Tips for creating a long-lasting timber fence

Even the best quality timber fencing can be damaged by external factors. Investing in quality wood to create boundaries that look good, whilst protecting your privacy is worthwhile, as long as you are committed to ensuring they last as long as possible. If adequately cared for, our timber fence panels and posts come with a minimum service life of 15 years. Here are a few things to should consider when planning your garden fence: Choose the right fixings Posts, screw and clips can all contribute to shortening the life of your fence. Finding the right size and length of screws is important to ensure they don’t end up splitting and forcing out the panels as they expand and shrink. The ideal metal varies depending on the wood used for your timber fencing. For a long-lasting fence, we would always suggest using treated timber, it’s has a much higher resistance to damp, rot and insect damage. However, the chemicals in the treatment can be corrosive to metal fixings, which is why you must use galvanised clips and nails with treated wood. What is galvanising? Galvanising is when a protective zinc coating is applied to iron or steel to prevent it from rusting. When metal fixings are affected by rust, that rust can begin to corrode the wood and weaken your structure. Think about your posts Wooden fence posts are arguably the most popular choice when it comes to creating a stylish garden fence – but they’re not your only option. Depending on the look you’re trying to achieve and the purpose of your fence you can consider the alternatives. Concrete fence posts provide strength and durability in potentially more vulnerable places, i.e. areas with high winds or heightened security requirements. Something to bear in mind with treated timber fence posts is its vulnerability when cut. Before placing a cut post into the ground, it will need to be treated with an end-grain preservative to treat the core of the timber that wasn’t reached in the initial treatment. Both concrete and wooden fence posts can be used with wooden fence panels. Get in touch If you’re looking for some advice on how to guarantee your fence has a long service life, please get in touch today.

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