How it's done
Feather Edge Boards Coming Loose or Springing Off
Loose feather edge boards are usually a fixing story: nails placed where the timber splits, plain steel fixings corroding, or boards that were fitted too wet and shrank away from their nails.
Closeboard fencing has a lot of boards and a lot of fixings, and it fails one board at a time. First a board rattles in the wind, then it springs proud, then it comes off and the run starts letting light and wind through.
It is a repair rather than a rebuild in most cases, and the difference between a repair that lasts and one that does not comes down to where and with what the boards are fixed.
Where the fixings should sit
Feather edge boards overlap, and each board should be fixed so it is held without being pinned through both itself and the board beneath in a way that stops all movement. Nails too close to an edge split thin timber, and nails driven through the thin edge of the overlap have very little material to hold onto.
Boards that come loose on a windy boundary very often turn out to be fixed with a single nail at each rail, or with nails set right at the edge where the timber has since split.
- Nails set too near the edge split feather edge timber
- One fixing per rail is not enough on an exposed boundary
- The overlap has to be consistent or fixings land in the wrong place
Corroded and undersized fixings
Fence nails need to be galvanised. Plain steel corrodes, loses grip, stains the timber and eventually shears, and the first sign is boards that rattle. Nails that are too short simply do not reach far enough into the rail to hold long term.
Ring shank galvanised nails or exterior screws grip far better than smooth plain nails, which is why refixing with the right fixing often solves a problem that repeatedly recurred with the original ones.
Timber that shrank after fitting
Treated softwood is often delivered wet. Fitted wet and dried out in place, boards shrink, gaps open along the run and nails end up looser than the day they went in. That is not poor workmanship as such, but it does mean the fence needs a look after its first summer.
It also explains a run that was tight and solid on handover and rattling by the following spring, with no storm involved.
- Gaps appearing evenly along a new run usually means shrinkage
- A first year check and refix where needed is worthwhile on closeboard
- Widening gaps combined with soft rails is a different, more serious fault
Check the rails before refixing boards
A nail can only hold if the rail behind it is sound. Probe the arris rails, particularly where they enter the posts, which is where they rot first. If the rail is soft, refixing boards into it is wasted effort and the boards will spring off again.
Rails can be replaced individually with the posts and most boards retained, which is a common and worthwhile repair on an otherwise good closeboard fence.
What you can safely do yourself
Refixing a small number of boards is within reach for most people. Use galvanised ring shank nails or exterior screws, fix into fresh timber rather than the old split hole, keep clear of board edges, and drill a pilot hole in thin timber to stop it splitting. Check the rail is sound first.
Where we would stop is a run with many loose boards, soft rails, or boards springing off at height. That is a sign of a wider fault, and a boundary fence coming apart in wind is worth having looked at rather than patched repeatedly.
- Do use galvanised fixings and a fresh fixing position
- Do pilot drill thin feather edge timber to prevent splitting
- Do not keep refixing boards into a rail that has gone soft
Ask us to look at the run
Closeboard repairs are steady work for us across London and Hertfordshire, from a handful of boards to replacing rails and gravel boards while keeping a sound fence in service. We will tell you plainly whether it is a repair or whether the run is at the end of its life.
Ring 07885907880 or send the details through our contact form and we will come and check the rails as well as the boards.
Frequently asked
Why do feather edge boards keep springing off?
Usually the fixings: too few per rail, set too near a splitting edge, or plain steel nails that have corroded and lost their grip.
What fixings should be used on closeboard fencing?
Galvanised ring shank nails or exterior screws of adequate length, set clear of the board edges and into sound rail timber.
Why have gaps appeared along my new closeboard fence?
Treated timber is often fitted damp and shrinks as it dries, which opens gaps and loosens nails during the first year.
Should I check the rails before refixing boards?
Yes. Probe them at the posts. A soft rail cannot hold a fixing, so the boards will come loose again however they are nailed.
Can rails be replaced without a whole new fence?
They can. Replacing rails and keeping sound posts and boards is a common repair on an otherwise decent closeboard run.
Is a few loose boards worth calling someone about?
If the rails are sound it is a simple job you can often do yourself. If several are loose or the rails feel soft, get it looked at.
Boards loose, or rails gone?
It is the rails that decide whether refixing lasts. We will check those as well as the boards before quoting anything.