How much does composite fencing cost?

Checkatrade is the only source that itemises composite properly, and the breakdown is worth seeing. Per metre: £67 for the slat panel, £20 for the aluminium post and cap, £8 for the post base, £7 for the finishing profile and £28 for installation including concreting the post bases. That totals £130 per metre for standard 21mm slats. Swap in premium slats at £240 a panel and the total becomes £200 per metre. Their figures exclude groundwork, gates, waste removal and concrete gravel boards, so add those lines yourself.

Published composite ranges conflict badly. MyJobQuote gives around £85 to £150 per metre fully fitted, MyBuilder's installed table gives £130 to £200, and MyBuilder's own composite guide gives £60 to £130. The spread exists because sources differ on whether posts, post bases and finishing profiles are counted in. Our £95 to £180 per metre excluding VAT spans standard through premium and includes the posts and fixings, which is why the bottom of our range sits above the cheapest published figures rather than level with them.

Retrofitting is the real saving. Composite panels can often be slotted into existing concrete posts and gravel boards, which removes the post supply, the digging, the postcrete and most of the labour. The condition matters: the existing posts must be sound, plumb and correctly spaced for the panel width. Concrete post and gravel board runs are common across Cheltenham and the surrounding villages, so it is worth checking before pricing a full system. Send photographs of the posts and we will tell you whether yours will take composite panels.

Small composite jobs cost more per metre. Checkatrade's own warning is direct: labour may be charged at a minimum day rate, so supplying and installing three panels can come out above £130 per metre. Composite is heavier work than timber, and MyJobQuote notes these jobs typically need two installers where posts are being set in concrete. If you are doing one short section now and the rest next year, the two visit total will be materially higher than doing the whole run in one go.

On whole life cost, be sceptical of the usual pitch. Composite avoids re-staining, and professional fence painting runs £170 to £270 each time with treatment recommended every two to three years, which is real money over 15 years. What composite does not clearly win is lifespan. Manufacturer warranties run 15 to 25 years, Ecoscape offers 20, and Jacksons guarantees pressure treated timber for 25. Those are warranty periods rather than proven service lives. Buy composite for the maintenance you avoid, and price the timber alternative properly first.

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