Looking for wooden fencing contractors? We supply and fit timber fences across London and Hertfordshire: closeboard, feather edge, panel, slatted, hit and miss, tongue and groove and picket, on concrete or timber posts. Our own team does the work, from the free site visit and written quote to clearing up and taking the old fence away.
Wood is still the most popular fencing material for gardens because it looks natural, can be built to almost any height or style the rules allow, and is straightforward to repair board by board. What decides whether a wooden fence lasts is less the boards you can see and more the posts, rails and ground contact you cannot. This page explains how we build timber fences and what to ask any contractor before you choose one.
The timber fence styles we fit
Most of the wooden fencing we build falls into a few families. Closeboard uses overlapping feather edge boards nailed to rails between posts; it is strong, private and easy to repair one board at a time. Panel fencing uses ready made panels slotted between posts and suits straight, level runs. Slatted and hit and miss designs use spaced horizontal or vertical boards for a more modern look and let some wind through. Tongue and groove gives a smooth, solid face, and picket suits low front boundaries.
- Closeboard and feather edge
- Fence panels, cut to size where needed
- Horizontal slatted screens
- Hit and miss, which looks the same from both sides
- Tongue and groove
- Picket fencing for front gardens
Posts: concrete or timber
Posts are where wooden fences fail first. Timber posts for a garden fence are usually 100 by 100mm pressure treated softwood; they look softer and match the boards, but they eventually rot at ground level. Concrete posts do not rot, and paired with a concrete gravel board they keep all of the timber clear of the soil. For a 1.8m fence we typically use 2.4m posts set in a concrete base of around 700 to 750mm deep.
Either can be right. We talk through the options on the visit, based on the style you want, the ground and how exposed the garden is.
Treated softwood and hardwood
Almost all garden fencing is pressure treated softwood, which is the sensible balance of cost and life. Hardwood, such as iroko, is used where you want a premium finish, typically for gates and feature sections at the front of a house. Our bespoke wooden fencing page covers designed screens and feature boundaries, and our bespoke hardwood gates page covers iroko in detail.
How a wooden fencing job runs
We visit, measure the run, look at access, the ground and what is there now, and agree the style and height. You get a written quote. On the day the old fence is taken down and removed, posts are set, gravel boards and rails go in, and the boards or panels follow. The line is checked as it goes so the top stays even over slopes, and the site is cleared before we leave.
What to ask any wooden fencing contractor
Whoever you use, ask what posts they are using and how deep they are set, whether gravel boards are included, whether removal of the old fence is in the price, and who will actually do the work. Clear answers to those questions tell you more than the headline price.