DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi

My sister wants me to put a new fence in at her house. I have decided to go with closeboard fencing. I will need 4 posts and there will be 3 sections of closeboard fencing in between.

The garden already has a boundary fence which is owned by the council and so cannot be taken down and the neighbour on the otherside does not want it down. So looking at it I think the easiest thing to do will be just to get my posts and bolt them on to the existing concrete posts - this will probably be more secure than using the spikes in the ground.

Here are some pictures.









I am intending to use 10cm by 10cm wooden posts.



My questions are

a) do you think 3 bolts per post into the concrete posts will be secure enough? Oviously half of the post (i.e top half) will have no uspport but this is no different to a post that has been spiked into the ground which oly has support at the bottom.

b) should I put in the spikes for good measures? They might add some support to the bottom but I am not sure they would actually add anything over the bolts.

c) I wasn't going to bother with gravel boards, maybe just have the featherboards just off the ground - what do you think?

d) anyone recommend the best store to buy the relevant bolts? I am not exactly sure what I needbut I know they exist.

e) any value in having the posts not touching the ground so they don't rot? But again I will loose support as the weight will all be held by the concrete posts.

drilling and bolting to the existing posts will be hard as there is steel rods in the centre so be carefull.
The bolts you need are thunderbolts,no rawplugs are required just drill a 6mm pilot hole and tighten in place.
If the fence is 6ft high then bury and concrete the posts in the ground aswell for good measure.
if you use pressure treated timber posts then they will last many years.

Didnt want to use concrete because of the awkwardness of digging down in that spot and it just aint worth the hassle

Otehr is presumably there will already be lots of concrete at the base of the existing concrete posts - in which case i would be better off moving the posts elsewhere - which kind of defeats the object as I want to take advantage of the existing concrete posts.

the bolts will do the job, I only suggested concreting aswell for good measure,its entirely up to you if you dont want to use concrete

one more

any thoughts o nthe centre stump?

How are you mean to install it? foudn soem guidance that says its needed but not the best way to install it to make sure its done properly. what are the key things?

i spokse to osmeone who said it is to attach the gravel boards to - but presumably it has some function stability wise.

gravel boards are best used with concrete posts, they slot into the posts and the wood boards sit on top.
If thats what you want then they need to be concreted in place.
Wood posts bolted to to existing concrete is sufficent but its up 2 you