Timber Fencing & Boundary Repairs in
Stretford & Manchester

Timber posts set directly into Stretford's moisture-retentive ground tend to rot through at the soil line within five to eight years. Slotted concrete posts never rot, and because timber panels simply slide into the rebates, you can swap out a damaged panel in minutes without disturbing the footings. We always advise concrete posts paired with concrete gravel boards to ensure your boundary stays rigid through wet North West winters.

Yes, because keeping the base of the timber clear of damp turf and soil stops the bottom edges of the boards from rotting out prematurely. A concrete gravel board creates a solid six-inch barrier between wet ground and your timber, protecting the fence from lawnmower strikes and pooling rainwater. It also prevents soil, gravel, and mulch from washing under the fence line into the adjoining garden.

If your existing posts are structurally sound and sitting plumb, we can quickly slide in replacement feather edge panels and secure any loose battens without touching the rest of the run. Where an old timber post has snapped off at ground level in high winds, we break out the old concrete plug, set a new post in fresh concrete, and rehang the existing panels if they are unbroken. We only recommend a full replacement when multiple posts have failed or the entire line is leaning out of upright.

For a standard six-foot timber fence, we dig post holes down to a minimum depth of 600mm (two feet) into the ground. That depth gives the post the mechanical leverage it needs to resist the sail effect of high winds hitting solid feather edge panels. We tamp the base firm, position the post true with a spirit level, and lock it in with a dense mix of concrete compacted down to expel trapped air.

You cannot screw gate hinges directly into slotted concrete posts without cracking the concrete or fouling the internal steel reinforcing rods. Instead, we bolt a treated timber fixing batten securely to the concrete post, which allows us to mount heavy-duty galvanised band and hook hinges directly to the timber. This spreads the weight of the gate evenly and stops the latch from dropping out of alignment over time.

Established gardens in Stretford often have old concrete post collars, boundary walls, or thick roots sitting right where a new post needs to drop. We break out old buried concrete using heavy demolition breakers and cut away non-structural roots using root-cutting tools to clear the hole to full depth. If an immovable obstacle sits on the boundary line, we adjust the post spacing or custom-cut the panels on site so the finished fence line remains straight and solid.