Fence & Gate Repair London

Fence and gate repair across London

Wind, rot, soft ground and the odd careless reversing van are the four things that destroy London fences. After a serious storm — and London gets two or three a year now — the call volume jumps and the carpentry vans run flat-out for a fortnight clearing the backlog. The fix is almost always quicker than people fear: one panel out, one panel in, an hour on the ground, no scaffolding, no skip.

The same carpenters who handle carpentry and joinery indoors handle the fence runs outside. Pressure-treated softwood panels in 6×6, 6×5, 6×4 and 6×3 are stocked on the van. Concrete slotted posts and gravel-boards are picked up from the local builders' merchant on the morning of the job, so the timber is fresh and the kerb-side weight on your road is short. Most single-panel jobs are in and out inside three hours.

What we cover

Every common style of garden fence and gate sold by London builders' merchants is stocked or sourced on the day. If you can describe it on the phone or send a photo, the carpenter can replace it like-for-like.

• Lap, featheredge, closeboard and overlap panels — 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and 6ft heights
• Concrete slotted posts, timber posts on Metpost spikes and bolt-down posts on patios
• Gravel-boards in concrete, plastic and pressure-treated timber
• Garden gates, side-return gates, double driveway gates and pedestrian access gates
• Galvanised T-hinges, strap hinges, butt hinges and adjustable security hinges
• Suffolk latches, ring latches, drop bolts, slide bolts and padlock hasps
• Trellis and lattice topper sections, screw-fixed to existing panel rails
• Repairs after storm damage, fallen trees and vehicle impact — emergency board-up same day
• Waste removal — old panels, broken posts and concrete spoil taken away in van
• Fence treatment and re-staining on request after panel replacement

Gates — re-hang, re-hinge, replace

Garden gates fail in three predictable ways. The gate drops because the hinges have pulled out of soft post timber, or because the post itself has shifted in the ground. The latch sticks or stops engaging because the gate is no longer hung square. The gate splits along the grain because rain has got into the bottom rail and the timber has finally given up.

A re-hang is the right answer when the gate timber is sound. The post gets re-set in fresh postcrete if it has moved, heavy-duty galvanised T-hinges go on in place of the old butt hinges, and the leading edge gets a couple of millimetres planed off so the gate swings clean without binding. £120–£220 typical, half a day on site.

A new garden gate fitted is the right answer when the bottom rail has rotted through, when the gate has been kicked in, or when the property is moving to a heavier hardwood gate for security. Pressure-treated softwood gates are £280–£380 fitted; hardwood (iroko, oak, sapele) is £380–£480 fitted depending on size. Self-closing spring hinges and lockable euro-cylinder latches available on request.

How it works

Concrete posts done properly

A concrete slotted post is only as good as the footing under it. The biggest cause of fences leaning a season after they were put up is rushed post-setting — a shallow hole, no postcrete, panels slotted in while the concrete is still soft. The wind does the rest.

Every concrete post goes in to 600mm depth minimum, plumb on a spirit level both ways, set in postcrete (not a dry mix dumped in the hole) with a tamped concrete collar at ground level to throw off water. The carpenter waits until the postcrete has gone off — usually 20–30 minutes in summer, longer in winter — before slotting the panels back in. A 10-metre fence run typically uses 9 concrete posts, 8 panels and 8 gravel-boards.

Where ground conditions are tight — close to a building line, over an old paved path, or right against a tree root — bolt-down post bases or Metpost spikes can be used in place of dug footings. The carpenter checks the ground on arrival and confirms which post type before going to the merchant.

Boundaries, deeds and neighbours

The single most common worry on a fence call is “is this actually my fence?” The myth that the left-hand fence is always yours is not law in England — there is no automatic rule. The deeds decide it. The Land Registry title plan shows boundary maintenance with little ‘T’ marks: the post of the T sits inside the property that is responsible for maintaining that section.

On the ground, a long-standing custom in London terraces is that the side with the post and rail facing into the garden is the side that put the fence up — but that is convention, not law, and gets overruled by the title plan every time. Where the boundary is shared (a Party Fence), the cost is usually split between the two owners by agreement.

Anything over 2 metres total height fronting a public highway needs planning consent from the local council. Most rear-garden fences sit at 1.8 metres (6ft) and are permitted development. Adding a 1ft trellis topper takes the total to 2.1 metres, which is fine in a back garden but is over the limit on a front boundary to the road. The carpenter measures the run before the trellis goes on.

Areas covered

Fence and gate calls are taken across all 32 London boroughs. Heaviest volumes from Camden, Westminster, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Haringey and Greenwich.

Frequently Asked Questions