How to fit feather edge boards correctly.

So you’ve decided to go for a Feather edge fence, if this is a project that you haven’t done before, then you may need some tips and a bit of guidance to help you get going. Advice on building the structure and on how to fit the Feather edge boards – it’s all here.

You are likely to get different advice from different sources on how to fit your Feather edge boards and exactly how you should go about constructing your fence.

Here is the general method that we use which always ends in a professional looking and a robust long-lasting fence

For constructing a typical Feather edge fence, your shopping list for materials will likely include the following items:

Essential items:

• Fence Posts 125mm x 100mm for notched posts.
• Arris rails – 3 lengths per section (top middle and bottom)
• Gravel boards
• Feather Edge Boards
• Nails – 2.5″ (65mm) Annular ring nails for the structure.
• Nails – 1.5″ (40mm) Annular ring nails for the Feather Edge boards.
• Postcrete – bag per post.
• Sawn end treatment – for extra protection of cut timber.

Optional items:

• Counter rails – 25mm x 50mm. If you are going to finish your fence with a capping rail you will need these
• Capping rail – For capping your fence.
• Screws – Passivated 4×30 and 4×50.

1. Planning and ordering the correct quantities of materials.

So before you start constructing your Feather edge fence, you will need to order your materials.

A) Fence posts – for a regular Feather edge fence, we would use 5″ x 4″ wooden posts. Most timber suppliers now sell these pre-notched to take the triangular Arris rails which makes life a little easier. If you are using rectangular section rails then you would obviously go for plain un-notched posts.

For a 6′ (1.8m) high fence (actually 6′ 6″ when you add on the height of the gravel board), you should use an 8′ (2.4m) post as 2′ (600mm) will need to be in the ground.

You will first need to measure your length of fencing. Our timber supplier, like many others, supply their Arris rails and Gravel boards in 3m lengths, and if this is the case for you, your posts will need to be spaced at 3m centres. 3m is about as far as you want to go between post centres as any further can leave a fence inadequately supported against wind and can lead to the fence sagging between posts.

Measure your fencing run in metres and divide by 3 (or by whatever length rails you are using) you will need this number of posts plus an extra one for the start of the run.

eg. for a 12m fence, 5 posts are required.

B) Arris Rails – normally 3m in length.

Typically, unless you are going for a 4′ fence, you will need 3 of these per section (top, middle and bottom) So for each section 3 lengths of 3m will be required.

eg for a 12m fence, 12 lengths will be required.

C) Gravel boards – again normally in 3m lengths, you will need one board per section of fence.

eg for a 12m fence, you will require 4 gravel boards.

D) Feather Edge Boards – The most common width of Feather edge boards is 5″ (125mm).

The recommended board overlap for a Feather Edge fence is 25mm (Our TidyFence board spacers will give you a repeatable overlap of 25mm everytime).

E) Nails – 2.5″ (65mm) Annular ring nails for the structure.

Annular ring nails ‘grip’ inside the wood that they are hammered into so they are much more difficult to remove than a regular wire nail.

You are going to need 16 per section. We have included these nails in our consumables page but the nails we are talking about are here on Amazon.

eg. for a 12m fence, you will need approx 64 nails.

F) Nails – 1.5″ (40mm) Annular ring nails to fit feather edge boards.

You are going to need 3 per board and for 125mm wide boards, you will need 10 feather edge boards per metre. So 30 nails per metre length of fence. We recommend these nails on Amazon.

eg. for a 12m fence, you will need 360 nails.

G) Postcrete – 1 to 1.5 bags per hole (depending on your method of digging the hole).

eg. for a 12m fence, you will need 13 to 18 bags of Postcrete.

Optional Items:

H) Counter rails – 1 length per section of fence.

eg. for a 12 m fence, you will need 4 lengths of 3m Counter rails.

J) Capping rails – 1 length per section of fence.

eg. for a 12 m fence, you will need 4 lengths of 3m Counter rails.

2. Clear a path for the fence.

First you will need to clear away any obstructions from the line of your new fence and try to get a level path.

If you have a sloping garden, Feather edge fencing is an ideal solution for this due to the very nature of its construction which lends itself to custom designs.

3. Notch your fence posts (if not supplied notched)

If your posts are not pre-notched, then you will need to notch them now, if you are using triangular Arris rail. This can be done using a circular saw set at 45degs.

It is important that all of your posts are notched out the same so that your Arris rails are all in line before you fit your Feather edge boards. You can mark out and cut the notches in one post and then use this as a template for your other fence posts by lying them along side and marking the notch positions across using a square.

Remember to treat your cut outs with wood preserver. We recommend this End Grain Preserver from Ronseal (Amazon) or this one from Barrettine

For a 6″ Fence, you will need an 8′ (2400mm) post notched out.

You can buy these pre-notched, but if your supplier does not have these, you may find this diagram useful if you have to notch them yourself.

 

4. Set your first post in position.

Dig the first hole to a depth of 650mm. If you have a long fencing run then it is probably worth hiring a post hole auger which can save you a great deal of time and also save you a lot of Postcrete. Post hole augers cut a really neat round hole and generally leave the surrounding ground undisturbed so once your post and Postcrete are in the hole and set, you will have a very solid post. You can dig manually using a narrow spade or a post hole crossover spade like this one on Amazon which will help you keep your hole neat and narrow. Ideally a 9″ to 10″ hole is as big as you want to go, if you have to go bigger due to roots and rocks etc, it is not a problem as you can part fill the hole with rocks and rubble as you add the Postcrete.

Set your first post in the ground to the ground level mark to ensure your gravel board will be positioned correctly and not too close to your lower notch , it is a good idea to put half a brick or a bit of hardcore in the bottom of the hole so that you leave a gap for the concrete or Postcrete to flow into and around the end of the post. Make sure that the post is vertical and fix it in this position with some battens or by wedging rocks between the post and the hole.

Half fill the hole with water and add the Postcrete mix, using a steel rod or similar to ensure a good mix of water and Postcrete in the hole, being careful to keep the post upright. Check the post regularly as Postcrete will only give you around 5 mins before it starts setting hard. At the top of the hole try and add a chamfer of concrete (see diagram above) but on 3 sides only (not the front face where the gravel board will go), this will help prevent your post from rotting off at ground level in years to come.

5. Continue digging holes and setting posts.

No that you have the first post set to the correct height and vertical, this will become your datumn. Tie the end of your garden twine around the base of your post and pull it tight along ground level to the end of your run of fencing, making sure it is not obstructed. Check the length of your Arris rails and measure this distance from the left side of your datumn post (assuming you are working from left to right) along your line and mark this position, and measure and mark for the next post too.

Dig out these next couple of holes and prop the posts vertically using battens screwed in at an angle to brace them in position or by jamming some large pieces of rubble between the hole and the posts. It is a good idea to hold up a gravel board and an Arris rail just to check centres, they should be flush to the LH side of the first post and finish in the centre of the second post, with subsequent posts they should be centre to centre.

Also recommended is tapping a nail in the top front corner of your datumn post and tying a line to this, anchor it off at the end of your run and make sure it is level. You can use this line to set the height of your posts, by lowering or raising your post until the front edge at the top sits just beneath the line.

Set these posts in position as before with Postcrete or similar and continue to set the remaining posts.

6. Attach Arris Rails and Gravel boards.

That’s the hard labour out of the way, now for the good stuff!

Using your 65mm nails, position your gravel board to the left of your first post and nail it in position with a couple of nails ensuring the gravel board is level. It is a good idea to leave the nails out by 20mm until you are happy with the positioning as Annular ring nails are very tough to remove and you can very easily mess up a board trying to remove one.

Continue along your run nailing on the gravel boards.

You should have about 200mm between the top of the gravel board and the bottom of the lower Arris rail cut out.

Once you have finished the gravel boards, nail on the Arris rails, getting someone to support the other end while you put in a couple of nails at either end. Remember to treat any cut ends.

Once you have done this, you have completed the frame and it should look something like this….

Notice how the Arris rails and Gravel boards are flush at either end of the fencing run.

 

 

Take your first Feather Edge board and sit it on the gravel board with the thick edge flush with the left face of your first post and nail in position using your 40mm nails. The nails should be approx 20mm in from the LH side and one should be driven in at the centre of the 3 Arris rails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s where you can save a lot of time and really enhance your fence by keeping the boards spaced evenly. We have developed our brilliant tool for this next phase of your feather edge fence construction. TidyFence will save you a lot of time and give you a truly professional finish. You will get a 25mm overlap every time which exceeds British Standards requirements for Feather edge fencing.

TidyFence comes in 3 different sizes for 100mm. 125mm and 150mm board widths and they are super durable and bright yellow so you you will still have yours intact at the end of your construction.

We post out (free postage) immediately, so if you need one for the weekend, be sure to order by Wednesday at the latest. Alternatively, you can buy from Amazon and get free next day with Amazon Prime if you are a member.

Using TidyFence feather edge board spacer, attach another 3 or 4 boards, checking the 4th one for vertical with your spirit level. You can now let rip along your fence, checking for vertical every 4 or 5 boards and adjusting if necessary. Continue to the end of your fence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Attaching Counter and capping rails

Now your fence is going to look pretty amazing at this stage, but if you want to really finish it off nicely and make it look really solid, it is worth adding a capping rail. This serves a function too, it will keep the top of the Feather edge boards in line and prevent it from warping as it dries out and is exposed to the elements. It will also keep the rain out of the end grain in the top of your Feather Edge boards.

So you will need to fit the Counter rail first, the purpose of this is to give you something to screw your Capping rail to.

We recommend using 4 x 30mm Passivated screws to hold the Counter rail in place.