How to repair & maintain your fence
You will need:
-
Post caps
- Nails
- Hammer
- Props
- Concrete spur post
- Gravelboard
- Fence panel
Time to complete job: 1-4 hours according to job
Approximate budget: £40
Most gardens have fences of some sort. These are relatively easy and quick to put in place and give instant privacy compared with hedges that can take years to grow.
The initial cost of installing a fence is low but wood deteriorates unless maintained. Remember, prevention is better than cure - so read on for ways of preventing wood rot and damaged posts.
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Step 1: Maintaining your fence
Wood rots when in contact with moisture so keep soil away from fence bases and posts.
Fence post tops will rot if rain lies on the surface. To avoid this, nail on a post cap or cut at an angle. If the post top is rotting, cut back to sound wood then add a cap from wood 12mm (0.5in) wider. Soak in a wood preservative for at least 24 hours then secure with 2 rust proof nails.
Every few years treat the fence with preservative - use a water-based preservative if plants are near. Apply when dry and ensure that the most vulnerable parts - the fence post tops, any horizontal surfaces and any wood within splash distance of the soil - are well treated. -
Step 2: Repairing broken fence posts
Posts will eventually rot at ground level. To avoid replacing broken posts you can add a concrete spur.
Support the fence securely with props on each side, remove the gravel board and cut off the rotten post section. Paint the sound part with preservative.
Dig a hole beside the damaged post 300mm (1ft) square and 450mm (1.5ft) deep. Put the concrete post in the hole next to the wooden post and mark the positions of the holes. Remove the concrete post and drill through the wooden post to ensure you can insert coach bolts through both.
Fit coach bolts and nuts, check the post is vertical, then compress hardcore around the base and fill in the top with concrete, ramming well down.
After a day or so when the cement has gained strength, remove the props. -
Step 3: Replacing a gravel board
To avoid dismantling the fence, fix two battens attached to the posts for support while you attach the new gravel board. Ensure you use pressure-treated timber for the replacement.
Remove the rotten gravel board and if concrete posts are used, slide out the panel, slot in the new board and replace the panel. -
Step 4: Mending an arris rail
The arris rail is the horizontal support across the middle of wooden fences. Sometimes these break or rot at the ends. To repair, obtain metal arris brackets - these come ready made with flanges for attachment to posts at the end or middle. Attach with screws through the pre-drilled holes.
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Step 5: Replacing a panel
Fence panels come in standard sizes. Remove the old panel and attach the new with new screws to the old brackets.
If you have a non-standard size, it may be necessary to insert a length of (treated) wood between the post and the new panel to fill the gap. If the new panel is too long, add new vertical batons on each side, nailing right through the panel, at the correct distance, then cut off the end of the panel that is not needed. Treat all newly-cut end surfaces with wood preservative.
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