How to install a fence

Video by Wickes. This guide is based on the step-by-step video "How to Install a Fence | Wickes" from the official Wickes UK channel. It runs through setting posts with Postcrete, fitting panels, and adding gravel boards for a tidy finish. Good solid basics, explained clearly.

1. Plan the run and check for buried cables

Before you dig anything, call 0800 096 8699 (the free Cable Avoidance helpline) or use a cable avoidance tool to scan the ground. Gas, water, and electrical services often run close to boundary lines. Hitting one is a bad day by anyone's measure.

Run a string line along the full length of the fence. Mark each post position with a cane — standard panels are 1.83 m wide, so post centres will typically be 1.83 m apart. That gives a small amount of tolerance for panel fit.

2. Dig the post holes

Use a post-hole borer or spade to dig each hole. The rule of thumb for fence posts is one third of the post length underground. For a 1.8 m panel fence you typically need a 2.4 m post, with around 600 mm below ground. In exposed spots or loose soil, go deeper.

Make the hole roughly twice the width of the post. A tight hole gives you no room to adjust. You will need to move the post around to get it plumb, and a hole that is slightly loose makes that easier.

3. Set the first post in Postcrete

Stand the first post in the hole and get it plumb with a spirit level on two adjacent faces. Brace it in position — a simple timber prop nailed to a temporary stake in the ground works well. Pour Postcrete dry into the hole, add the water according to the bag instructions, and leave it to set. Do not disturb it.

Postcrete sets quickly — you can usually move on after 10 minutes, though a full cure takes longer. The advantage over mixing concrete in a bucket is that it works in the hole, which keeps things much cleaner.

4. Set remaining posts using the string line as a guide

Work down the run, setting one post at a time. Use the string line to keep everything in alignment. Check each post for plumb before the Postcrete sets — once it has gone hard, the post is not moving without a fight.

Leave each post to set fully before loading it with a panel. You can set all the posts in one day and fit panels the next morning, which is the most sensible approach if you are working alone.

5. Fit the fence panels

Slide each panel into position between two posts. Most timber fence panels slot into metal post clips, or are simply screwed through the arris rail into the post. Use galvanised screws or nails — plain steel will rust quickly and bleed down the timber.

Keep panels off the ground. Even pressure-treated timber left sitting in wet soil will eventually rot at the base. This is where gravel boards earn their keep.

6. Add gravel boards at the base

Gravel boards are horizontal boards fitted below the main fence panel, sitting in the soil rather than the panel itself. They take the rot damage that the panel would otherwise suffer. When a gravel board fails, you replace just that board, not the whole panel.

Fit them between the posts using metal clips or screws through brackets. Concrete gravel boards last longer and are worth the extra cost on any fence you want to stand for ten years or more.

7. Treat and finish

Even pre-treated fence posts and panels benefit from a coat of fence paint or preservative. It adds years. Pay particular attention to any cut ends you have made — those are unprotected timber that will soak up moisture. A quick brush of end-grain preservative takes seconds and matters a lot.

Stand back, check everything is straight, and then enjoy having a fence you can genuinely trust in a gale.

When to call a handyman

Call Richard if the ground is solid chalk or clay and digging is not progressing, if you need the fence in a day and are working alone, or if the existing posts are concrete and need breaking out. Fence work on sloping ground also benefits from an extra pair of hands — managing a panel at an angle while trying to level it is genuinely awkward.