Looking for a brand new fence? Before you dive in and pick out the perfect colour, it’s good to start by finding out which fence material is best for your garden. In this short guide, we cover all 9 different fence materials and which situations they are best suited for.
Trellis Fencing
Trellis fencing is a beautiful option if you’re hoping to add privacy to your garden without cutting out too much light. This is especially important if you’re a keen gardener that has a lot of flowers or vegetables growing, but you also want to enjoy the privacy of your space.
Trellis fencing is unique in that it’s also great for vining plants; so if you’d like a garden surrounded by real greenery instead of just a fence, trellis fencing is your best option.
You can buy full height trellis fencing, trellis sections to add to walls or your current fencing and even fence panels designed with lattice trellis sections added already.
You can check out our full range of trellis fencing here.
Picket Fencing
Picket fencing is the dream of most suburban families – it’s pretty, creates a neat boundary while still allowing you to show off your garden. Being real wood fencing, the world is your oyster when it comes to colours too; you can stain or paint the fence to fit it with any look you like.
Because picket fencing is quite short, it’s also very unlikely that you’ll need any sort of planning permission so you can jump in and install it with no worries. Remember, if you’re planning on putting your fence next to a highway or a footpath, you can only have a fence up to a maximum of one metre in height without planning permission. If your fence isn’t next to a footpath or highway, you can have a fence up to two metres high without planning permission.
Learn how to avoid costly mistakes when building your fence here.
Picket fencing is not only simple to install, but because they are boards, you also get to choose how close together you want each board to sit, giving you a little more freedom with design and how much light you’d like to enter your garden.
You can check out some great deals on picket fencing here.
Timber Fencing
If you’re looking for the ultimate freedom when it comes to designing your own fence, there’s nothing better than timber fencing. You get to choose your own boards, supports and fit them together as you see fit.
It can be more cost effective too; plus, who could put a price on the pride of building your own fence from scratch?
Here’s the full range of timber fencing from eDecks.
Wood Fence Panels
If you love wood, but don’t fancy getting into the complications of building from scratch, there’s always wood fence panels. Wood fence panels are great for simple installation and maintenance while still giving you the freedom to paint and stain to your heart’s content.
There’s also a huge range of designs available, making them one of the most popular fencing options.
Check out the full range of wood fence panel designs here.
Wood Pole Fencing
Wood pole fencing can be really simple to install and quite sturdy as each pole can be dug into the ground which gives it added strength against the elements. This can be particularly handy if your garden is quite exposed and you’re concerned that winds may cause damage.
They can tie in well with both traditional and modern homes with a rather simple look. As they are so sturdy compared to traditional fencing, you would assume that they would be far more expensive; but fortunately, they are surprisingly affordable, starting from just £2.07 per running metre at the time of writing this article.
Check the costs of wood pole fencing here.
Galvanised Metal Fencing
If you’re looking for something less aesthetically pleasing and more functional, you might just need galvanised metal fencing. This type of fencing tends to be thin and commonly used in agricultural settings; especially with livestock. If you’re looking to keep animals in or out of your garden, galvanised metal fencing is a great way to go.
You can choose something less substantial to keep birds away from plants, such as chicken wire, or something stronger to keep larger predators at bay, such as security fencing. Security fencing is also a good option if you have a dog that needs to stay at the right side of the fence.
Galvanised metal is specially treated to withstand the elements; just make sure you also get galvanised bolts and staples when you’re installing it to avoid rusty marks on wood.
Here’s the full range of deals on galvanised metal fencing.
Metal Railings
If you’re hoping to fence in your garden, you might also want to consider putting metal railings in. Although they can be a bit more expensive than a fence, they can add a bit more curb appeal and require a lot less maintenance.
If you have an existing wall and you just want to add height, adding railings can be the perfect way to do it without going to the extreme of knocking your wall down.
If you think installing railings might be a bit too complicated, think again – it can often be easier than installing a fence!
You can check out installation guides and great prices on metal railings here.
Concrete Fencing
Concrete fencing isn’t quite as the name might suggest. This type of fencing is more about the installations than the final strength and appearance. Concrete fencing is usually fitted instead of wood fence posts to help fencing last longer and make replacing fences simpler.
Each concrete post has a slot to fit a fence panel in rather than a traditional wooden post set in the ground and nailed to the panel. Although more expensive, this style of fencing is much stronger against the elements and makes future upgrades cheap and easy.
If you don’t love the look of concrete posts, you can easily paint them with the same paint you would use to paint your fence and no one will be the wiser!
You can look through our range of concrete posts and gravel boards here – and remember, you can slot in any fence panels you like!
Composite Fence Panels
Composite fence materials are the best option if you’re looking for something wooden but long lasting. Composite is created using a mixture of plastic and recycled wood, which makes it a great material to work with as well as giving it reinforcement from the elements and much less likely to rot like a traditional wooden board.
Composite comes in pre-made panels that are incredibly simple to install as they are designed to slot together. The only real drawback of composite fencing is that there aren’t quite as many designs available as traditional wood fence panels, but there still is a great range to choose from.
Here are some composite wood fence panels at great prices from eDecks.
Which Fence Material is Best for you?
Whichever material you choose, it’s important to consider your budget, the challenges your fence may need to withstand such as animals or weather, the design and how long you hope it will last for. Also, consider how often you might be willing to spend maintaining the fence in the future; any timber option will require annual maintenance to ensure it lasts well and doesn’t rot.
If you’re not feeling confident about installing your fence yourself, simply browse eDecks to find our handy installation guides or contact us for some free advice – it’s usually easier than you think!
eDecks offers some of the best deals on fencing materials out there, including all of the installation supplies and tools you might need. Not only do they provide some unbeatable deals but also:
Super fast FREE delivery on orders over £100*
48 Hour delivery on many products
Handy FREE installation guides (and even instructional videos!)
Incredible prices on all of our fencing materials (and frequent big discounts!)
*Free delivery applies to most of the UK, but some areas may incur a charge, unfortunately – please check the eDecks website for more details.