How Much Does A New Fence & Installation Cost?

  • Don’t buy more fence panels than you need, they can be costly.
  • Think about the function of your fence before you make your purchase.

Installing a new fence for your garden is a great way to bring some life back to your home without breaking the bank.

Breaking down the cost of installation

The cost of buying a new fence and installing it can hugely vary. A lot of the cost is down to the type of fence you decide to buy, with the other major expense being hiring a professional to install that fence.

Average cost of fence panels

The traditional lap panel, made of wood and very common in urban homes, costs anywhere from £15 to £25 per panel.

More modern slatted fence panels, however, can cost upwards of £200.

To go somewhat between those two prices, you can expect several variations of decorative fence panel to cost between £50 and £150.

The price of fence panels is affected by the size, the materials, and the complexity of the panel. Most home gardens take advantage of the cheaper lap fence panels, which only need to be replaced every few years when cared for properly.

Pressure treated fence panels can last up to 15 years.

To fully fence your garden, you will be looking at a few hundred pounds, easy.

Cost of installation

If you decide to go down the professional route and have someone come and install your fence for you, you will need to consider labour costs, material costs, and more.

Putting up fence panels requires more than just the panels, themselves. You’ll also need fence posts to go in between each panel, post caps, postcrete, and gravel boards. We haven’t included the various tools you’ll need, either, which you might not have unless you’re a handy DIYer.

Labour costs for this kind of job aren’t going to be cheap. You could need the worker for up to three days, depending on the size of the fence you require, and how complex the installation is.

Working with your garden

Before you go off and buy enough fence panels and posts to outline the border of your entire garden, consider the other options you have and why you’re fencing in your garden.

Wildflowers growing through a white fence.

Why we use fences

Fences are mostly used to provide more privacy or to mark the boundary line of a property. This is largely the case when you see a home with huge 6ft fences on all sides. It’s likely that the household in question was looking for more privacy.

Alternatively, fencing can be used to keep pets from escaping. You’ll find that all dog owners that own their own homes will put up some kind of fencing to keep their furry friend from getting out into the road.

Your garden and its fence

Some fencing is purely decorative and can look stunning when put together around a themed garden.

You don’t need to have a luxury home to take advantage of stylish fencing options. There’s something almost magical about a well-groomed garden that is surrounded by beautiful pieces of fencing.

For gardens that have a number of large trees or borders of plant life, you could combine fence panels with these areas and make a special border for your garden. As an example, iron fences and rose bushes are a popular combination.

How to install your own fence

Moving on, let’s look at installing your own fence rather than hiring a professional to put it up for you. This isn’t a task that we would recommend beginners take on, but for anyone out there with a lot of DIY experience (especially large garden projects), you may find this helpful.

Installing your own fence will practically slash the cost of getting a new fence in half. As long as you already have all the materials at home, concrete included, installing a fence in your garden could prove to be your best option.

We’ll be using the common wooden panel fence (lay fence) as an example in this section.

This fence installation will only require the panels, posts, concrete, and nails. There are no gravel boards needed for this project.

Step one

Clear the area that you plan on erecting the fence in.

Measure out and mark the places where the posts need to go. You can use a stick or a bamboo cane as a cheap marker. Make sure you place your markers in the exact centre of where the post will go.

Step two

Use a shovel to dig out the post holes. These holes should be around 45cm deep.

Insert the first post and continue to do the rest by loosely placing them in the holes you’ve dug.

Step three

Provided that you’ve purchased fence panels, you will have marked out the posts exactly where they need to go in between each panel.

Remember to continuously check that your panels and posts are straight by using a spirit level.

Measure six separate and evenly placed marks down the side of your panel’s frame. Drill pilot holes where you’ve made these marks.

Step four

Raise your fence panel above the ground by placing it on some bricks. The gap created using this technique will stop your fence panels from rotting.

Place your spirit level at the top of the fence to check that it’s straight, and then hammer in nails into the holes you drilled earlier. In case it isn’t obvious, you should be attaching your fence panel to the fence post using these pilot holes and nails.

Repeat this process until all of your panels are where they should be. Remember to keep checking the levels of each panel and post.

Step five

Once the panels are in place and everything is level, it’s time to use concrete to fill the space in the fence post holes.

Following this, you can apply the post caps to each post using a silicone-based sealant and some nails.

Apply wood treatment and paint as required. Remember to remove the bricks from under the panels once the cement has set.

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