Erecting Close Board Fencing

How many featheredge boards to allow?

If this is 100mm wide we would expect that a completed 3m bay of fence would use 36 or 37 featheredge. It would be normal to allow for some wastage, so when calculating the quantity to order allow approximately 13 per metre run of fence.

Featheredge which is 125mm wide, often used with cant rails, is available from our Peterborough Branch will require 30no per 3m bay, which is equal 10 per metre run of fence.

What length Fence posts?

For garden fences above 1200mm high we would recommend that a minimum of 600mm of the fence post is embedded in the ground, this will normally mean 2.4m long posts for 1800mm high fences. 

There are regional trends affecting the materials used to erect this type of garden fence. Peterborough branch cater for closeboard constructed from nailed on cant rails and 125mm wide featheredge. Branches in Sussex and Surrey cater for arris rails, morticed fence posts & 100mm featheredge. See below for details.

Stage 1

Erect fence posts and arris rails as a framework.

Stage 2

Add the gravel board and centre stump.

Stage 3

Pale up the featheredge boarding onto the garden fence.

Stage 1

Erect posts and cant rails as a framework.

Stage 2

Add the gravel board

Stage 3

Pale up the featheredge boarding onto the fence.

This depends on the type rail being used. If the rails are of the nailed on variety these are nailed securely to the front face of the fence post.

When using arris rails, the end of the arris rail is shaped or tenoned on site to fit into a mortice ready made in the fence post.

Traditionally tenons are usually shaped with an adze although they can be cut on a workshop saw bench.

Closeboard fencing is erected to follow the contours of the ground, this excellent feature of closeboard fencing gives a clean top and bottom line with no stepping. During the erection process on sloping ground, both ends of the gravel boards will require cutting. If the slope is extreme then the individual featheredge boards will also require both the bottom and top to be cut to suit the slope.

Common Heights	No. of Rails	Post Centres
1050mm	2	Up to 3m
1200mm	2	Up to 3m
1350mm	2/3	Up to 3m
1500mm	3	Up to 3m
1800mm	3	Up to 3m
1950mm	3	Up to 3m

Closeboard fencing is an ideal garden fence to erect above low brick walls. For best results the fence posts are normally erected behind the wall. The traditional method of constructing the fence is modified to allow the featheredge boards, when the fence is complete, to be positioned above the centre of the wall rather than behind it.

Option 1

Nail the rails directly to the face of the fence posts. Arris rails with just the back trimmed may be used, alternatively use 87 x 38mm rectangular rails.

Option 2

Fix plain posts behind the wall and bolt stub posts to the front of these. The stub posts will be the same height as the garden fence and be morticed to receive arris rails in the normal manner. A gravel board is normally not required when a fence is erected above a wall.

Common Post Sizes	Post Types	Post Bases
100 x 100mm	Treated Softwood	All Heights Concreted
125 x 100mm	Concrete
	Oak

Garden fences should normally be fitted with a 50 x 50mm centre stump mounted under the lower rail in a mid position to prevent the garden fence sagging and improve lateral strength.

It is normally standard practice when a fence abuts a building or a wall to fix it to the masonry rather than sink a post into the ground.

This is because there are normally foundations not far below the ground making this a difficult job. Therefore, the solution is to fix a timber plate, normally 100 x 50mm in size, on to the wall to which the fence is connected.

Wall plates, as we call them, are normally morticed in the same manner as the fencing posts and are fixed with between two and four masonry fixings, three would be used for 1500-2000mm high fences.

These are an optional fixture located at the top of the fence and are always fitted in conjunction with a shaped capping. This combination of counter rail and capping gives the fence a lot more rigidity and lateral strength. The top of only every fourth featheredge is normally nailed to the counter rail, the ends of the counter rail are normally housed in mortices in the posts. The counter rail will require trimming to fit into the post mortice. Remember, when using a counter rail and capping, it is normal that an amount of post projects above the fence line.
This may mean that if you have already economised with the length of fence post used, a longer fence post will be required. Concrete post options are fewer with a counter rail and capping.

There are any number of options, the common types of post tops are illustrated below. For a standard closeboard fence without a counter rail, a half back weathered post is the norm. With a counter rail and capping, a very popular traditional post top is the round top.

These are only usually used in conjunction with concrete posts. They are not designed to hold soil, as in fact over their full length they are very flexible and easily damaged. There are three fixing points along their length, they are holed in the mid position enabling an M8 x 80mm coach screw or a M8 x 120mm roofing bolt to be connected to the centre stump. They are slotted at each end for connection to the post cleat with M8 x 80mm roofing bolts. A large round penny washer is required at each end to support the bolt head. Sloping ground is a problem with concrete gravel boards because each end will need to be cut with a disc cutter, which is time consuming.

Remember with concrete gravelboards the spacing of the fence posts is very important and a timber spacer should be made up to represent the gravel board, ensuring that the fence posts are correctly spaced apart during the erection of the framework.

These are for existing closeboard fences with timber posts, where the ends of the arris rails have become weakened or broken. Easy to fit using nails or screws. The bracket is fitted to the rear of the garden fence and joined to the arris rail and the timber post.

Suitable for fixing arris rails to timber posts during new fence construction. Fixed to the post using wood screws and optionally a coach screw or bolt. They are not as strong as the traditional morticed and tennoned construction and are not suitable for fences on sloping ground. An ideal use for these brackets would be for producing lift out panels. Arris rail support brackets are handed requiring left hand brackets on one end of the arris rail and right hand on the other end.

Repair spurs are designed for fitting without removing the old posts. They are used for the repair of timber posts which have either snapped off at ground level, or rotted away below the surface.

SIZES AVAILABLE

1.0m long 75 x 75mm for 75mm posts
1.2m long 100 x 100mm for 100mm posts.