Choosing the right fencing for your property is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make: Not only does it impact the privacy and durability of your property, but it also influences its curb appeal and value. The right fencing needs to meet the property owner’s needs, complement the aesthetics of the property, and be durable and reliable.

These are the qualities many property owners have found in feather-edge panels, becoming one of the most popular choices for constructing new fencing in the UK. From its affordable pricing to its durability and ease of installation, feather-edge boards have a lot going for them, and in this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about how to install them on your property!

Why Should You Use Feather-edge boards for your Fencing: 4 Top Benefits

Learning the advantages of each type of fencing before you settle on one is critical to building a fence that meets your and your property’s needs. In this section, we’ll go over some of the key advantages of featheredge fencing. If these appeal to you, then featheredge fencing is a durable, affordable, and all around excellent choice for your property:

  1. Durable and strong: Made from pressure-treated timber, feather-edge boards are one of the most durable types of wood you can use to construct fencing. They can withstand extreme temperatures, strong winds, heavy snow, and all types of weather anomalies. They are resistant to rot and decay, and they are not susceptible to splintering or breaking. In other words, they are an excellent choice for fencing to protect and provide privacy to your garden or property.
  2. An appealing natural look: featheredge boards have a distinctive natural look to them that complements gardens and period properties. If you want your home to have a rustic, welcoming look, you can’t go wrong with featheredge panels!
  3. Flexible in use and design: Love the look of capping rails? Want to add a gravel board to your new fence? Like the look of notched posts? Feather-edge panels go great with all of them. Their flexibility and versatility mean property owners have a lot of leeway in how they design and build their fences!
  4. Excellent privacy: A featheredge fence has no visible gaps or holes and provides complete privacy to the residents of the property. Whether you like to spend quality time with your family on the patio or want to relax in your garden without any reservation, featheredge fencing offers the privacy you need!

Step-by-step Guide to Installing Feather-edge Boards

  1. Choose the Right Feather-edge Boards for Your Property

Building a proper fence starts with choosing the right posts and boards for your property. Feather-edge boards are hardy and durable by their very nature, but where the wood is sourced from is still a factor in its longevity, its respectability to cracking and splinters, etc.

Here at Timberstore, for example, we source our wood from some of the finest forests in Europe and source all our boards and posts in Britain to ensure the highest standards of quality that our customers expect from us! If you want to build stylish, high-quality, and reliable featheredge fencing at affordable prices, check out our products!

  1. Ensure You Have All the Tools You Need

Ensuring you have all the necessary tools prior to the beginning of your fencing project is essential to avoid delays, inconveniences, and “hacks” and “workarounds” (due to missing tools) that leave your fencing installation less stable and aesthetically pleasing.

Here are some of the key tools you need to assemble before you begin:

  • A measuring tape ensures precision and accuracy when outlining and constructing the fence, which is essential to the project’s success.
  • A post-hole-digger and a levelling tool ensure an even installation and a stable foundation.
  • A hammer, a drill, and nails to properly secure the featheredge boards to the fence posts.
  • Safety gear is essential whenever you deal with sharp objects, so gloves and proper clothing are necessary!

These are the key tools you need, though you might need additional equipment depending on your needs. Making a checklist of all the items you need and ensuring you have them all prepared before constructing the fence is a great way to ensure everything is handy when work begins.

  1. Prepare the Lawn and Treat the Feather-edge Boards

If you are building a fence from the ground up, it is essential you lay the groundwork for the fence before work begins. This includes cleaning up the area, raking it, and transporting the tools to the location so everything is prepared.

If you want to treat, paint, or cut the boards, this is the time to do it. Painting the boards after the fence has been installed is more cumbersome and might lead to accidents with paint splashing on the posts, which becomes a nightmare to fix.

  1. Assemble/Repair/Renovate the Fence

Are you trying to build a feather-edge fence from the ground up, or do you want to renovate and upgrade your existing fence? The way you approach the installation will be entirely different depending on the state of the fence (or lack thereof).

Assuming the fence posts and the rails have been properly installed, slotting in feather-edge boards is relatively easy:

  • Attach the first feather edge board to the first post using galvanised nails. Start with the thick edge of the board and make sure the fence line is level since it acts as the basis for the other feather-edge boards.
  • Fit feather-edge boards subsequently by ensuring there is about a 25 to 40 mm overlap between each board. Make sure this overlap stays consistent among all the boards.

That’s it. Continue the process from the first board until you fit all of them across the entire fence, and after that, only finishing touches remain.

  1. Add Finishing Touches

Now that the feather-edge boards have been properly attached, only some finishing touches are left to finish up your fencing project and ensure your property has a durable and stylish fence for years to come.

Does your fence need post caps or capping rails? Do you need to protect the fence by installing a gravel board? Finalising your fence by adding finishing touches not only improves its aesthetics and durability but also helps you customise the fence so that it better fits your property’s needs!

Key Tips for Successful Feather-edge Board Installations

Choosing the Right Time to Construct a Fence is Highly Important

One of the most underestimated aspects of properly building a quality fence is choosing the right timing. Weather conditions have an immense impact on the quality of the installation:

  • Rain both during and in the days prior to the construction of the fencing leads to wet, often unstable, soil, which makes it immensely difficult to install and secure the fence posts properly, affecting the stability of the entire fence.
  • Wind and low temperatures not only make it inconvenient to work on the fence but can also cause accidents or slip-ups that could damage the fence posts and boards, or worse, cause personal injuries.
  • High humidity and heat likewise have an impact on the nature of the soil, but beyond that, it can also influence the quality of the paint and result in washed-out or uneven paint.

The best time to build a fence is sunny weather with mild temperatures, low humidity, and wind!

Taking Precise Measurements Is Key to Ensuring a Durable, Stable Fence Installation

From ensuring the posts are properly spaced out, to calculating the recommended board overlap between the featheredge boards and making certain the gravel boards provide adequate protection from humidity, almost all the vital tasks of building a fence require careful and precise measurements.

A lot of property owners think that since building a fence is a DIY project, they can improvise and “play it by ear,” but this leads to unstable, uneven fencing that neither looks pleasing, provides appropriate privacy, nor withstands Britain’s turbulent weather.

Consider Counter Rails and Gravel Boards to Strengthen the Integrity of the Fence

While feather-edge boards are immensely durable and reliable, they do not make a fence by themselves. There are key additions you can make to a fence that provides extra protection, elevates the fence’s aesthetics, and gives property owners the durability and privacy they need:

  • Counter rail and capping rail: Installed along the top of featheredge fencing, capping and counter rails provide a layer of insulation from above between the boards and rain, snow, and hail. Besides added protection, counter rails and capping rails provide stability and a veneer that can make the fence look more attractive and appealing.
  • Gravel boards: Preventing direct contact between the feather-edge boards and the ground, gravel boards prevent rot and decay while providing your base with a solid, reliable base that makes it withstand harsh weather conditions. Coupled with its ease of installation and affordability, it makes a great addition to most featheredge fencing projects.
  • Support spikes and bases: If you are looking to construct a fence on concrete or steel, you need to rely on support spikes and bases instead of post holes, which are simply impossible to dig through a concrete or steel surface.

Featheredge Fence Installation FAQ

Should You Nail or Screw Feather edge boards?

Both nails and screws can be used to secure feather-edge boards. Screws are sometimes considered more reliable and secure, but in reality, nails do the job just fine. Screws aren’t without their disadvantages either, often risking split boards if they aren’t used carefully.

The most important factor is ensuring you use stainless steel nails or screws, since rust can easily run down feather-edge boards and ruin both the aesthetics and integrity of your fence, especially in a humid environment such as the UK.

Does My Feather-edge Fencing Need Gravel Boards?

Gravel boards are a very popular addition when building fences, and many property owners wonder if it is right for their property or not. Here are some of the key advantages of using gravel boards:

  • Gravel boards increase the durability and stability of your fence, making it more weather-resistant.
  • A gravel board provides separation between the ground and the featheredge fencing, protecting it from humidity and rot.
  • They add a unique touch to the aesthetics of the fence, which many property owners find appealing!

If any of these advantages sound appealing to you, it might be a good idea to consider gravel boards for your fencing project!