Fence building Advice
Discussion
I've had various quotes to put up a fence around my back garden. Fence will serve 2 purposes, to keep the dog in so he can spend his days outdoors while I'm at work, and for privacy/security. *Current fence is 100 year old wrought iron railings.
Quotes I've had have been based on panels consisting of a concrete plinth, concrete posts, then treated wood (not the flimsy panel type things you can get in Focus). Best quote I’ve had so far is £1500 this is for about 50m for materials and labour needing about 20 panels. I was hoping to get it done for less than a grand so I’m now looking at doing it myself (one bloke quoted £720 then got back and said he’d miscalculated by about 50%).
The plinths are about £10 each as are the concrete posts so I reckon by time you factor in the wood, cement etc the £1500 is roughly a grand in materials. I’m thinking of doing away with the concrete plinth idea, the benefit of these to me seems to be by raising the wood off the ground it will avoid getting wet and rotting. The dog isn’t an escape artist so I’m not worried about him digging underneath it. Would I be wise to go scrap the concrete plinths and posts and just go for wooden posts or is this just false economy?
Anyone put up a fence recently that can give me an idea of per meter cost for DIY? I’ll phone around some timber yards tomorrow and get an idea of the cost of materials. Idea is to put up posts, attach batons and screw in planks, of about 6”.
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
Quotes I've had have been based on panels consisting of a concrete plinth, concrete posts, then treated wood (not the flimsy panel type things you can get in Focus). Best quote I’ve had so far is £1500 this is for about 50m for materials and labour needing about 20 panels. I was hoping to get it done for less than a grand so I’m now looking at doing it myself (one bloke quoted £720 then got back and said he’d miscalculated by about 50%).
The plinths are about £10 each as are the concrete posts so I reckon by time you factor in the wood, cement etc the £1500 is roughly a grand in materials. I’m thinking of doing away with the concrete plinth idea, the benefit of these to me seems to be by raising the wood off the ground it will avoid getting wet and rotting. The dog isn’t an escape artist so I’m not worried about him digging underneath it. Would I be wise to go scrap the concrete plinths and posts and just go for wooden posts or is this just false economy?
Anyone put up a fence recently that can give me an idea of per meter cost for DIY? I’ll phone around some timber yards tomorrow and get an idea of the cost of materials. Idea is to put up posts, attach batons and screw in planks, of about 6”.
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
- Any idea of if the wrought iron railings has enough value to a scrap yard to get a van and cash in?
Unless you're planning to move within a few years, it will be definitely be a false economy. Anything wood will rot and break - gale force winds put a massive stress on fences. Go for the concrete posts and gravel boards (which also raise the fence for more privacy). You can erect it yourself with a friend - dig holes, put post in, fill with concrete etc etc. Just make sure you keep everything level and vertical.
let me say that £1500 for 50 linear m of fence is very cheap. The materials will be over a grand, if you try and do it yourself i'll bet it will cost you nearly £1500.
For £1500 for 50m i would expect a s
t job done by someone desperate to get out of there, that is unless you live way up north.
Its also a really st job to do.
For £1500 for 50m i would expect a s
t job done by someone desperate to get out of there, that is unless you live way up north.Its also a really s
t job to do.I'm doing a fence, it's costing me around £35/metre using larch-lap panels, closeboard would have been £50/metre. Two people can do two panels (~3.8m) an hour, so 13 hours labour x2 people, call it 30 hours including taking delivery of materials, moving them around, clearing the site. Don't forget to cost in gravel board, cement & mixer or postcrete, retaining clips, post caps, unexpected things in the way. Make sure you can view 2 or 3 recent jobs they've completed!
Thanks for the replies. Yes I'm way up north(Cumbria). 50m was a typo need to get out tomorrow and measure guess-timating sat here it's ~25m at a guess. I'm doing allot of other work on the house in addition to the fencing so won't really have any funds to stretch to and won't for the near future, online timber suppliers give a 10 or 15 year rot guarantee. Not planning on moving ever from current home touch wood. I could live with not having to replace it for another 5-10 years if it's going to be significantly cheaper to not bother with concrete post etc.
I've done most other household DIY or got someone in but never fencing so had no idea on the cost of materials. As far as I know the £1500 man used to work for a bigger contractor and now does it on the side so gets the materials for cost.
I've done most other household DIY or got someone in but never fencing so had no idea on the cost of materials. As far as I know the £1500 man used to work for a bigger contractor and now does it on the side so gets the materials for cost.
Simpo Two said:
Even when it's buried in soil?
The local guy who I have bought several bits of fencing from says that with Cuprinol being hard to get (banned?) they are really struggling to get wooden posts to last. He know sells them with the bottoms ready wrapped in a bitumen style of product. My local independent DIY store also suggested painting the base of posts with bitumous paint as it was better than any other product.I had a close board fence put in around 10 years ago, wooden posts, three of the posts have already rotted and broken, I have added concrete supports to these to try and get a few more years out of it.
I was quoted around £100 per bay for a replacement close-board fence with concrete posts.
I was quoted around £100 per bay for a replacement close-board fence with concrete posts.
Chrisgr31 said:
The local guy who I have bought several bits of fencing from says that with Cuprinol being hard to get (banned?) they are really struggling to get wooden posts to last. He know sells them with the bottoms ready wrapped in a bitumen style of product.
Another idea is Metposts, but they're hard to get in accurately.Cuprinol is probably not banned but the active ingredients that made it good have been, so they may have reformulated it. Hence concrete. Wood is really not designed to last outside unless it's a tree
Thanks for the latest replies. Went to the local saw mill today to price up getting the wood to make my own fence. For 25M it's going to cost £415. Basically putting the posts in fixing three battons and 6'2" lenghts. Factoring in concrete, nails etc probably looking at £500ish.
Will have a few days to mull it over.
Will have a few days to mull it over.
It's not that hard to DIY it. I did one in my last house, about 20m worth, all by myself.
Post digger will make it loads easier and a long heavy metal bar for breaking up the ground a bit first. Lay a string line for the fence and then cut a length of timber to the exact length of your post centres. Dig 1st hole, put post in, concrete - then work off that using your timber length.
I found using postcrete helps as it goes off really quick so less chance of your posts ending up on the pi$$. If the ground is soft and level it's not too difficult really oh an make sure it's not windy out.
Apologies if you are now sucking eggs....no doubt there's upteen different ways of doing it too.
Post digger will make it loads easier and a long heavy metal bar for breaking up the ground a bit first. Lay a string line for the fence and then cut a length of timber to the exact length of your post centres. Dig 1st hole, put post in, concrete - then work off that using your timber length.
I found using postcrete helps as it goes off really quick so less chance of your posts ending up on the pi$$. If the ground is soft and level it's not too difficult really oh an make sure it's not windy out.
Apologies if you are now sucking eggs....no doubt there's upteen different ways of doing it too.
Agree with the above - if going the DIY route it's worth using postcrete and buying a hole digging tool. I did a run of 14 panels a couple of years ago and it saved a lot of effort over doing it with a spade.
As above - make a piece of wood the same length as a gravel board - use this for gauging the post spacing and also ensuring the ground is flat and level where the gravel board will lie. You can of course use a gravel board for this, but they are heavy.
Also make a depth gauge - I used a old fence post with a couple of 3" screws in the side. Use this for measuring the depth of the hole to get it consistent (easier than measuring each time).
When it comes to doing the job, run a string line as suggested end to end and double check everything with a level!
I'd say not using concrete fence posts and gravel boards is a false economy - they are only a few pounds more than timber ones from a decent builders merchant. I think I paid about £11 a post and £7.50 a gravel board.
As above - make a piece of wood the same length as a gravel board - use this for gauging the post spacing and also ensuring the ground is flat and level where the gravel board will lie. You can of course use a gravel board for this, but they are heavy.
Also make a depth gauge - I used a old fence post with a couple of 3" screws in the side. Use this for measuring the depth of the hole to get it consistent (easier than measuring each time).
When it comes to doing the job, run a string line as suggested end to end and double check everything with a level!
I'd say not using concrete fence posts and gravel boards is a false economy - they are only a few pounds more than timber ones from a decent builders merchant. I think I paid about £11 a post and £7.50 a gravel board.
Right so after weighing up my options I’ve went for concrete posts and gravel boards. I weighed up the cost of making my own panels by buying the materials vs buying pre made panels. The pre made panels are cheaper, and I’m going for close board panels as after inspecting them they are much better quality than the lap type ones for about £6 a panel more.
Getting the stuff delivered Saturday morning so I have Thurs, Fri, to do my prep work of taking down the iron railings etc. It’s costing me about £70for 25M including postcrete. I’m going to have to knock something up myself as I’m about 300mm short on two of the runs otherwise just full panels.
I think it’s the best cost vs durability compromise for me.
Thanks for all the advice I’ll treat you to some picture once I’m done!
Getting the stuff delivered Saturday morning so I have Thurs, Fri, to do my prep work of taking down the iron railings etc. It’s costing me about £70for 25M including postcrete. I’m going to have to knock something up myself as I’m about 300mm short on two of the runs otherwise just full panels.
I think it’s the best cost vs durability compromise for me.
Thanks for all the advice I’ll treat you to some picture once I’m done!
andrew311 said:
... I’m going to have to knock something up myself as I’m about 300mm short on two of the runs otherwise just full panels....!
If you ask at the place doing the panels they should be able to knock you one up to any length (within reason) to allow for an akward left over bit.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff