Building a 6ft fence in the garden

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Moved into a new build and need to partition my garden from the nosey neighbours.... yes nosey neighbours! Always staring out when I am round the back!

Anyway, the back fence is fine, already built by the builder, so I am looking to put a 6ft fence down either side of the house. Lengths are 19.2m per side. If I have the main posts 1.9m apart I reckon I need 20 posts, would this be correct? Plus 2 extra posts for when I mount a gate and also block off the other side of the house to prevent anyone taking a short cut through my garden.

The type of post I require I am not sure about. Seen diff sizes, 100mm x 100mm (which i think is overkill) and 75mm x 75mm. These will all be fixed in with postcrete. What are your thoughts?

Thanks
 
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wooden posts will rot

concrete posts won't

you will be really, really fed up when a wooden posts breaks off and you are left with a rotten stump embedded in concrete.

I like to paint the posts (and concrete gravel boards) with dark brown masonry paint to blend in with the wood stain

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see also
//www.diynot.com/forums/garden/replacing-post-in-existing-base.303528/
//www.diynot.com/forums/garden/fence-is-falling-down.298361/
//www.diynot.com/forums/garden/fence-post-has-rotted-and-broken.306645/
 
If you do go with timber, for a 6ft fence definately use 100mm 8ft posts dug at least 18 inches into the ground.
 
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Yes it's wooden posts I'll be using. Thanks for the heads up.

Wooden posts are not the best choice as they rot and are not much cheaper than concrete slotted posts that are far better ands will last forever.

Best choice that will last you a lifetime:

8ft concrete slotted posts (11-12 pounds each).

6 inch concrete gravel board (6 pounds each).

5ft 6inch feather edge panels (22-24 pounds each).

Cheaper panels like pinelap can cost 15 pounds but are not even close to as good or long lasting as feather edge.

Get them all at one place like a timber yard and they WILL deliver free for a order that size, do not be afraid to phone up several yards and use each persons quote to try and drive down the others to get the best value.

The above will last you a lifetime while wooden posts could be snapping in a little as 5 years.

Oh and no matter what way you choose remember to use gravel boards.
 
We put up our rear fence, a post and rail fence using standard tanalised 6ft posts, around 30post at 6ft centers. I was about 8-10 at the time so thats 16 years ago and they still look totally fine and while im sure they have degraded somewhat, show no signs of failing due to rot?

Daniel
 
I was advised that treated wooden posts are fine but the place they rot most is at ground level, and this depends on how freely drained the soil is- ie in clay type soils water can gather more easily at the surface than say, in gravel/sandy ones like ours. Also vegetation around the posts helps keep them wet and accelerates rot, so keep the ground level clear....and go as thick on the posts as possible to lengthen their lifespan...
 
I was advised that treated wooden posts are fine but the place they rot most is at ground level, and this depends on how freely drained the soil is- ie in clay type soils water can gather more easily at the surface than say, in gravel/sandy ones like ours. Also vegetation around the posts helps keep them wet and accelerates rot, so keep the ground level clear....and go as thick on the posts as possible to lengthen their lifespan...

sloping the top of the concrete plug away from the post so water does not pool also extends their life.
 
Wooden posts can have a much longer shelf life than 5 years!! Plus they look much better than concrete posts!

I am all for wooden posts!!

:mrgreen:
 
This summer I will be replacing the concrete slotted posts at the back of my house which have spalled and crumbled. Some have tilted so that the laps blow out in high winds.

They last a lifetime. Who posted that... a hamster?
 

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