insideKENT Magazine Issue 101 - September 2020 | Page 71

COST EFFECTIVE FENCING
HOME+GARDEN
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
WHETHER YOU’RE A STANDARD SIX-FOOTER OR AN ON TREND TRELLIS
CHOOSER, AVOID A FENCING FAUX PAS AND DISCOVER THE LOW
MAINTENANCE GARDEN CHOICES THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME.
Fencing options explained
When it comes to fencing in the garden, the most
popular (and cheapest) option is to install standard
six foot wide lap panels supported by timber or
concrete posts.
Widely available, these panels sold by DIY centres
are often made with cut-price lower quality materials.
This keeps the costs down, but the sacrifice is quality
and longevity - buy too cheap and you are looking
at just another temporary fix.
Most professional fence installers aren’t interested
in fitting the cheapest lap panels because the inherent
quality issues invariably end up back with them.
Therefore, if cheap lap panels are what you decide
on, it is likely that you will be installing them yourself
or finding a “handyman” to do it for you. Chances
are, many of the problems you are having with your
fence are because it was just such a DIY effort.
Installed with the best of intentions perhaps, but
fencing really is a product where you get what you
pay for. Cutting corners just saves up problems.
You’ll need some reasonable skills to get a successful
DIY effort completed. Carrying six-foot square fence
panels is not easy so it’s worth having two people on
the project, as fence posts and panels are quite heavy.
It all depends on the size of your garden, of course,
but the job could take considerable time to complete
if everything goes smoothly.
Once it is up - then of course you have to treat it.
Even DIY panels labelled as treated may only have
had the barest minimum of protection. To stand
any chance of the fence lasting you should set aside
at least another weekend to coat your panels
periodically with an expensive coat of preservative.
However, the trouble with modern treatments is that
they are water based - so from the very start they
are not as effective as traditional creosote (which was
banned because it contained toxic carcinogenic
chemicals). This invariably means they don’t last as
long and you will be forced to repeat the process
every few years.
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