Close board vs panel fencing: which is right for your garden?

How each fence is built

Close board uses posts, usually two or three horizontal arris or cant rails, and feather edge boards overlapped and fixed vertically. Because it is built in place, it follows slopes and awkward boundaries neatly.

Panel fencing uses factory made panels, often lap or slatted designs, held between timber or concrete posts. The panel is the weak point in strong wind, since it acts like a sail across the full bay.

Strength, wind and lifespan

The main practical differences between the two:

• Close board spreads wind load through many boards and rails rather than one panel.
• Individual damaged close board boards can be replaced without taking a bay down.
• Panels are quicker to fit, and a blown panel can be swapped in minutes if the posts are sound.
• In both cases, the posts and how they are set decide how long the fence stands.

Posts, gravel boards and ground contact

Timber rots fastest where it meets the soil. A gravel board, timber or concrete, along the bottom keeps the boards off the ground and is cheap to replace. Concrete posts do not rot and suit slotted panels; timber posts suit close board and look softer. Posts should be set deep enough for the fence height and the exposure of the site.

Boundaries and neighbours

Check which side of the boundary is yours to maintain before replacing a fence, and talk to the neighbour. Garden fences are typically allowed up to a certain height without planning permission, with lower limits next to a highway, so check with your council if you want something taller. Traditionally the good face points towards the neighbour, though this is a convention rather than a rule.

Reading a fencing quote

Compare like with like: post type and spacing, gravel boards, board thickness, number of rails, treatment, removal of the old fence and whether any concrete bases from old posts need breaking out. Old post footings are a common source of extra time if they are not accounted for.

Looking after a new fence

Most new timber fencing is pressure treated, which protects it from rot, but a coloured treatment or stain every few years keeps it looking even and adds protection to cut ends and the top edges where water sits. A capping rail and post caps on close board help shed rain off the end grain of the boards.

Keep soil, compost and climbing plants from piling up against the boards. Heavy ivy and wet soil hold moisture against the timber and speed up decay, and dense climbers add wind load that a fence was never designed to carry. If a single post starts to lean after a storm, dealing with it early often saves the neighbouring bays from being pulled over too.

Questions we're asked about this