Hardwood moves, and pretending otherwise is how gaps end up uneven. We set board gaps for the season we are fitting in and fix with hardwood-rated stainless so nothing bleeds rust into a Cheshunt board face. Cheshunt sits inside our core patch — EN7 and the surrounding Herts area. On hardwood decking, that means we've already seen how mid-century semis and bungalows, plus newer riverside developments toward goffs oak behaves over a service life, and we spec accordingly. Recent work on Windmill Lane and Crossbrook Street. We orient jobs off Lee Valley Regional Park.
Hardwood moves, and pretending otherwise is how gaps end up uneven. We set board gaps for the season we are fitting in and fix with hardwood-rated stainless so nothing bleeds rust into a Cheshunt board face. Cheshunt sits inside our core patch — EN7 and the surrounding Herts area. On hardwood decking, that means we've already seen how mid-century semis and bungalows, plus newer riverside developments toward goffs oak behaves over a service life, and we spec accordingly. Recent work on Windmill Lane and Crossbrook Street. We orient jobs off Lee Valley Regional Park.
Yellow balau, ipe or iroko boards on treated softwood or hardwood joists. Standard build: 21mm yellow balau or 19mm ipe, secret-fix or countersunk, hardwood-rated screws. On Cheshunt jobs we adjust for ground water near the lee valley means post bases need extra care to prevent rot.
Property mix locally: mid-century semis and bungalows, plus newer riverside developments toward Goffs Oak. Typical gardens: long flat gardens — many back onto the Lee Valley with high-water-table conditions. Postcodes we regularly service: EN7, EN8.
We'll say so on the site visit — a wasted quote helps nobody.
Stainless fixings only: plated screws stain a hardwood face within a season in Cheshunt. We work this patch weekly, from Brookfield Riverside out toward waltham cross. Worth weighing genuine 25-year plus service life on yellow balau or ipe when detailed properly against requires annual oiling to keep the honey colour — otherwise silvers naturally before you commit.
Stainless fixings only: plated screws stain a hardwood face within a season in Cheshunt. For mid-century semis and bungalows in EN7, that is where the cost sits. Worth weighing genuine 25-year plus service life on yellow balau or ipe when detailed properly against requires annual oiling to keep the honey colour — otherwise silvers naturally before you commit.
Every hardwood board is pre-drilled — driving straight into balau splits ends and loses you boards on a Cheshunt job. We allow for long flat gardens — many back onto the Lee Valley with high-water-table conditions when setting out in Cheshunt. Practically, that means richer natural colour and grain than any composite — and we're upfront that material cost is significantly higher than softwood and often composite.
Every hardwood board is pre-drilled — driving straight into balau splits ends and loses you boards on a Cheshunt job. Survey slots across EN7 are usually inside a week. Practically, that means richer natural colour and grain than any composite — and we're upfront that material cost is significantly higher than softwood and often composite.
Every hardwood board is pre-drilled — driving straight into balau splits ends and loses you boards on a Cheshunt job. We work this patch weekly, from Brookfield Riverside out toward waltham cross. In short: genuine 25-year plus service life on yellow balau or ipe when detailed properly, though requires annual oiling to keep the honey colour — otherwise silvers naturally.
A fallen panel or leaning post next to a road, a shared path or a play area is treated as a priority repair on safety grounds, and the damaged section is made safe on the first visit even if the full repair follows later.
Where a repair is next to a boundary with public access, work is fenced off or scheduled to avoid the busiest times of day.
A fence on an open, elevated or unsheltered boundary — a plateau, a field edge, or a long unbroken run with no buildings breaking the wind — takes a real structural load that a sheltered suburban garden never sees.
Standard 75x75mm posts and full-height solid panels are the combination most likely to fail here; heavier posts, shorter bays between them, and a slatted or louvred profile that lets some wind through all reduce the load rather than fighting it head-on.
It's a specification decision made at quote stage, not something to retrofit after the first panel goes over in a storm.
The Highways Act 1980 makes it an offence to obstruct a public highway, including the footway, without lawful authority, which is the underlying reason fencing, skips or materials on a pavement need proper authorisation.
This applies regardless of whether the obstruction is temporary for a delivery or intended as a permanent boundary feature encroaching onto highway land.
Where any part of planned boundary work might extend onto or over a public footway or verge, checking with the highway authority first avoids a straightforward enforcement issue later.
A garden backing onto a busy road, railway line or commercial yard can benefit from a boundary built with sound reduction in mind, though a garden fence will never fully block road noise the way a proper acoustic barrier does.
Solid, gap-free construction matters more than material choice — close-boarded overlap timber with no sightlines through it performs noticeably better than a picket or slatted style, and any gaps at the base undo much of the benefit.
Denser materials and added mass, such as a composite core or an additional inner skin, do help further, but the single biggest factor is simply eliminating gaps and sightlines through the run.
There's no automatic legal requirement in England for a neighbour to contribute to the cost of a boundary fence, even where both sides benefit from it, unless the deeds specifically say otherwise.
Many boundary fences are replaced by agreement between neighbours splitting the cost informally, but this is a private arrangement rather than something either side can compel.
Getting any agreed contribution, choice of style, and who instructs the contractor written down in an email beforehand avoids a common source of friction once the invoice arrives.
Loose or sandy soil can slump back into a freshly dug post hole before concrete goes in, which is more of a problem on a repair — where the hole is often reopening ground already disturbed by the original failure — than on undisturbed ground.
A sleeve, shuttering, or a wider hole packed with a drier mix that doesn't rely on firm hole walls to hold its shape can get a repair post set securely even where the surrounding soil won't hold a clean-sided hole.
A swing gate needs clear space to open into, whether that's the driveway itself or the street, while a sliding gate runs parallel to the boundary and suits plots where that swing space isn't available.
Sliding gates need a level, unobstructed track run at least as long as the gate itself, plus a foundation for the track and rollers that copes with the gate's full weight — cutting corners here is the most common cause of a sliding gate that jams.
Swing gates are generally simpler to install and service, which is worth weighing against a sliding gate's space-saving advantage on a tight or sloping driveway.
Green (wet, unseasoned) timber is cheaper and easier to nail without splitting, but it shrinks noticeably as it dries in situ, which opens gaps between overlapping boards and can loosen fixings within the first year.
Kiln-dried timber has already lost most of that moisture before it reaches site, so it holds its dimensions far better once fixed, at a higher material cost.
Closeboard fencing traditionally tolerates green feather-edge boards reasonably well because the overlap absorbs some shrinkage, but a tight tongue-and-groove or slatted panel is far less forgiving and benefits from kiln-dried stock.
Where a planning application for a taller or otherwise non-permitted boundary structure is refused, there's a formal right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within a set time limit.
Appeals are considered on planning merit rather than personal circumstances, and can take several months to be decided, which is worth factoring into any timeline.
Getting professional planning advice before submitting an appeal often improves the prospects of addressing the reasons for the original refusal effectively.
A garden cut into level terraces, common on steeper plots across the Chilterns fringe, usually means the fence has to step down at each change of level rather than run as one continuous raked line.
Each stepped section needs its own post pair set level within that section, with the horizontal joint between sections finished cleanly rather than leaving an open triangular gap under the lower panel.
Where the terraces are formed by retaining walls rather than simple grading, the fence posts typically sit on top of the wall structure and need fixings suited to masonry rather than a standard earth-set post.
Digging even a modest run of post holes generates a surprising volume of spoil, and leaving it in a single heap on a lawn for the duration of a job kills the grass underneath if left more than a few days.
Spreading spoil thinly on a border, bagging it for removal, or arranging same-day disposal all avoid that dead patch, and the right choice depends on whether the client wants the spoil kept for landscaping elsewhere on the plot.
Heavy clay spoil is particularly slow to dry and awkward to barrow once it's rained on, so timing the dig to avoid leaving wet spoil sitting overnight where possible reduces both the mess and the extra effort of moving it later.
Hot-dip galvanised fixings are the standard for most timber fence repairs and resist corrosion well in normal ground and weather conditions at a lower cost than stainless.
Stainless fixings are worth specifying near the coast or where treated timber with a high copper content accelerates corrosion of standard galvanised fittings, since that combination corrodes noticeably faster than inland, untreated timber.
A straight fence line starts with two fixed end points and a string line pulled taut between them, usually run just above where the posts will sit rather than at ground level where it snags on grass or debris.
On a long run the string sags under its own weight, so an intermediate profile or peg is needed every few bays to keep the sight line true rather than trusting a single span.
Any post that's set even 10-15mm off that line becomes visible once panels go in, because the eye picks up a wander in a boundary far more readily than a small step in level.
Some councils and police teams run formal alley-gating schemes, fitting lockable gates across shared rear alleys behind terraced housing under a specific legal order to reduce burglary and fly-tipping, with keys issued to residents whose properties back onto the lane.
Where such an order already exists, individual residents generally can't add their own separate gate or fence across the same alley without going through the same scheme, since the order regulates access for everyone on the row, not just one household.
Where no scheme exists but residents want one, the request usually starts with the council's community safety or highways team, since a privately-installed gate across a public right of way without authorisation can be ordered removed.
Oil it and it holds its colour; leave it and it silvers evenly. Either is fine, and we will tell you honestly what each looks like after two Hertfordshire winters. Cheshunt clients get the same crew from first visit to hand-over. That's the whole model — one small team, hardwood decking done properly, work agreed in writing before it starts. Recent work on Crossbrook Street and Flamstead End Road. We orient jobs off Cedars Park.
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