Short answer: a straight run of PVC-U fencing on reasonable ground is a realistic weekend job for two people with basic tools. Bring in a contractor when the ground is difficult, the run is long, the boundary is disputed, or you simply don't want to spend the weekend doing it. We're supply-only either way — so this guide has no stake in which you choose.

What fitting a PVC-U fence actually involves

Worth knowing before you decide, because it's less like carpentry than people expect.

PVC-U fence systems are designed to assemble, not to be built. Panels arrive complete with their rails and infill, and slot into posts that are pre-routed to receive them. There's no cutting boards to length, no nailing, no painting. The work is really three things: setting a straight line, getting posts plumb at the right spacing, and fixing them securely.

That's why the skill barrier is lower than for timber — and why the parts that go wrong are almost always the posts, not the panels.

When DIY makes sense

• Straight or simply-shaped runs — a boundary with few corners is far more forgiving of small errors.
• Reasonable ground — diggable soil, no rock, no services in the way.
• Modest heights — 2.5ft to 4ft picket is manageable; 6ft privacy panels catch a lot of wind and are heavier to hold plumb while fixing.
• You have a helper — panels are light, but holding a line while someone else fixes a post is a two-person job.
• Hard surfaces — counter-intuitively, fixing posts to concrete or paving with steel surface mounts is often easier than digging, because there's no excavation, no concrete and no waiting.

When to bring in a contractor

• Difficult ground — rock, heavy clay, waterlogging, or made ground on a new-build plot.
• Services below — if you don't know where cables and pipes run, don't find out with a post hole.
• Long runs — what's pleasant for 10 metres is a different proposition at 60.
• Slopes and levels — deciding whether to step panels down or follow the gradient, and executing it neatly, is where experience shows.
• Contested or shared boundaries — a professional who documents the line properly is worth the fee.
• Removal and disposal — taking out an old timber fence, including concrete post bases, is usually the hardest part of the whole job.

Getting the setting-out right

This is where both DIY and rushed professional jobs fail, so it's worth stating plainly.

Confirm the boundary first. Check your title plan and, if there's any doubt, talk to your neighbour before anything is dug. Moving a fence afterwards is expensive and awkward in every sense.

String a line and work to it. A picket fence shows every deviation — the eye reads the top line and the post spacing instantly.

Count your posts properly. One more than the number of panels on a straight run, a corner post at every turn, and blank posts either side of each gate opening. Our Fence Planner works this out from your measurements so you don't discover a shortfall mid-job.

Set posts before you commit. Dry-fit and check spacing across several bays before fixing anything permanently — panel widths are fixed, so a post set 3cm out is a problem you can't trim your way out of.

Decide the slope strategy early. Stepping down in panel increments usually looks more deliberate than following the gradient, and is easier with panel systems.

Tools and time

For a typical soil-set installation: spade or post-hole digger, spirit level, string line, tape, and postcrete or concrete. For hard surfaces: an SDS drill and the appropriate steel surface mounts. Nothing specialist.

Time is dominated by the posts. Digging, setting and letting them go off is the bulk of the work; hanging panels afterwards is quick. Plan around the setting time rather than the assembly, and don't hang panels on posts that haven't cured.

Finding and briefing a contractor

We don't install — we're a supply-only retailer — but plenty of customers buy from us and have their own fitter install. If you need one, see find an installer.

To get comparable quotes, give every contractor the same information: run length and shape, fence height and style, number and width of gates, ground type, whether an old fence needs removing and disposing of, and access to the garden. Ask explicitly whether removal, disposal and materials are included, because that's where quotes most often differ.

A useful approach: price the materials yourself in the planner first. Then, when a fitter quotes, you can see clearly what portion is labour — which makes comparing two quotes far easier.

Buying the materials

Either route starts the same way. Use the Fence Planner to itemise the job: choose your style — picket, privacy, pool, ranch or portable — enter your run, shape and gate openings, and it returns every panel, post, cap and gate with a live total.

We deliver UK-wide or you collect from Rotherham (S62). Residential orders carry our limited lifetime warranty and commercial orders our 30-year commercial warranty (details). Trade and volume buyers should use Trade Enquiries.

Before you dig: the five-minute checks worth doing

Almost every expensive fencing mistake is made before the first post goes in, not during the build.

Check what's underground. Water, gas, electricity and drainage runs are rarely where you assume, especially near a house wall or a newer property. If there's any doubt, don't guess — a cable strike is a serious hazard as well as a costly one.

Check the boundary line. Your title plan shows the general boundary, not a surveyed line. Where a fence is being replaced rather than added, the safest approach is to work to the existing line and agree it with your neighbour first.

Check access. Panels have to reach the back garden. A narrow side passage or a locked shared alley changes both the delivery and the working method — better known now than on the morning of the job.

Check the ground condition after rain. A garden that looks diggable in August can be waterlogged clay in November. If you're working to a deadline, that determines whether posts are set in soil or fixed to a hard surface.

Frequently asked questions

Is PVC fencing easy to install yourself?

Easier than timber, because panels slot into routed posts rather than needing cutting and nailing. The demanding part is setting posts plumb, in line and at the right spacing.

Do you offer an installation service?

No — we're supply-only. We deliver or you collect, and your own contractor or team installs. See find an installer if you need one.

Can I fit fence posts without concrete?

On hard surfaces, yes — steel surface mounts bolt posts to concrete, paving or decking with no digging. In soil, posts are normally set with postcrete or concrete.

How long does it take to put up a fence?

The posts dictate it. A short straight run is a realistic weekend for two people; long runs, slopes and old-fence removal push it well beyond that.

What's the most common DIY mistake?

Post spacing. Panel widths are fixed, so posts that drift out of position can't be corrected by trimming a panel — dry-fit and check across several bays before fixing anything permanently.

Should I remove my old fence first?

Yes, including the old post bases. It's usually the hardest, dirtiest part of the job, and it's the task most worth paying someone else to do.

Price your materials

Whether you're fitting it yourself or briefing a contractor, start with an itemised materials list from the Fence Planner.