Saving money on Fencing - Highland Fenceline - Tumblr

There are two ways to save money; if you're in your property for the long haul then I'll give you all the tips to ensure your fencing lasts as long as possible. If this is a quick fix for a problem and you're looking for cheapest solution then look at the second part of this article. Either way you'll save money by being absolutely clear on what you want to achieve before you start. The other hot tip for saving money before you begin is to consult your neighbours, the roads department if appropriate and most importantly the local planning office ' putting up a fence is expensive enough without having to pay to take it down again.

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Make it Last
If you're putting up a fence to enhance your property you want it to last as long as possible and save you the expense of having it taken down and replaced a minute before it's necessary.

1) The first way to save money is to get the spec right. Specifically this means use posts which are heavy enough for the job. So if you're putting up a board fence at anything over 1.2m high use 100 x 100 posts, 75 x 75mm is not big enough. If you're hanging a gate, even a tiddler, use a 150mm round post  or a 150 x 150 square, a 100 x 100 is not heavy enough.  If you're using a hanging rail for a hit and miss fence go over spec, if you're using sarking for a ranch or board fence use 22mm not 19mm. It may cost a few pounds more now but it will save you plenty over the next 15 years.

2) The second way to save is to get the timber treatment right. You want your rails and boards to be pressure treated for exterior use with CCP ' that's Hazard Class3 if anyone is asking. You want your posts to be pressure treated for ground contact with CCP ' Hazard Class 4. Don't use finished timber that has only been treated for interior use, or off cuts, or accept any talk about not needing to treat larch or douglas fir or whatever. If it's square sawn timber for fencing it needs treated and it needs the right amount of treating, painting on Ronseal won't do the same job.
Having said that you do need to treat cut surfaces preferably with the treatment the timber supplier sells specifically for that purpose. After you've done that then by all means cover your posts in timber stain or whatever you want to use and reapply as often as you can face doing it.

The only way to improve on the life expectancy of treated timber posts is to coat the base of each post in creosote up to around 4' above ground level.
If you want special upright boards consider cutting your own from 22mm sarking and treating the cut surfaces yourself, I promise they'll last longer than any pre-made, imported slats as well as being far cheaper.

3) The third way is to get the rest right ' so gate fittings should be galvanised not black japanned where possible, screws should be green coated if possible to avoid rusting or blackening the timber, rabbit netting should be 18 guage, netting should be 2 Life. Ask your supplier for advice rather than going for the cheapest option, cheap now doesn't often mean cheap over time.

4) The fourth way is to build in a certain amount of 'replacebility'. If you're putting up a fence drill holes and use screws or even techscrews not nails so that you can replace individual components. Pre-drilling will also reduce the amount of timber splitting you get over time. If you have very unusual boards on an upright fence then it's a good idea to buy a few extra and stash them in the garage so that you can replace any accidental damage.

5) The fifth way to make it last is basic maintenance. The flapping board will cause more damage to the whole fence, the dragging gate will eventually cost you a whole new gate and possibly a post. Inspect all your fencing at the beginning of autumn and check it after every major storm. Nothing lasts forever and fencing doesn't last as long as it used to because the new treatments are not as good as the old but that isn't a reason to short change yourself as well.

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These are Hodge Fencing's tips on reducing the cost rather than extending the life.

How to Make it Cheaper Now

1) First work out exactly what you need your fence to do. If all you want is to keep the dog or the children off the road then consider netting ' sheep fence type square net or rabbit net which is harder to climb. Netting will always work out cheaper than timber fencing.

2) Second work out how long you need it to last. If you only need it for a few years then you can downgrade the spec ' corner posts don't need to be 150 or 175, you could use 125mm. Uprights can be 1.65 x 75mm round and the gaps can be up to 4m if the ground allows. A roll of line wire varies between 250m and 650m in length depending on thickness but they all cost the same so if you're prepared to wrestle with HT line wire buy the longest and add strengthen your fence with lots of runs of line wire.

3) Third work out who is doing what. You may not be able to put up a fence yourself but fencing breaks down into several stages and you could probably do bits of it yourself. I've listed the stages below
a) Remove the old fence
b) Clear the line of vegetation and obstacles
c) Dig holes for the corner posts
d) Set out the line
e) Put in the intermediate posts
f) The rest ' put up net, line wire or boards.
If you could do one stage or more yourself and are using a contractor make that clear and stick to it. If the contractor gets to the point where you were supposed to take over and you're not there then he is going to charge you for doing it himself but if you're there and the work is done then it's all good.
If you are going for a vertical board fence consider buying long lengths and cutting the slats yourself, if you treat the cut surfaces they will last longer than any pre-cut, imported slats and they'll be about a third of the price.

4) Fourthly plan your fence properly, get out on the ground and work out precisely where you want your fence to be, mark the line with pegs and make sure it's clear. If you change your mind or if the contractor has to move the fence because the line wasn't clear then you do have to pay for that.

5) Fifthly fence for winter not summer, tree stakes would be quite adequate for most of summer but come the winter whatever you put up should stay up. Broken fencing isn't cheap fencing and a rail through the neighbour's greenhouse is very expensive indeed.

6) it doesn't have to cost a fortune to look good, a rabbit net fence isn't the most attractive object ever but a couple of pots of evergreen honeysuckle will solve that problem more cheaply than expensive fence panels

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