Plastic fencing panels

[Bert Coules]

Has anyone here any experience with plastic fencing panels? There seem to be various types available, with variations on t&g horizontal planking being the most usual. I've also seen illustrations of tinted polycarbonate sheeting being used, with suitable bracing, which gives a rather pleasing contemporary look. Any thoughts and experiences?

Many thanks.

[Andy Burns]

Not panels, but a local school has a picket fence made from 'plastic wood' which buckles like crazy in the slightest heat - I'm sure if it had been constructed with expansion joints it could be ok.

[Bert Coules]

Andy, thanks for that. I have a plastic picket fence which has been up a couple of years now and given no trouble at all, presumably because the design does indeed allow for both the horizontal stretchers and the vertical planks to slide in their housings. There's been no discolouration or degradation of the plastic and I'm very pleased with the strength and the look. I'd like to use a similar material for a more substantial conventional-type closed fence, hence my question.

[Tim+]

In addition to buckling problems, I see a lot of colour fading due to UV. Basically, they end up looking cheap and nasty pretty quickly.

Tim

[dennis]

My plastic bench hasn't done either yet. I will let you know if it fades in another ten years or so.

[Bert Coules]

I have wondered about the colour issue: my white fence hasn't been affected but I can imagine that brown or green would fade. Does that happen uniformly though, or in patches? I suppose it depends on exactly where direct sunlight falls.

Most of the wooden fences round here are looking distinctly less than their best, in addition to which many are falling apart in a way (brittleness excepted) I wouldn't expect a decent quality plastic fence to.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[GB]

I've seen 'plastic wood' benches. Is this the same sort of thing?

[Bert Coules]

Clearly, there's plastic and then there's plastic. The recycled stuff - Filcris and the like - seems to get good reports.

[Bert Coules]

I'm not sure exactly which sort of plastic my picket fence is, but its finish is smooth and semi-matt - there's no imitation grain or similar. It seems to to be plastic and proud!

Bert

[alan_m]

Again, I've seen park benches with plastic planks that have lasted a decade or more and some of similar outward design where the planks have warped (and stayed warped) as soon as they have seen the sun.

[Brian Gaff]

My neighbour put some up in the 1970s its still as good as new now, andpossibly a bit less white! Brian

[Brian Gaff]

The plastic posts have sliding joints, at least my neighbours has. Brian

[Bert Coules]

Brian,

Thanks for that. The picture posted by Tim of his neighbour's fence suggests that the panels, though a close fit in the slotted posts, are free to move slightly in the event of expansion or contraction.

Perhaps I simply haven't noticed any slow deterioration in my white picket fence, or perhaps white is less prone to discoloration than darker finishes, but to me it still looks pretty much as it did when it was first erected.

Bert

[Jeff Layman]

Maybe not all recycled stuff.

I used some recycled polythene as a lawn edg We're 6 months on, and it's still as warped as before!

[Bert Coules]

I suppose the thickness of the material must make a considerable difference, but even taking that into account, your experience isn't encouraging. Thanks.

[Brian Reay]

I have regular Skype chats with some friends in California and DIY often features in our discussions.

One of them mentioned plastic fencing a few months back, apparently it is quite common there. He spoke quite highly of it- he isn't someone who likes to do a 'shoddy job' and prefers to do a job right so it will last etc.

Where he lives gets more sun in their winter that an average summer here so, I assume, their panels, have the required additives to cope with uV etc. Whether, as all too often happens, manufacturers cut corners for the UK market is anyone's guess.

While I don't recall seeing any plastic fencing in the US, it may well be that this was due to the very good cosmetic finish they achieve. I certainly looked at other plastic building items (sad when you are on holiday, I know) and the finish as far better than the normal quality you see here, although I have seen some high quality (expensive) windows on houses in the UK.

However, while probably comparable in physical strength/resilience terms to 'wavy lap' fencing panels, unless they have some kind of embedded wood or metal strengthening, I can't see them being much good in a high wind. I've seen wavy lap panels 'pop out' and or break up in a high wind, where a lap boarded fence survives. Of course, a popped out panel can, hopefully be retrieved and replaced- hopefully it hasn't damaged anything else.

Wire mesh fencing is popular in the US and in Europe. Personally, I don't care for it. But is is, of course, good in wind etc and long lasting.

We travel a lot in France and they tend to have a 'quaint' (untidy) collection of old stone/brick/block walls which, can even in modern areas, look ancient.

[Bert Coules]

A local fencer suggested I look at Eurocell Eco Fencing: the panels are built of of horizontal 12" planks interlocked along their length, which should give them a pretty high degree of rigidity I'd have thought:

Thanks for the thoughts on the US scene.

Bert