Mending fences

Toby flags up some of the mistakes people make when building a fence – and explains how to make yours better

- TOBY BUCKLAND

IF an English man’s home is his castle, his garden fence is the outer fortification – which probably explains why so many look like they’ve been through the wars.

The larch-lap calamity around my sister’s garden that I’m helping her replace certainly does. Its wonky posts and broken panels have been fixed more times than Trigger’s broom.

To be fair, the fence was doomed from the day it was built, as the base was buried below the soil of the border. Where neighbouring gardens sit at slightly different levels, it’s all too tempting to use the panels to hold back the earth – but it will only ever be a temporary fix. Wet soil and timber go together like, er… fish and wood chips, as the weight of the soil warps the fence and moisture causes rot.

What’s needed is a low retaining wall of concrete blocks or (second best) concrete ‘barge boards’ below the timber to keep the wood out of the mud.