Best way to buy scaffold board... fence replacement

I'm after some scaffold board but I've seen stuff advertised as used, new and second grade. New price isn't really justified and second grade often seems to be too far to collect and is in bulk order only; wondering if anyone in or around the Midlands knows anywhere or the best way to buy it to replace fence panels? I've worked out I'll need 10ft and 13ft boards to fill the void most economically.

For anyone wondering why I'm using scaf boards; basically many many years ago my grandfather in all his wisdom decided to set the conc fence posts into a concrete plinth rather than hole-by-hole. In doing this, while the concrete was poured it was impossible to gauge the distance between posts and so it left hardly any, if at all, room for expansion during winter and contraction in summer and opposite effects on the concrete, so normal fence panels don't last longer than a few years.

After the amount of time these posts have been in situ, I wouldn't put faith in them to hold the weight of decorative gravel board top to bottom under a strong wind - such as we've had today. So I thought scaffold board cut to size and perhaps given a creosote bath before shoving them in.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you are saying it's a tight fit for a standard panel and that's why they fail early? If so, why not just shave a few mm off the width of the panels with a circular saw?

ntb said:

If I'm understanding you correctly, you are saying it's a tight fit for a standard panel and that's why they fail early? If so, why not just shave a few mm off the width of the panels with a circular saw?

Click to expand...

Because it's not a few millimeters. It's an exact fit so to allow for expansion most of the reinforcement timer on the ends is going to be lost. It's been done before and doesn't work, hence this.

what about wooden gravel boards
the ones i get are around £2 a metre and about 20mmx 150/6"

big-all said:

what about wooden gravel boards
the ones i get are around £2 a metre and about 20mmx 150/6"

Click to expand...

It's certainly something I'm going to consider. However I did think scaffold boards as these concrete posts have a massive slot on them which is closer to the 38mm of a scaffold board and I thought it might help eliminate some of the 'rattle' from wind and what not. I'll see how I get on, this might be something I could do and tie them together with some lath.

I've been using decking boards, fixed to the face of the posts. Cheap and readily available. Long ones span three posts which I think reduces the chance that one post will lean in string winds.

SammyInnit said:

It's certainly something I'm going to consider. However I did think scaffold boards as these concrete posts have a massive slot on them which is closer to the 38mm of a scaffold board and I thought it might help eliminate some of the 'rattle' from wind and what not. I'll see how I get on, this might be something I could do and tie them together with some lath.

Click to expand...

my thoughts rip one down to 3x49mm strips and fix at each side and central on a 6ft panel

SammyInnit said:

Because it's not a few millimeters. It's an exact fit so to allow for expansion most of the reinforcement timer on the ends is going to be lost. It's been done before and doesn't work, hence this.

Click to expand...

If you need to take that much off you just remove and reposition the timber bracing. If you use contractor close board panels you don't even need to do that since there isn't any timber on the sides to remove.

Try here. http://www.hadley-reclaimed.co.uk/

I've had some new unbanded scaffold boards from them.

Just finished off. Used rock face gravel boards, top to bottom, in the finish. Found a good deal on them and after a lot of inspection I decided the posts would be alright under the load of them. Seem to be fine.