How to Put Up a Featheredge Fence

What you'll need

Posts: 100 × 100mm treated timber, or concrete posts. Posts should be about 600mm longer than the fence height – for example, 2.4m posts for a 1.8m fence.

Rails: arris rails (triangular) or cant rails, fixed between the posts. Use two rails for fences up to about 1.2m high and three rails for taller fences.

Featheredge boards: usually 100mm or 125mm wide, tapering from a thick edge to a thin edge.

Gravel boards: timber or concrete boards along the bottom to keep the featheredge boards off the soil so they don't rot.

Postcrete or concrete: typically two 20kg bags of postcrete per post.

Galvanised or stainless steel nails (ordinary nails leave black streaks), plus optional capping and counter rails for a neat top.

Post spacing and depth

With arris rails, posts are usually spaced up to 3m apart. Set at least a quarter of the post's length in the ground – about 600mm for a 1.8m fence. Dig holes roughly three times the width of the post, so around 300mm square for a 100mm post.

How many boards?

Each board covers its width minus the overlap. With 100mm boards overlapping by 25mm, each board covers 75mm, so you need about 13.3 boards per metre. A 10m fence needs about 134 boards, or around 148 with 10% for splits and offcuts. The Featheredge Fence Calculator works out boards, posts, rails, gravel boards and postcrete for your fence.

Step-by-step

Set out the line. Run a string line between pegs at each end and mark the post positions.

Dig and set the end posts. Put 50–100mm of gravel in each hole for drainage, stand the post, check it's plumb on two faces with a spirit level, and fill with postcrete following the bag instructions.

Set the intermediate posts along the string line, keeping the tops level or stepped evenly on a slope.

Fix the gravel boards along the bottom between the posts.

Fit the rails. Use rail brackets or notch them into the posts. Fit the top rail about 150mm below the post top, the bottom rail about 150mm above the gravel board, and a middle rail on tall fences.

Fix the first board at one end, standing on the gravel board, and check it's plumb.

Work along the fence. Overlap each board by about 20–25mm. A spacer cut from scrap timber keeps the overlap even. Check for plumb every few boards.

Nail the boards. The traditional method is one nail per board per rail through the thick edge, placed so it misses the board underneath. This lets the timber move without splitting.

Finish the top with a capping rail and counter rail if you want one, then fit post caps to stop water soaking into the end grain.

UK height rules

You can usually put up a fence up to 2m high on back and side boundaries without planning permission. Next to a road or public footpath used by vehicles, the limit is usually 1m. Different rules can apply in conservation areas, to listed buildings, or where permitted development rights have been removed – check with your local council.