Fence advice

[gregbbb]

Hi all

ANOTHER fence post (no pun intended). Yep, the winds brought down my fence as well and whilst I am keen to put a new one up myself unfortunately it doesn't look to be the easiest of jobs. My main question is whether to do this myself or get a fencer to do it.

If it was on flat soil with no public boundaries then I would try it myself. Unfortunately the current fence runs alongside the pavement. The current wooden posts are concreted in to the ground. This is not likely to be a lump of concrete in the middle of soil as I have the concrete from the pavement to complicate things. The garden slopes slightly and the soil is pretty loose around the posts.

Can someone paint a scenario of what I'm likely to encounter if I remove the current fence and put up a new one? I'm looking to use wooden posts set in concrete with arris rails and featheredged boards.

I've added some pics below to give you an idea of what I'm up against.

Cheers for any advice!

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[libby lou lou]

If you use wood (again) you'll be doing it again in a few yrs time, what is wrong with concrete ?cut your old posts slightly below the ground then you can reposition your concretes where you want

 

[gregbbb]

Yeah, I was thinking of using concrete posts - are they that much more expensive than wood? Also, seeing as they are pretty heavy I would definitely need to be putting them around 2 foot into the ground and I only hope I can get that deep without hitting any concrete linked to the pavement on the other side. There seems to be a slight slope of concrete onto my land from the pavement (I guess this is to provide support to the pavement).

With regards to putting the posts in at a different point I had thought of placing them halfway between the current posts and having a half length board at the end closest to the house. Not sure it would look as neat as it would if I use the current post locations but it depends on how easy it is likely to be to get the concrete up for the current posts.

 

[Deluks]

Is that pathway used by vehicles? The only problem with concrete is if a vehicle hits them, as they crack and don't take long to crumble away. Then they are a right bugger to replace.

For this reason I chose timber to replace my old concrete spurs. There is an alleyway next to the fence used by neighbours, if they hit a post I can just go out and buy a new one, cheap and easy to replace in the metpost socket. I have bolt-down metposts, you could but the standard spikes and concrete them in.

You should get an SDS drill with hammer action, or hire a mini-breaker. If the old posts are intact below ground, then don't cut them off, you will need the full length for leverage when trying to get them out of the hole in the concrete.

 

[Thermo]

if you put up a closeboard fence with arris rails etc, then you can tailor it to fit, so you can avoid putting the holes where existing concrete is. Looks straight forward. Use 100 x 100 timber posts, or concrete. differing people have views on them, but a decent timber posts should last a very long time (more than the few years some suggest on here!). Concrete can spall as the reinforcement blows. Timber looks better

 

[gregbbb]

Is that pathway used by vehicles?

No, the pathway you can see is actually the pavement. A vehicle would have to mount the pavement to hit any of my fence. In a quiet cul-de-sac I think this would be unlikely. A good point nevertheless. Cheers

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if you put up a closeboard fence with arris rails etc, then you can tailor it to fit, so you can avoid putting the holes where existing concrete is. Looks straight forward. Use 100 x 100 timber posts, or concrete. differing people have views on them, but a decent timber posts should last a very long time (more than the few years some suggest on here!). Concrete can spall as the reinforcement blows. Timber looks better

Thanks for your input Thermo. So you're saying it would be much easier and quicker to use new holes right? But the first post which is up against the house will still need to be replaced and in the same position. So I'll have at least one posts to dig out and concrete in.

From your experiences - 2 men quite capable of DIY, digging out 4 posts, erecting and concreting in 4 posts, adding 3 sections of arris rails and featherboards - how long are we talking? couple of days????

Basically, I don't want to start the job and then have a public gallery at the side of my house as we are end of terrace with a pavement next to the house.

Also, what sort of cost am I looking at for 4 posts, 3 sections of arris rails and featherboards plus concrete and gravel boards.

Cheers mate.

 

[Thermo]

first post against wall of house is a wall plate not a post. you wont get it down deep enough generally due to the foundations to get a post in. A wall plate (4 x 2 morticed for the rails) is bolted to the wall of the house.
most fence supply places will do arris rails in 3 or 3.6m so you should be able to sort it from there.
with a gang of two we would do it in about 1-11/2 days. Use the ended arris rails and morticed posts. they are much stronger and look better than the stuff with brackets. remeber to put the arris rail in as you go!
May take you a little longer with no nail gun etc, but you should be able to do it in a weekend

Prices are really dependent on local suppliers. go to a proper fencing supplier. Most will help you out with what you need and delivery. Dont get the crap from the diy sheds. Make sure you buy a fencing spade (about £15-£20) and a rammer for the concrete.

 

[emin-j]

Hi, hope this info doesn't come too late !
I did hundreds of fencing repairs in the fifteen years i did in the fencing business and found the best method is to use concrete repair spurs, these are available in 3" and 4" section and are 3 - 4 feet in length.
For your particular job use the 4" ones to match your post size and remove the concrete around the base of the post from your garden side only, this can be difficult with hand tools and i would hire or borrow a kango for the day! When you have removed the concrete dig down as deep as necessary to have as much of the concrete spur in the ground as you can manage [ minimum 2 feet ] the spur then lays flat against the post and you then screw 6" coach screws through the holes in the spur [ 2 holes ] into the wooden post, wooden posts mostly rot/snap at ground level so ensure you screw into solid timber, you can also use threaded bar with nuts and washers instead of the coach screws if you prefer and you would need to drill right through the post. Then make sure your post is vertical and reconcrete the post in. This method involves minimal dismantling of the fence and disturbance to the garden and is very strong .
If your fence has triangular arris rails that have come adrift you can buy galvanised repair brackets which simply fit over the arris rail and screw or nail to the post. Any concrete you mix do it in a wheel barrow, you can then wheel the mix to where you are working and no mess to clean up off the floor ! PS you only remove the concrete on your garden side of the post, make a strong mix of concrete and this will bind to any existing concrete left in the hole,good luck !

 

[ModernMaterials]

I hope I am stating the obvious in that the reason your fence did not stand up to the wind was because it acted as a sail! I would suggest a radical change so as not to repeat this failure.

You could do feather edge betweeen wall and first post and then trellis up to next post...anything to lessen the purchase of the wind overall.

i like the temp supports you show in the pictures i would personally paint them in primary colours and leave it til they fail as well (im not kidding afterall it would be cheaper) but i would certainly rescue that rake

BTW thermo wall plates are always horizontal...if it's vertical, it's called a jamb.

 

[Thermo]

not in the fencing industry they are not. try ringing any fencing supply company and see what you get if you ask for that

 

[ModernMaterials]

not in the fencing industry they are not.

English ppl (fencers or otherwise) normally speak english.

Oxford English Dictionary says:

wall plate
· n. a timber laid horizontally in or on a wall as a support for a girder, rafter, or joist.

 

[Thermo]

well that may be true for the oed, but many aspects of the building indusrty have their own useage of words, and in the case of fencing its refered to as a wall plate. Sorry to dampen your fire.

better e-mail this comapny for a start and tell them that they are wrong

http://www.avsfencing.co.uk/productvar.asp?RETTRA=RET&ID=1&SUBID=4&PRODID=41&PRODVARID=109&USERID=

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oh and this one

http://www.walfordtimber.co.uk/woodenpostsandrails.html

 

[breezer]

I think you are both wrong.

is a wall plate

and

is fencing

 

[Deluks]

...and here is the jam(b)

 

[ModernMaterials]

I knew it was a soap opera when he referred me to Walford Timber.