Wood fencing is simplicity itself, inexpensive and comes in a variety of styles - one of which will fit naturally in your garden. Correctly chosen and erected fencing can enhance the look of your home, particularly where wood fencing is selected.

Styles

Closeboard fencing
This fencing is made by nailing overlapping sawn planks to horizontal rails. The planks taper across their width, to provide a fence that is both strong and attractive.

Trellis fencing
This fencing may either be erected using a ready-made trellis or constructed from split rustic poles nailed to posts. It provides an attractive boundary and is an ideal support for climbing plants. Commercial fencing will be sold pre-treated with preservative (like Osmose Naturewood or Arch Tanalith E).

This is essential to prolong the life of the fencing. If you are constructing your own fence, make sure that the timber you use is treated and that if you have to cut the timber to size, that the cut, exposed timber is treated with a suitable brush-on end-grain preservative. In this way, you will enjoy an attractive fence for many years. Materials for fencing are available from DIY stores and garden centres.

Post and rail
Commonly used for field boundaries, post and rail fences do not provide screening but do give a strong and obvious divide between properties. For gardens, different rail dimensions and spacings can produce attractive results. This type of fencing (see fig 1) requires uprights, or 'posts', to be set into the ground at predetermined distances (around 1.8m).

Fig. 1


The posts are joined by horizontal timbers, called arris rails. These can be fixed in a number of ways: by simply nailing them to the posts, by using arris rail brackets, by mortice and tenon joint or by mortice and scarfed tenon joint (see fig. 1a). The latter pair of joints is more difficult to achieve in domestic fencing, requiring precision wood working, but allowing the rails to fit between the posts, thereby saving space. The flush finish of the tenon joints can be achieved more easily using the method shown in Figure 1b. This method allows the arris rails to accommodate changes in dimension (from moisture content changes) and therefore puts less strain on the fence structure. It also means you can change the rails easily should the need arise.

Fig. 1a

Fig. 1b

Picket fence
Traditionally used for cottage fencing, this attractive, low fence is an ideal choice for the front of a property. Made from narrow, vertical timber with rounded or pointed tops, picket fencing is normally sold in ready-made panels. The fence consists of a series of posts, which normally support two arris rails, one near the top of the post and one near the bottom. Attached to these arris rails are vertical timbers spaced to meet your specific design requirements as shown in figure 2. The arris rails can be joined by any of the methods described earlier (see figs 1a and 1b), although this style of fence is increas-ingly being sold in kits, where the arris rails and verticals come complete as a panel and are attached to the arris rails by proprietary panel clip fixings.

Fig. 2

Modern picket fence
A modern version of picket fencing is low-level fencing made from horizontal rails fixed to short posts.

Lapped fence
A lapped fence is constructed like a picket fence. Often feather edged boards are used (see fig 3). The boards are nailed as shown in Figure 3a. This type of fence can also be purchased as a panel system with proprietary fixing systems.

Fig. 3

Fig. 3a

Interlap fencing
This fencing is made by fixing square-edged boards to horizontal rails, alternating on one side, then the other. The spacing of the boards will depend on the amount of privacy you require. This is a good choice of fencing for an exposed, windy site.

Panel fencing
Probably the most well-known of wood fencing, it is made from prefabricated panels fitted between timber posts. The panels are made of overlapping strips of larch, sandwiched between a frame of sawn timber.

It is available in a range of heights from most DIY shops and garden centres, is very easy to erect and provides complete privacy. The patterns include solid vertical or horizontal lapped panels, diagonal trellis panels, square trellis panels, or a combination of designs (see fig 4).

Fig. 4

It is one of the easiest to install, once the posts are fixed at the correct distance apart. The panels are attached to the posts with panel clips. All major DIY stores, building and timber merchants will sell this type of fencing system in kit form.

How to build a garden fence

The details given are suggestions only and may be tailored to suit your own needs. You will find that most DIY stores, builders or timber merchants will stock a variety of fencing products from basic posts and lap boards to complete panelised kits.

What do you want from your fence

Is it going to be purely a boundary divide between adjacent properties? Is it to stop animals roaming, therefore requiring greater strength? Or is it to have a decorative quality?

Whatever you want, the basic principles of fence construction are similar. The details given are suggestions only and may be tailored to suit your own needs. You will find that most DIY stores, builders or timber merchants will stock a variety of fencing products from basic posts and lap boards to complete panelised kits. The choice is yours.

Choosing a post

This has never been simpler. Most DIY stores and garden centres offer a range of fence posts in a variety of lengths and section size. The commonest of all cross sections is 75mm x 75mm, though increasingly 100mm x 100mm posts are being sold and even 75mm x 130mm posts are available for heavy duty fencing. Specialist fencing suppliers will offer posts of differing dimensions and larger cross section. This is especially important where a heavy gate may be fixed.

Softwood posts should always be pressure treated for exterior use. Wind is usually the biggest problem for domestic fences, especially solid ones. For most applications 75mm x 75mm posts will be sufficient to resist all but the most exceptional of storms. Open fences or trellis type panels offer less resistance to wind and should be considered instead of solid fences or panels in exposed situations. Once installed, fence posts should be capped to prevent moisture entering the top of the post.

Setting a post

The post is set in an oversized hole using concrete or hardcore. It is important to ensure the post is vertical (you can buy a simple fencing spirit level from any DIY store) - it can be fixed temporarily with bracing timber lengths. Concrete or hardcore is then used to fill the hole, well tamped to achieve a firm fix. When using concrete, the hole size needs to have about 5 inches of clearance around the post; a larger hole is needed for hardcore than for concrete. The depth of the hole required will vary and is dependent on the weather conditions the fence will experience. In general, a 600mm deep hole will suffice. Recently, metal post sockets have become available as substitutes for the hard work needed to dig the holes. These are long metal spikes with a socket for the post to fit in at one end as shown in Fig. 5. The metal socket is driven in to the ground using a 'dolly' (a length of stout timber) in the socket and a sledgehammer, or driving man-drill, (available from hire shops). The dolly should be used to ensure that the post is truly vertical.

Fig. 5

Ensuring all the posts are in a line

Before starting to set the line of your fencing posts, it is always worthwhile consulting with your neighbour - remember that for boundaries, the fence must be totally on your side of the property. Set the line for the fence (do this using a string between two short lengths of timber pushed into the ground). Set the first post, ensuring it is true; this is important, as all the other posts will be set from this one. Using the arris rail or panel as a template, mark the position of the second post.

Set the second post and ensure it's true. Fit the arris rails or panel using the most appropriate method. Repeat these steps until the fence is finished.

Fix gravel boards (horizontal boards at the base of the fence).To ensure the fence posts are vertical and the arris rail is horizontal, make regular use of a spirit level. On sloping sites, step the fence, checking each infill panel is horizontal.

Installation tips

With correct installation timber fence posts can have a lifespan of 25 years plus. However, there are a few tips that can prolong their service life:

The posts should be buried around one-third of their length. This means that if your fence is to be 1.8m (6') high then you will need to buy 2.7m (9') long posts and bury about 0.9m (3') in the ground.

Provide approximately 50-75mm (2-3") of hardcore in the bottom of the postholes to allow drainage and prevent the bottom of the post being in permanent contact with damp soil.

If using sawn softwood posts it is essential that they are pressure impregnated with a preservative (such as Osmose Naturewood or Arch Tanalith E).

This should have been done by the supplier after they were cut to length and notched (if appropriate), so that the end-grain is well treated. The posts should be temporarily braced in the vertical position, but before fixing check the run of posts is level and each post is vertical with a spirit level. Adjust height as necessary by adding or removing hardcore.

Once level and vertical backfill each posthole with a weak concrete mix (1 part cement to 8 parts ballast). Do not remove the temporary braces until the concrete has set (24 hours). Finish the top of the concrete above surrounding soil level and trowel the surface to provide a fall away from the post to aid the shedding of rainwater and reduce the risk of decay at ground level. Cap the posts to prevent water entering the endgrain.

Surface treatments

Having erected your fence, you can treat it with either an exterior quality opaque paint formulated for wood or with one of the modern semi-transparent wood stains (Cuprinol offer a range of suitable decorative finishes). These stains offer a water-repellent finish and protect against mould. The timber should already be pressure treated with a preservative.

Other points

Most local councils stipulate a maximum height for fences, so it is best to check before starting.

As a rule of thumb, boundary fences should not exceed 1.8m and a fence that borders a road should not exceed 1m, but check for your local regulations.