Types of Garden Fencing in the UK: Every Material Compared

Short answer: most UK gardens are fenced in treated timber, because it is cheap to buy and every fitter knows it. Concrete posts make timber last longer. Metal suits security and front boundaries, composite and PVC trade a higher upfront price for very little upkeep, and a hedge is the cheapest long-term screen if you can wait for it to grow. The right one depends on what the fence has to do, how long you plan to stay, and how much maintenance you are willing to do.

The fitted prices below are typical 2026 UK ranges for a 1.8m (6ft) fence, taken from published cost guides. Your quote will move with access, ground conditions and region, and London is usually higher.

Timber

Timber is still the default, and for good reason. It is easy to cut on site, easy to repair a bay at a time, and it looks right in most British gardens.

Lap (overlap) panels

Thin horizontal boards overlapped in a frame. This is the cheapest fence you can put up, at around £50–£85 per metre fitted. The boards are thin, so lap panels are the first to split, bow and blow out in a gale. Expect roughly 8–12 years. They are fine for a rental or a quick fix, and a false economy anywhere exposed.

Feather-edge and closeboard

Tapered vertical boards nailed to triangular arris rails, built on site or bought as a panel. It is stronger than lap and easier to repair, because a single board or rail can be replaced. Fitted prices run at about £80–£130 per metre, more with concrete posts or in London. With good posts and some care it typically lasts 15–25 years.

Slatted and hit-and-miss

Horizontal or vertical slats with gaps (slatted) or boards fixed alternately on each side (hit-and-miss). Both let wind through, which reduces the load on the posts, and they look more modern. Hit-and-miss still blocks most views. Pricing sits at or above closeboard, because there is more labour and better timber is usually specified.

Picket and post-and-rail

Low and open, for front gardens, cottage boundaries and paddocks. Timber picket typically costs about £40–£95 per metre fitted and post-and-rail about £35–£65. Both need regular painting or treatment to keep looking good.

Sleeper and log-roll

Railway-style sleepers stood on end make a solid, rustic screen or retaining edge. They are heavy, need careful setting, and new softwood sleepers should be treated for ground contact. Use them for short runs, raised beds and level changes rather than full boundaries.

The weak point is the post. The Wood Protection Association says posts in the ground need Use Class 4 treatment, with a default desired service life of 15 years (30-year specifications exist). Most timber fences fail at ground level, not in the boards.

Concrete posts and gravel boards

Concrete is not usually a fence on its own. It is the structure that timber panels slot into. Slotted concrete posts don't rot, and a concrete gravel board keeps the bottom of the timber off wet soil. Together they usually add something like £15–£30 per metre over timber posts, according to installer guides, and they make panel replacement a ten-minute job. The trade-offs are weight (two people per post), a utilitarian look, and posts that are hard to remove later. For lap or closeboard panels in an exposed garden, this is usually money well spent.

Metal

Steel railings

Galvanised and powder-coated steel railings suit front boundaries, period houses and anywhere that needs strength without blocking the view. Expect about £120–£250 per metre fitted. Galvanised steel lasts decades, but scratches need touching up before rust gets a hold.

Aluminium slatted screens

Powder-coated aluminium slats give a clean, contemporary privacy screen that doesn't rust and only needs washing. It is the most expensive option here: published 2026 UK guides put fitted aluminium slatted fencing at roughly £250–£400+ per metre, with London-area installer quotes often around £350–£400 per metre. It is often used for a short feature run by the patio rather than a whole boundary.

Mesh, chain-link and palisade

Weld mesh and chain-link are cheap, see-through and secure enough to keep a dog in. They look industrial unless they are planted. Steel palisade is a security fence for commercial sites and has no place in most gardens.

Composite

Composite (wood-plastic composite, WPC) boards slot into aluminium or steel posts. Composite doesn't rot or need staining, and better capped boards resist fading. Typical fitted prices run at about £130–£220 per metre. Warranties on quality products are often 20–25 years, but read what they cover: many exclude fading and weathering. Composite is heavy, and the boards expand in heat, so fitting gaps matter.

PVC (vinyl)

PVC-U fencing is moulded hollow profiles with the colour running all the way through. It won't rot, needs no paint, and washes clean. It has long been popular in North America, and white picket, privacy and post-and-rail styles are now common in UK front gardens, pool areas and equestrian yards. It costs more to buy than timber. Compared with steel, PVC is lighter and less rigid, so it isn't a security fence. Solid panels catch wind, so post sizing and fixing matter.

This is what Simple Fencing supplies. Our white picket panels start at £84.95 for a 6ft × 3ft panel, and Cascade privacy panels are £187.95 for 8ft × 6ft (VAT included, supply only). Residential orders carry a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. We publish supply prices only — ask for a fitted quote if you'd like the fence installed.

Hedging and living screens

A hedge is the softest boundary and good for wildlife. Over its life it is usually the cheapest screen, but it needs years of growth and regular cutting. Bare-root native hedging whips typically cost roughly £6–£13 per metre in plants alone at common planting densities (about 5–6 plants per metre), depending on species and size — mixed native packs are often towards the lower end of that range. "Instant" hedging in troughs costs in the region of £110–£150 per metre from UK nurseries. Two cautions:

• Evergreen hedges over 2m can be the subject of a high-hedge complaint to the council under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
• A hedge won't keep a determined dog in for the first few years. A temporary mesh or post-and-rail line behind it solves that.

Quick comparison

Before you choose: height and boundaries

In England you can usually put up a fence up to 2m high without planning permission. The limit is 1m where it is next to a highway used by vehicles, or that highway's footpath. Listed buildings, conservation-area Article 4 directions and planning conditions on newer estates can remove these rights. Fences don't need Building Regulations approval, but they must be structurally sound. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, so check locally.

Check which boundary is yours before you replace anything. Title plans show general boundaries only, so talk to your neighbour first.

Which should you pick?

• Tight budget, short stay: closeboard on timber posts. Skip lap panels if the garden is windy.
• Long stay, exposed site: timber on concrete posts with gravel boards, or a slatted design.
• Front garden, period house: steel railings or a painted picket.
• Never want to paint again: PVC or composite. Choose PVC for the classic painted look, and composite for a wood-grain look.
• Wildlife and patience: a hedge, with a temporary fence while it establishes.

If PVC suits your garden, the Complete Fence Planner prices a whole run (panels, posts, caps and gates) in a couple of minutes.

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