A wooden gate is joinery, not fencing. Frame it properly in iroko, oak or planed softwood, hang it on adjustable ball-race hinges, and it swings the same in February as in July — which is more than can be said for most Stevenage gates we are called out to replace. We're a small, time-served wooden gates crew working out of London and Herts, and Stevenage is a regular week for us. Most briefs here come down to side gates matching a closeboard or panel boundary — and honestly, whether wooden gates is the right answer at all before we quote. Recent work on Broadhall Way and Walkern Road. We orient jobs off Fairlands Valley Park.
A wooden gate is joinery, not fencing. Frame it properly in iroko, oak or planed softwood, hang it on adjustable ball-race hinges, and it swings the same in February as in July — which is more than can be said for most Stevenage gates we are called out to replace. We're a small, time-served wooden gates crew working out of London and Herts, and Stevenage is a regular week for us. Most briefs here come down to side gates matching a closeboard or panel boundary — and honestly, whether wooden gates is the right answer at all before we quote. Recent work on Broadhall Way and Walkern Road. We orient jobs off Fairlands Valley Park.
We'll say so on the site visit — a wasted quote helps nobody.
Iroko hardwood, oak or planed softwood on hot-dip galvanised ironmongery. Standard build: 44mm framed, tongue-and-groove infill, adjustable ball-race hinges, drop bolt to slabs. On Stevenage jobs we adjust for shared-with-neighbour fence runs are the norm — quotes need to cover boundary checks first.
Property mix locally: post-war planned housing across Chells, Shephall and Bedwell, plus older properties in Stevenage Old Town. Typical gardens: modest rectangular plots, typically flat, with rear access alleyways on the planned estates. Postcodes we regularly service: SG1, SG2.
Adjustable hinges mean the gate can be re-trued in ten minutes years later, without touching the frame. For post-war planned housing across chells in SG1, that is where the cost sits. Worth weighing warm, matches most period and modern properties without looking industrial against timber moves seasonally — expect small alignment adjustments in year one before you commit.
Adjustable hinges mean the gate can be re-trued in ten minutes years later, without touching the frame. We allow for modest rectangular plots when setting out in Stevenage. Worth weighing warm, matches most period and modern properties without looking industrial against timber moves seasonally — expect small alignment adjustments in year one before you commit.
Adjustable hinges mean the gate can be re-trued in ten minutes years later, without touching the frame. Survey slots across SG1 are usually inside a week. Practically, that means easily re-sanded and re-oiled to refresh the finish every few years — and we're upfront that softwood side gates need re-treating annually to avoid black spot.
End grain gets sealed before hanging, because a gate bottom rail in Stevenage sits in splash-back all winter. We work this patch weekly, from Gunnels Wood industrial area out toward hitchin. Worth weighing warm, matches most period and modern properties without looking industrial against timber moves seasonally — expect small alignment adjustments in year one before you commit.
Leaf weight drives the post size — an undersized post is the most common reason a Stevenage gate stops closing. For post-war planned housing across chells in SG1, that is where the cost sits. Worth weighing warm, matches most period and modern properties without looking industrial against timber moves seasonally — expect small alignment adjustments in year one before you commit.
Most automated gates include a manual release so the gate can be opened by hand during a power cut or motor fault, and checking this release still works is worth doing periodically rather than only discovering it's seized in an emergency.
We check the mechanical gate and release mechanism; motor and control-board diagnosis is referred to a specialist.
Widening a single gate opening into a double-leaf gate usually needs a new or repositioned hanging post partway across the opening as well as a slamming post on each outer side, rather than simply hanging two narrower leaves off the existing posts.
This is more involved than a straightforward repair and is worth planning against the full opening width before committing to a leaf size.
A wheel fitted to the leading edge of a heavy gate to support its weight as it swings needs a load rating matched to the gate's actual weight, since an undersized wheel flat-spots or seizes under a load it wasn't specified for.
This is separate from a sliding gate's running wheels — a support wheel on a swing gate only touches down near full opening or closing, rather than carrying the gate along its whole travel.
A hedge over 2m tall made up mainly of evergreen or semi-evergreen species can be the subject of a formal 'high hedge' complaint to the local council under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, but only after direct attempts to resolve it with the neighbour have failed and a fee is paid.
The council can then issue a remedial notice requiring the hedge to be reduced to a specified height, enforceable in the same way as a planning enforcement notice, though it typically won't require complete removal.
This process is separate from ordinary fence or boundary work and doesn't apply to deciduous hedges or single ornamental trees, which fall under general nuisance and tree law instead.
Widening a driveway opening to take a larger vehicle usually means moving or replacing both hanging and slamming posts, not just fitting a wider gate to the existing gap, since the posts themselves define the usable width.
Ground and drainage either side of the widened opening are checked at the same time, since regrading the entrance often follows a widening job.
A cill or capping rail fitted along the top of a panel fence sheds rainwater clear of the panel's top edge, in the same way a window cill sheds water clear of a wall, reducing the time the top edge of boards stays saturated.
Without a cill, the end grain along the top of vertical boards absorbs water directly and repeatedly, which is a common cause of premature rot starting specifically at the top of a panel rather than the base.
A cill with a slight forward overhang and a drip groove on its underside sheds water further clear of the face below it than a flush-fitted cill, reducing streak staining on the boards beneath.
Sports club boundaries need to withstand impact from balls and players far more than an ornamental garden fence, which usually means heavier-gauge mesh or rebound-rated panel rather than standard closeboard along pitch-facing runs.
Ball-stop netting on posts set back from the fence line is a common addition where a pitch runs close to a public path or road, and post spacing for that netting is tighter than for a standard fence line.
Clubhouse car parks and pitch perimeters are also often used for match-day parking, so access for fencing work needs scheduling around the fixture calendar rather than assumed to be free every weekend.
Where a residential street has marked parking bays, a resident or contractor may need to apply to the council to formally suspend a bay for the duration of a delivery or a working van.
Suspensions are usually charged per bay per day and typically need a few working days' notice, so they're worth arranging well ahead of a fencing or decking job rather than on the morning of delivery.
Parking in a suspended bay without paying the fee, or using a bay that hasn't been suspended at all, can result in a parking charge notice regardless of the reason for being there.
A driveway gate that's dropped or come off its hinges next to a road or shared path is treated as a priority repair, since a swinging or fallen gate in that position is a hazard to passers-by as well as an inconvenience.
We make a failed gate safe on the first visit where it poses any immediate risk, even if the full repair follows separately.
On a newly exposed plot, such as after a neighbouring hedge or building is removed, temporary windbreak netting fixed to the existing fence can reduce load on the structure while a longer-term solution like replanting or upgrading the fence itself is arranged.
This is a genuinely useful stop-gap rather than a permanent fix, since netting left up long-term degrades in UV and adds its own wind resistance once it starts to fray and catch more air than when new.
It buys time to plan a proper specification change rather than leaving a suddenly-exposed fence to fail before a permanent upgrade can be arranged.
Stepped panels stay level themselves and drop in increments post to post, leaving a small triangular gap under each panel that grows towards the low end of a run; raked panels are cut at an angle so the top edge follows the slope continuously with no gap.
Stock panels can be stepped without alteration, but raking almost always means cutting a panel's top rail and infill to an angle on site, which only works with materials that can be cut and re-fixed cleanly, such as featheredge or slatted boards.
A steep, uneven slope generally favours stepping for speed and future repairability; a long, gentle and even gradient often looks better raked, since the steps would otherwise be very shallow and visually fussy.
When a property is sold, standard conveyancing enquiries (the TA6 form) ask the seller to confirm boundary ownership and disclose any known disputes, including informal agreements about fence lines that were never registered.
An unrecorded verbal agreement about who maintains which boundary can cause problems at sale stage if it isn't consistent with the T-marks or general boundary on the title plan, since the buyer's solicitor will flag the discrepancy.
Keeping a simple written note or email trail of any boundary agreement reached with a neighbour, even an informal one, makes a later sale considerably smoother than relying on memory years afterwards.
Where a planning application is needed for a boundary structure, the council typically notifies adjoining neighbours and gives them a period to comment before a decision is made.
This is a formal statutory step distinct from any informal courtesy conversation that may already have taken place, and objections raised at this stage are genuinely considered by the case officer.
Having already discussed the proposal informally with a neighbour often means fewer surprises when the formal notification arrives.
A lap or closeboard panel can usually be cut down in width by removing boards from one edge and refixing the cut edge to the panel's own frame, provided there's still a batten or rail to fix into once the cut is made.
Concrete panels generally can't be cut at all, which is one of the practical reasons timber is chosen over concrete gravel-board-and-panel systems on an irregular boundary with several odd-width bays.
Whatever is cut, the new edge needs its own vertical support — either an extra batten screwed to the frame or, for a wider cut-down section, a slip post — so the panel doesn't flex or drop at the trimmed end.
Wooden gates for Stevenage are quoted as a made item: timber species, frame section, ironmongery and finish all listed. Hardwood costs more up front and stays straight far longer. We keep the wooden gates process simple for Stevenage clients: site visit, written quote, agreed start date, then in and out cleanly. No subcontracted labour, no chasing for an invoice at the end. Recent work on Shephall Way and Bedwell Crescent. We orient jobs off Stevenage Old Town.
No callout fee · Free site visit · Friendly local team covering London & Hertfordshire.
Pay by debit or credit card, bank transfer or cash once the work and price are agreed. No deposit taken online.
