Last year, our landscapers did a great job of fitting a new garden fence but instead of cutting each of the supporting concrete posts down to panel size before fixing they left the excess bit sticking up which quite frankly looked ghastly.
 |
| Don't like those concrete bits sticking out |
It’s been bugging me ever since. Not one to leave such annoying things alone, I’ve been looking for a way to plug the gap without increasing the overall height of the fence beyond 2 metres in case of complaints from next door as technically any walls/fences over this dimension should have planning permission.
I’m plugging the gap with something called a trellis fence topper panel. Very few fencing panel suppliers produce fence toppers that are less than 30 cm tall. Our posts stick up slightly short of 20 cm above the fence panel so it’s a case of finding a fence topper that can be adapted to fill the space. With a bit of jiggery pokery you can chop a standard 30 cm high panel down to fit.
 |
| Fence topper/privacy panels |
After a good deal of internet searching, I managed to find a company called East Coast Fencing who had the most competitive price for diamond lattice trellis panels (6ft x 1ft size). Five panels cost just under £100 delivered, cheaper than those supplied by our local B&Q or Wickes stores. The panels are of good, robust quality, pressure treated but also paint up well.
A word about lattice trellis – the aperture gap between the diamonds can vary greatly. Panels with tighter, smaller gaps can be cut down better than those with a large gappy lattice which seem flimsier. Overall, I found that lattice panels described as ‘privacy’ panels had the smallest apertures.
Cutting or painting diamond lattice is a very fiddly, time-consuming business but worth it in the end.
 |
| Worth the effort to make the fence look nicely finished |
Before painting, cut your fence toppers down to size. The other half carefully removes one of the panel’s rebated edges to enable each of the lattice diamonds to be individually trimmed down. The rebated edge is then glued back into position as if nothing has happened. You’d never know the fence toppers weren’t this size in the first place!
 |
| Small chocks added to back face to prevent rattling |
To prevent the fence toppers from rattling in their concrete cradles, the other half has ingeniously screwed a small wooden chock to one side to allow a tighter fit. Particularly useful on this side of the garden as the fence is exposed to Chi’s regular gusty winds.
To compliment the fence panels, I’ve given each topper a couple of coats of B&Q’s Valspar branded garden paint in a grey shade called Carriage Wheel which is the closest match I could find to Cuprinol Ducksback’s grey/blue Silver Copse colour.
 |
| Toppers painted in Carriage Wheel grey - Valspar garden paint |
No offence to Cuprinol but I don’t think the Ducksback paint that I previously used on the fence panels has quite lived up to its 5 year guarantee. I’ve had to re-paint the fence in the front garden after only 2 years because the painted surface had been badly eroded by weather, bald wood patches leaching through the grey giving the fence a very blotchy leprous appearance.
I’m trying this Valspar paint to see if it stands up better to the English weather. It’s promising about 6 years’ worth of wear and tear but we’ll see.
 |
| No more sticky out concrete bits |
Already fence toppers have made a big visual difference. The side fence no longer looks like a Colditz perimeter and the trellis diamonds will make great anchorage for my climbing plants.
 |
| Making the panels less bland |
To add that final arty farty touch, we’ve fitted smaller sized willow trellis panels (Homebase £10 each) to the drab grey expanses of fence which has made the flower bed look a lot more ‘cottagey’ than before.
I can finally put that annoying niggle to bed. Begone! Oh niggle now naught!
 |
| Willow trellis panels along the side border fence |
No comments:
Post a Comment