Closeboard fencing in Cheltenham
Feather-edge boards built board by board onto concrete or timber posts, so the fence holds its line and single boards can be replaced.
Closeboard fencing in Cheltenham costs £90 to £130 per linear metre supplied and installed, excluding VAT. That is a 1.8m fence built on site: posts concreted in, gravel boards, arris rails and feather-edge boards, so budget £1,350 to £1,950 for a 15 metre boundary. On heavy clay, or where old concreted posts have to be broken out and carted away, allow £150 to £180 per metre. Closeboard is assembled board by board rather than dropped in as a factory panel, which is why it holds its line in wind and why a split board is a £0.80 to £2 piece of timber.
This is for you if
- Your lap panels bowed or came out of their slots in an autumn gale and you want a boundary that stays put
- The bottom 100mm of every panel has gone soft because there was never a gravel board under it
- Timber posts are snapping at ground level and you want concrete posts in this time
- Your boundary is an awkward length that will not divide into 6ft panels without a silly gap at the end
- The garden falls away towards the back and stepped panels leave triangular gaps underneath
- You want a solid boundary with no see-through gaps, for a dog, a hot tub, or a garden that backs onto a public footpath
What the job includes
- A set-out before anything is dug: bays measured to suit your run, up to 3 metres between posts, instead of being forced into 1.83m panel widths
- Posts set 600mm into the ground as our standard, deeper on soft or made-up ground, with a full bag of postcrete per post
- Concrete and timber options for posts and gravel boards priced side by side on the same quote, so you can see the difference before choosing
- Use Class 4 treated timber for everything in or near ground contact, with end-grain preservative brushed onto every cut we make on site
- Feather-edge boards lapped at least 20mm and fixed with 50mm galvanised nails, on two arris rails up to 1.2m high and three above that
- The old fence taken down, concrete footings broken out and the lot carted away, priced as its own line rather than turning up later
Planning and the rules that apply
Under Class A, Part 2 of the GPDO 2015 a fence is permitted development up to 2 metres above ground level, dropping to 1 metre where it stands adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic, including that highway's footway. Those rights fall away at any height within the curtilage of a listed building, and they can be withdrawn by an Article 4 direction or by a condition on the original planning permission, which is worth checking on newer estates. Cheltenham's conservation areas do not lower the height limit for putting a fence up, but taking down an existing wall or fence of 1 metre or more next to a highway, waterway or open space (2 metres elsewhere) generally needs permission for relevant demolition, so we check with Cheltenham Borough Council before anything comes out.
| Guide range | £90 - £130 per metre |
| Typical duration | 1-2 days |
Guide ranges for budgeting, excluding VAT. We confirm a fixed price in writing before any work starts, and the price we agree is the price you pay.
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Closeboard fencing: what people ask
How much does closeboard fencing cost per metre?
Closeboard fencing costs £90 to £130 per linear metre supplied and installed, excluding VAT. That covers posts concreted in, gravel boards, arris rails, feather-edge boards and labour, on reasonably flat ground with decent access. Where old posts are set in concrete and have to be broken out, add £50 to £100 per post, and awkward ground can take a run to £150 to £180 per metre. Watch out for prices quoted per panel. A closeboard panel on the shelf at a DIY merchant is about £68 including VAT, but a fitted bay also needs a post, a gravel board, a bag of postcrete and the labour to set it. Quotes for identical specifications vary by 20 to 30 per cent between installers, so get the work itemised in writing rather than handed to you as one number.
Read the full answerWhat is the difference between closeboard and a lap panel fence?
Closeboard is built on site from individual parts; a lap panel arrives as a finished frame. In a closeboard fence, tapered feather-edge boards run vertically and overlap each other by at least 20mm, nailed to horizontal arris rails that span between the posts, with a gravel board underneath. A lap panel is thin horizontal slats pinned into a light frame. The difference shows in three places. Wind: vertical boards on rails hold their shape where a panel flexes and pops out of its slot. Repair: a split feather-edge board is £0.80 to £2 of timber, while a damaged lap panel means a whole new panel, £20 to £50 to buy plus £40 to £60 of labour. Price: lap runs £70 to £100 per metre installed against £90 to £130 for closeboard, and on a merchant's shelf a closeboard panel is roughly double the price of a lap one.
Read the full answerShould I use concrete posts or timber posts?
Concrete posts cost about £9 to £13 more each on a merchant's shelf than timber, and £0 to £10 more once fitted, and they avoid the commonest cause of fence failure. Timber posts rot at the soil line, in the band of ground that is repeatedly wet then dry. One UK concrete manufacturer puts timber post life at seven to ten years against decades for concrete, and a fence on concrete posts should need far less attention over the next 15 to 20 years. For closeboard we use morticed or slotted concrete posts so the arris rails and gravel board locate properly. Timber posts stay a fair choice where the boundary is seen against Cotswold stone or Regency brick and you want the whole run to read as timber. If you go that way, insist on Use Class 4 treatment and a gravel board holding the boards clear of wet ground.
Read the full answerHow long does a closeboard fence last?
A well-built closeboard fence lasts 10 to 20 years, and closeboard tends to outlast lap panels because of the stronger construction. That figure assumes maintenance: published guidance is a preservative or exterior stain every two to three years, and untreated lap panels can start to deteriorate within five to eight years. Nobody can honestly promise 20 years with nothing done to it. Two things change the arithmetic. Concrete posts and gravel boards keep the timber out of ground contact, which is where rot almost always starts, so the structure outlives the boards. And when boards do go, they go one at a time: a feather-edge board is £0.80 to £2, an arris rail repair bracket £2 to £5 plus £7 to £15 of labour. Professional re-staining runs £170 to £270 each time if you would rather not do it yourself.
Read the full answerCloseboard fencing across Gloucestershire
The same prices everywhere we work. What changes is the ground, and on this patch the ground changes a lot. Each area page starts there.
Fencing in Charlton Kings
GL52, GL53 · Cheltenham Borough Council
Fencing in Leckhampton
GL53, GL51 · Cheltenham Borough Council
Fencing in Prestbury
GL52 · Cheltenham Borough Council
Fencing in Bishop's Cleeve
GL52 · Tewkesbury Borough Council
Fencing in Winchcombe
GL54 · Tewkesbury Borough Council
Fencing in Gloucester
GL1, GL2, GL3, GL4 · Gloucester City Council
Fencing in Stroud
GL5, GL6 · Stroud District Council
Fencing in Tewkesbury
GL20 · Tewkesbury Borough Council
Planning closeboard fencing?
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