Lap Panels Blogs

AVS Fencing Supplies have some great offers on fence panels this November. Whether you need to replace one or two panels, or need to erect a whole new perimeter, AVS Fencing Supplies has the right fence panels for you.  To help you choose the perfect fence panel, here is a quick guide to the panels on offer.

Lap panels are a great all round fence panel which look attractive in any garden. We have reduced prices on 6’x6’ and 6’x5’ dip treated and pressure treated lap panels. Remember that pressure treated fence panels will, on average, give a longer life than the dip treated version. With this in mind, you may want to consider the long term cost of your panels as opposed to the immediate expenditure.

Alternatively, we also have our closeboard panels on offer, which are another popular fence panel choice. Closeboard panels are substantially stronger than lap panels, making them ideal for erecting in more exposed locations. They are easy to erect and, combined with slotted concrete posts, will last for years to come.

Closeboard panels are available both dip treated and pressure treated. If you choose to purchase closeboard panels, consider the matching closeboard gate to complete your garden fence, also available on offer throughout November.

Hurry, as these offers end 30^th November 2011. To order your fence panels visit one of our eight branches or buy online today for fast, free delivery^*.

 *Free delivery subject to minimum order value. Some restrictions apply. 

You don't have to join The Green Party to help planet earth. You can simply use gravelboard when you are erecting your garden fence! Why? Because then your fences will last longer, and you will be saving lots of trees, as well as saving yourself heaps of money and backbreaking work in the future.

What are Gravelboards?

Gravelboards fit under a fence at ground level. They can be timber gravel boards which are used withTimber Posts or Concrete Gravelboards used with slotted concrete fence posts. These are normally 6”/150mm or 12” / 300mm high.

Whats the purpose of Gravelboards?

1. 
   Gravelboards keep expensive timber fence panels or fence pales ends off of the damp ground thus protecting from rotting. Timber gravelboards are cheap and easy to replace so can in a way be sacrificed.
2. 
   Gravelboards are essential for fencing on sloping ground. Fence panels have to be stepped which can leave a gap at ground level – a gravel board can help as one end can be buried into the ground meaning the other end will fill the gap.
3. 
   Concrete gravelboards (the type used for fence panels and with concrete fence posts), can be used to hold back soil if ground levels on each side of fence different. For example, between your garden and your neighbours garden.

Remember to allow for longer posts to accommodate – sometimes you can use lower panels so the fence does not become too tall. Like Fence Panels, gravelboard is normally fixed between posts rather than on the front face, therefore, wood blocks called cleats are normally used to aid fixing with nails.

Gravelboards can be used anywhere there is garden fencing, not forgetting, commercial sites like factories .

According to rightmove.co.uk, who represent 90% of the UK housing market, house prices are set to increase towards the end of 2009. So now is the time to start finishing those jobs you've been putting off for ages, such as fixing fence panels. The good news is that we have four easy ways to help you fix and improve your garden fencing.

Fixing fence panels is easy, here are four simple methods:

• Nail through the side framing batten into post – use galvanised nails to avoid rust stains – size 65 or 75mm long nail front and back separately using 3-4 nails on each face

• Use Panel Fixing Clips – use 3 clips per side for a 6’ 1.8m high fence panel

• Use Slotted Concrete Fence Posts – no fixings are needed as these are H-shape posts, therefore the panel is located in slot. The advantages of this are that the posts last for years and panels can be lifted out and replaced in minutes

• Always use Decking screws for all fencing panels and trellis, particularly when using our Grange Elite Range of fence panel. The AVS range of Carpenter Mate Decking Screws fix easily with a battery screwdriver without slipping as they have a special square socketed head (driver bit provided) and are coated for maximum corrosion protection. They self-drill through timber without splitting.

AVS Top Tip

Why not use Lap Panels for your garden fencing? They are not only cost effective, they are attractive too.

AVS supply lap panels in 4 different sizes, each Lap Panel is 6 foot wide with heights that vary between 3, 4, 5 and 6 feet (these are 915, 1220, 1525 and 1830mm respectively).
As well as variations in size, a range of colours are on offer, these being either a light beige (our pressure treated lap panels), orange-brown or darker brown.(our dipped panels).
It is important to remember when buying a panel that posts come in only 2 colours, light brown (known as green) or dark brown. This type of fencing is simple to erect making it an excellent choice for your garden fencing.

With so many fence panels to choose from how do I know which is the strongest fence panel to buy, with so many to choose from with on line shopping. If we ignore decorative panels like the continental and grange elite range the choice of fence panels basically comes down to two, Closeboard fence panels and Lap panels. You can easily tell the difference the closeboard fence panel is constructed from timbers running vertically and the lap panel has horizontal timber slats.

So to answer the question the strongest garden fence panels are the closeboard variety but don’t stop reading because there’s much more than just a fence panel to making a strong fence we should to consider the fixings, the height, how the post is fixed and in what location you are using the fence in.

Let’s just examine the closeboard fence panel for a minute and look at what we mean when we say this is a stronger type of fencing panel. It has strength in two ways the closeboard panel will stand stronger winds than the lap panel before the fence panel blows out between the posts. It is also constructed from heavier weight timber featheredge boards which means that if the fence panel is subjected stress via either a dog or vandals holes are less likely to appear. It is important to fix your fence panel securely to the post. It doesn’t really matter how you fix it, some people use clips and others use nails. If you choose to use met clips you should have a minimum of 6 per fence panel and if you choose to nail through the batten and into the post you should have 4 nails on one side of the batten and 3 nails on the other a total of 7 nails on each side 14 overall.

If your fence panels are in a reasonably exposed location or a windy location and you want to reduce the wind effects on them consider a reduced height panel with a trellis sat above, you can mix any height of trellis with a fence panel instead of a 6ft high panel you could consider a 5ft high panel with 1ft trellis above still giving you a 6ft high fence or even a 4ft fence with a 2ft trellis above. Trellis will reduce the wind resistance of the fence and allow the wind to blow through the trellis and reduce the pressure on the fencing panels.

Having considered your fencing panels next consider the fencing posts, if your timber fencing posts are not securely fixed into the ground and they move around the wind this will weaken the fence because of the movement which will be present in the fence. AVS recommend a fencing post for a 6ft high fence panel should be inserted between 2ft and 2ft. 6ins into the ground. The most secure method of fixing a fence post is to place concrete or use post mix a rapid hardening ready mix cement which comes dry in the bag and you pour into the fence post hole and add water, a very easy way to fix a fence post. Once the post mix has gone off the post will be completely rigid. Overall the aim is to try and stop the fence post moving at all in the ground.

Met post fence post spikes are another option for fixing your fence these are in our opinion only suitable where the ground conditions are favourably and where your fence is not subject to much wind.

Finally are there any locations which are not suitable for fence panels? In our view very exposed locations are best fenced with closeboard fencing which is assembled on site rather than using ready made fence panels, it is generally constructed using larger post sections and strong horizontal rails which can be increased where there is a risk of frequent high winds.

AVS Fencing Supplies are pleased to announce the launch of our new and improved homepage. This has been designed with you the customer in mind and aims to provide you with a streamlined process when buying your fencing & landscaping products online. Whether you are looking for fencing, decking, railway sleepers or gates our homepage will lead you to exactly what you want.

In addition you now have new and improved access to special online deals in our frequently updated Web Offers Section. These are updated constantly and offer great savings to you on products such as Lap Panels, Featheredge, Railway Sleepers, Concrete Posts & Aggregates.

Finally to ensure you don’t miss out on this seasons must have products, we have launched our 'Top 10 buys of the month'. Here you can see what fencing & landscaping related products our other customers are buying, in order to gain some inspiration and help towards your purchasing decisions.

We hope you like our new website and look forward to doing business with you soon.

What is a Panel Fence

A pre-made timber panel, of differing styles and qualities, that are fixed between two posts.

Types of Panel

Panels are available in 3 different colours, a light beige (pressure treated), gold (orange/brown) and dark brown which are dipped. Check stocks for the range at your branch.

The styles can be broken down into:

Lap Panels - A waney edged board, overlapped and fixed horizontally within a batten frame, described as fully framed – meaning they have timber around the outside edge. They also have vertical battens fixed across the face and back of the panel to strengthen the laps.

Close board Panels - A feather edge board, overlapped and fixed vertically on a heavier duty batten formation. Stronger than the lap panel, but not as strong as true closeboarding.

'The above are sold in 6ft widths, starting at 3ft high in 1ft increments, up to 6ft high.'

Continental Panels - A decorative panel, with different designs of infill and tops, with a limited range of heights.

'The above are sold in 1.8m widths and varying heights, these are all in the light beige colour only, fully pressure treated.'

Posts

All panels can either be put on timber posts or concrete slotted posts; it is purely the customer’s personal choice.

On softwood timber posts the options would be: 75 x 75mm 100 x 75mm 100 x 100mm

The panels would be fitted to these via met clips, a U shape bracket, or nails/screws fixed through the side batten, pre drilling is advised. The timber posts can either be concreted into the ground or met posts could be used. If they are being concreted in, the post should go into the ground a minimum of 600mm; if met posts are being used the post will be shorter.

The concrete post has a slot that runs down the complete length of the post, which allows the panel to slot into the post. This is fine on installation, but remember that if a panel needs replacing later on, the panel has to be lifted above the posts and slotted down, e.g. a 6ft high panel would need lifting 6ft in the air to replace.

The options available for slotted posts are: Intermediates Ends Corners

The corners and ends are not handed as the slot is central to the post.

The panels are not actually fixed to the concrete so just sit in the slot; this does mean that they can move around if the panel is thinner than the slot.

Wall Fixing

If the fence is adjoining any walls then a wall plate can be used, either a 100x 47mm or a 75 x 47mm, which is bolted to the wall using suitable fixings, such as thunderbolts, hammer fixings or coach screws; then the panel fixed to this.

Post Tops

The tops of the posts can be left flat, machined or a post cap with or without a finial can be fitted. The finials are commonly acorns or balls, but others are available, these are fitted via a double threaded screw.

Sloping Ground

Remember that if the ground is sloping with the fence line, longer posts will be required to allow for the extra height caused by the panel sitting off the ground. As the panel should always sit level and should never be buried at the high side.

Gravel Boards

These are not only used for their ability to increase the height of the fence, but they are also used to prevent the panel from coming into contact with the ground; thus helping prolong the life of the panel.

They can also be used to fill the gaps beneath panels caused by steeping and inconsistencies in the ground level.

Timber Gravel Boards

Timber gravel boards are fixed to the timber post using cleats, which means it is unnecessary to use any fixings between the panels and gravel boards. Remember that if continental panels are used, then the standard 6ft gravel board is going to be too long and must be cut prior to installation.

Concrete Gravel Boards

In the instance of concrete gravel boards they can be used to retain light soil, as they are stronger and will not rot like timber; these slot into the concrete post. They are available in both 150mm and 300mm high. If these boards are used with continental panels, fillets would need to be used to increase the width of the panel.

Cutting Panels

As most gardens will not be exactly divisible by the panel width, it may be necessary to cut a panel to fit. It is easily achievable on lap and close board panels, but not so with continental panels, as the framing is jointed in the corners.

To cut a lap panel down, the battens are removed from one end of the panel and fixed into a similar position at the required width; so the cutting of horizontal battens is required. Once fitted the excess laps can be cut off.

Installing Panelled Fence Using Concrete

If concreting in, set the first post and measure out for your second hole and excavate. Once at the desired depth, fix the panel in place and fix the second post to it, checking for level and line. Once happy with the position concrete the second post in and then carry on the process until the fence is complete. Remember depending on the method of concreting used, it may be necessary to put temporary props on the fence to allow the concrete to set.

Note: If the fence is on a slope it is easier to start at the top of the slope, to ensure you get the height of the posts correct.

Help & Advice

For further help & advice please feel free to phone our fencing specialists at your local branch. They will be happy to answer your questions & provide you with a free quote for your materials.