Closeboard Fence, Needham Market

A job close to home this one, in Needham Market, and a good example of a fence being asked to do two things at once.

We fitted fully framed heavy-duty closeboard panels into concrete slotted posts, with 300mm concrete gravel boards along the base.

Those gravel boards are the part worth talking about. At 300mm they’re considerably deeper than a standard board, and that’s deliberate. The garden has artificial grass laid right up to the boundary, and artificial grass sits on a built-up base of compacted stone and sand. That base has to be held back by something, or it slumps, spreads and takes the edge of the lawn with it.

A concrete gravel board at that depth does the retaining and keeps every piece of timber clear of wet ground at the same time. A timber board asked to do the same job would bow under the load and then rot from the back, where nobody would see it happening until the lawn started moving.

The panels are fully framed heavy-duty closeboard, which is the version worth paying for. The frame keeps the panel square and stops the featheredge boards working loose, and the whole panel still slots out in future if it ever needs treating or replacing.

The run carries round into the side passage, where there’s very little room to work and the fence has to sit tight and true against the house.

All materials supplied by Clarke Fencing Ltd.

See more about our fencing service here.