Fence repairs
Most fences don’t need replacing. They need a repair: palings that have split or come loose, a rail that has let go, a post that has rotted off at the ground and taken a bay of fence with it. If the rest of the fence is sound, there is no reason to pay for a new one.
We work on timber paling and picket fences, and we repoint and patch brick fences and piers. No job is too small: a few palings, one post or a new latch starts at our standard call-out, and we would rather fix it now than quote you a new fence in two years.
Gate repairs
A gate that sags, drags on the path or will not latch is nearly always fixable. Usually the hinge post has moved, or the gate has dropped out of square. We re-hang and re-square gates, replace hinges, latches and bolts, and move the lock or the striker so the gate closes the way it should.
Repair or replace?
“Most fences that fail do so at the posts, so that’s where we take our time.” That line is from our notes on a 37-metre fence, and it is also how we decide what yours needs.
If the posts are solid and the trouble is palings or a rail, a repair will last. If the posts have rotted at the ground, or the whole line is leaning, patching it is money you will spend twice. We will say which it is before you spend any.
New timber fences
When a fence does need replacing, we take the old one away and set the new line out with a string line, so the full run stays straight. Post holes are dug to depth and each post is concreted in, checked for plumb and left to set before any rails go on. Rails follow the fall of the ground, and the palings are spaced and fixed evenly so the finish is the same from one end to the other.
The full job: 37 metres of new timber fencing
Picket and period fences
An older house deserves the fence it was built with. On a Victorian fence in Northcote we filled, sanded, undercoated and painted the lot, then finished it with mouldings and cast iron detailing.
The full job: a Victorian fence restored in Northcote
When it can’t wait
A fence down after a storm, or a gate that will not lock, gets priority. Outside business hours that is our emergency and make-safe call-out: we make it safe first, then quote the proper repair.
