Is Your Fence Ready for Winter Storms? What to Check Before the Gales Arrive
Come November, our phone starts ringing with a very particular kind of call. There’s been a bad night, a few panels are flat on the lawn, and the fence that was “fine last year” suddenly isn’t. The trouble is, everyone else on the street is ringing round too.
Nine times out of ten, the fence didn’t fail because of that one storm. It had been going for a while and the wind just finished it off. That’s why we always tell people to have a proper look at it in October, while the weather’s still reasonable and there’s time to sort it.
Why fences round here take such a battering
Wind gets the blame, but in Stockport and most of the North West it’s the wet that does the real damage. We get months of it. The soil round the bottom of the posts goes soft, the timber never properly dries out, and then when a strong gust comes along the whole fence is leaning on posts that have lost their grip.
If your garden had a rough summer, it’s worth bearing in mind that timber which dried and split in the heat soaks up rain a lot faster. We talked about that in our post on what July actually does to your fence, decking and lawn.
Walk the fence and have a proper look
Pick a dry afternoon and go along the whole length of it. Start with the posts, because that’s where most fences give up. Give each one a firm push at about shoulder height. Timber will move a touch, that’s normal, but if it rocks back and forth or creaks down at the bottom then it’s probably rotten under the soil.
While you’re down there, push a screwdriver into the base of the post. Good timber resists. Rotten timber lets it sink straight in, and it’ll often look darker than the rest of the post.
Then look at the panels. If they’re rattling about in their slots on a breezy day, they’re the ones that’ll come out first when a proper gale arrives. Check the gravel boards along the bottom too. They’re there to keep the panel off the soil, so if they’re cracked, missing or buried under leaves and earth, the bottom of your panels will be sat in the wet all winter.
A fence that’s already started to lean is worth flagging as well. They don’t come back on their own.
One or two of these on their own is usually a straightforward repair. If you’re seeing them all the way down, it might make more sense to replace the run now rather than patch it up and hope.
Should you switch to concrete posts?
Most of the storm jobs we go out to come down to timber posts rotting at ground level. Treated timber lasts a good while, but wet clay soil is hard on anything.
That’s the main reason a lot of our customers go for concrete posts when they replace. They don’t rot, and if a panel does get damaged in the wind you can usually slide it out and put a new one in without touching the posts at all. Some people go a step further and look at composite fencing, which copes with damp really well and doesn’t need treating every couple of years.
Timber’s still a good choice for plenty of gardens, mind. Fitted properly, it looks great and lasts. Have a look at the options on our fencing page and we’re happy to talk it through when we come out.
Watch what’s growing over it
Overhanging branches cause a lot of winter damage. A branch that looks perfectly healthy now can come down in a storm and go straight through a panel. Big conifers and leylandii planted right up against a fence are another one, because every time the wind blows they push on it, and over a few seasons that loosens the posts.
The good news is that late autumn and winter is actually a good time to get trees and hedges cut back. Most things are dormant and there’s no nesting birds to worry about. Our trees and hedges team can do anything from a tidy up to taking the whole thing out.
Boggy ground along the fence line
If the ground by your fence stays waterlogged for days after it rains, that needs looking at. Posts sat in water rot quicker and have nothing solid to hold on to when the wind picks up. We’ve seen fences that could have been repaired fine but would have failed again in a year or two because the water was never dealt with. If that sounds like your garden, our turfing and drainage work might be the place to start.
Don’t leave it until after the first storm
Once the first big storm of the season has been through, every fencer in Greater Manchester and Cheshire gets snowed under. You end up waiting longer, and in the meantime you’ve got a gap in the garden and the neighbours’ dog visiting.
Getting it done in October or early November is just easier all round. You get the date that suits you, the job gets done properly instead of as a quick fix, and you’re not lying awake listening to the wind. It’s also worth getting a garden maintenance visit in to clear the leaves away from the bottom of fences and decking, because left there they just hold the moisture in all winter.
Want us to take a look?
If something doesn’t look right, or you’d just rather someone who does this every day had a look, we’ll come out and survey it for free. No obligation. We cover Stockport, Cheadle, Didsbury, Wilmslow, Altrincham and the areas round about.
Drop us a message or give us a ring we’ll get you booked in before the weather turns.
