Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

If you’re thinking about putting up a new garden fence, and maybe you’ve seen one you like down at your local garden centre or DIY superstore, just bear in mind that your budget does need to include a number of bits and pieces other than just the panels and posts. You will need a good selection of tools from your ‘household toolkit’, but in this guide I want to point out a few fencing essentials that you’re probably not going to find in your toolbox. read more »

Planning a garden needs to be a carefully considered decision-making process, where you take plenty of time in adding up the pros and cons of all your ideas and inspirations. Doing as much research as possible at the planning stage will always pay dividends in the long term, as your garden gradually matures. read more »

Although fence panels and posts are normally supplied treated and therefore with some degree of protection from the elements, you still need to re-coat the wood periodically in order to protect it. Maintaining a fence correctly therefore means applying a wood treatment or wood preserver, ever few years. You may choose to apply a clear wood preserver or, as shown below, introduce a colour to revive the look of the fence as a whole. read more »

One way of gaining greater privacy in your garden is to add trellis to a fence. This also allows you to grow creeping plants along the trellis, which will clearly be attractive as well as obscuring. Fortunately, the process is very straightforward as all that is required to add some extra height to a fence post is a post extender – you may also find these called post collars or post extension collars. read more »

If you are erecting a fence on concrete, you can dig out holes and sink the posts in place, but it is much easier to use bolt-down brackets. These brackets are simply fixed to the concrete surface, and the fence posts are inserted and secured into the bracket socket. The technique shown here deals with a panel fence, but you can adjust the method according to your particular fence design. It is also worth you reading my guide – ‘Erecting a fence on soft ground’, read more »