about 15 minutes a panel. This with 6 foot panels too.
However, I also tried an American (Norm) suggestion to put the posts into a 2 foot deep pit onto a brick and then backfill with compacted gravel - not concrete - so that water drains round the post in the ground. The ground drainage conditions need to be right or this won't work. The last I saw of the posts (10years later) they were fine.
Goes without saying that posts need to be pressure treated. And don't put a fresh cut end into the ground - have them treated at the right size - then 20 years plus.
R.
Came across a couple of bags of "spar" the other day. I think a builder had used it to fill round a new soil pipe. Never seen it before and wondered what else it's used for.
We have concrete posts and I agree that they are much longer lasting. Minor disadvantage (and one which stops quick-changing) is where trees have grown up next to them, and large-diameter lower branches foul access to the slots. It is simply not possible to lift up the panels high enough to gain access to the slots.
Would be helpful to get a panel which you could slot one side in, then lift the other by an inch or two (effectively turning the panel into a parallelogram shape) which would allow access to the other slot. Once in place, it could be dropped down into the slot, returning it to its original shape.
Another option is to use wooden posts with a concrete spur in the ground. These are easier to fit than full concrete posts and last a long time. If the post does break then just bolt a new one on - no digging required.
I built an arris rail fence 21 years ago. That uses metaposts (the make was Fensock back then). They're all still rock solid. They hold the base of the post just clear of the ground, and they haven't rotted. (Current metapost product isn't as well made as Fensock way.)
Another fence I have which has lasted well has short concrete posts cemented into the ground, and timber posts bolted through to them, again holding the base of the timber just clear of the ground.
None of the posts I have used are treated, but they aren't sunk into the ground.
OK, OK!!
Photography not fantastic. Fence not fantastic!
I've found they are OK unless you hit a rock or summit, then the spike can either twist or skew.
Nice job Rod, looks really nice. Like the green colour, what treatment was that?
Thanks.
Wilko Timbercare High Performance 'Evergreen'. From the *other* side, there is quite a bit of foliage in front of the fence - and that shade of green just seems to allow/make the fence disappear behind it. Just hope it lasts reasonably well.
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