Forum

Replies

• 

  Anthony Toop February 12, 2010 at 4:13pm

  Personally i think trying to fill in the gaps is always going to look a tad 'bodgy' and its likely you will still get, all be it small, more gaps and the dogs will still see figures moving about behind the fence. Better visually to replace completely with feather edge imo.
  
  But at the end of the day if the client is happy with your work around, then go for it, better you get the work than they go elsewhere.
• 

  Mark February 12, 2010 at 4:45pm

  Yup I agree the gaps might not all be spot on so could be messy....just as an aside filling the gaps might make the fence more prone to wind damage, is it strong enough to cope ?
• 

  David Beasley Garden Design February 12, 2010 at 5:31pm

  How about attaching 2" wide x 1" thick treated roofing battens over the gaps and staining them the same colour as the fence. This would create a nice ribbed effect fence that would have interesting shadow lines etc. The battens would be best stained prior to securing to the pale (to one pale only to allow for expansion) with galvanised nails using a Paslode gun.
  
  Alternatively, if the fence is of timber post and rail construction, why don't you get the neighbour to rail/pale up their side and make a double sided 'hit and miss' fence that allows privacy and the wind to filter through. I can imagine trying to remove/re-use the existing pales is going to lead to a lot of them getting damaged/written off in the process and therefore it may be cheaper in the long run to double up.
• 

  Michael Burt February 12, 2010 at 7:48pm

  Try this..
  

  
• 

  Dan Frazer Gardening February 13, 2010 at 12:51am

  Ok michael, what is 'this'? Is it gaps that have been filled, or is it some kind of tongue and groove construction built from scratch?
  
  Michael Burt said:

  Try this..
  

  
• 

  Michael Burt February 13, 2010 at 10:59am

  Sorry, I should have described it a bit more. It is a vertically slatted fence (4inch slats) with approximately 1inch gaps but with a second lot of 4inch wide slats nailed over the top. The second layer are staggered to cover the gaps from the first layer. I think it gives a fairly contemporary looking fence with nice texture and interesting shadow gaps. It gives good privacy too.
  Whilst this was a new fence I am doing a similar remedial job to a clients fence to help obscure the awful view through their current fence.
  You can just see the top of the back garden fence peeking over and this bas been constructed using a similar principle but with the slats nailed horizontally and using only a 10mm gap.
  Hope this helps.
  Michael
• 

  Dan Frazer Gardening February 13, 2010 at 11:05am

  Looks the best idea to me so far Michael, thanks. I'll make a suggestion when I see her on Monday.
  
  Would you pre-treat the slats?
• 

  Michael Burt February 13, 2010 at 5:57pm

  The slats I use are all pressure pretreated. I would always use treated wood for fencing. This, however, may give you a problem matching in with the existing fence so you would probably need to give the whole fence a going over with a suitable woodstain after the fence is finished.
  
  Dan Frazer Gardening said:

  Looks the best idea to me so far Michael, thanks. I'll make a suggestion when I see her on Monday.
  
  Would you pre-treat the slats?
• 

  David Beasley Garden Design February 13, 2010 at 6:10pm

  Hi Dan
  
  Micheal's idea was identical to mine except I suggest using narrower secondary pales/battens!
  
  "How about attaching 2" wide x 1" thick treated roofing battens over the gaps and staining them the same colour as the fence. This would create a nice ribbed effect fence that would have interesting shadow lines etc. The battens would be best stained prior to securing to the pale (to one pale only to allow for expansion) with galvanised nails using a Paslode gun."
  
  I'm not being bitchy, just highlighting a different effect you could achieve!
  
  Dan Frazer Gardening said:

  Looks the best idea to me so far Michael, thanks. I'll make a suggestion when I see her on Monday.
  
  Would you pre-treat the slats?