If you’re gearing up to spend a lot of effort, expense and time installing the best garden fence panels in your space, it makes sense that you’ll want them to stay looking their best for as long as possible before they need repainting, repairing or replacing. And to make the very best job of the installation, the timing really matters. If the conditions aren’t just right for your garden fence panels, the fence could end up being less attractive, less stable, and (most importantly) less safe. So, when’s the best time to install your garden fence? Well, ultimately the answer is up to you – but here’s some useful information to help you make a decision.
Try and avoid extreme conditions
We’ve experienced gradually more frequent bouts of intense weather over the last few summers here in Britain, especially in the form of heatwaves. And while it might make great weather for sunbathing in your garden, it makes for rather less desirable conditions when it comes to installing your fence. If your garden fence panels are made of wood, as many of them are, then you might find that they can warp, split, or become discoloured. That damage can be mitigated with a certain amount of UV staining, but ideally you’ll want to avoid installing your fencing panels in these conditions at all.
And of course, we have to think about that far more common year-round consideration for us here in the UK – rain. Light rain is easy enough to deal with (albeit probably not particularly pleasant), but heavy rain can be an absolute nightmare. For starters, it’s much harder to dig a proper hole through the mud, as it will be softer and more pliable. That might sound like a good thing at first, but it means when you’re planting a concrete post, it’s going to end up being a lot less stable than it would otherwise.
What’s more, heavy rain also means that when you’re digging the hole in question, it’s probably going to be progressively filling up with water, pooling down the bottom of where you’d put your fencing posts. That’s really not a good turn of events – it can end up making your posts more susceptible to rot, affecting the long-term durability of your fence.
Sometimes, wintry conditions can pose another equally tricky problem – frozen ground. If the ground becomes too hard to properly penetrate, in the very best case scenario, it’s going to immeasurably slow your progress, possibly stretching out the timescale of the job to several days longer than you’d initially expected. What’s more, trying to tackle the job in these conditions could even lead to injury. Rather than trying to battle through frozen ground yourself, it’s better to call in professional installers, who should have the specific tools and equipment to help them get it done. Alternatively, you can simply wait for cooler conditions.
The best time of year to install garden fencing panels
Now, to a certain degree, the answer to this question is subjective. Having said that though, the best time to install garden fencing panels is generally some time in the Spring or Summer, from April through to September. Conditions are more likely to be dry and mild, so you shouldn’t have too much rain to deal with, and certainly no frozen ground. The weather will be generally warmer, but as long as you steer clear of the very highest temperatures, you shouldn’t have much to worry about with regards to the weather affecting your installation.
Having said that, it’s not the only good time of year in which you can install your garden fence panels. If you’re lucky enough to experience a relatively mild winter, in a period without heavy rain or very low temperatures, that could well work in your favour. Suppliers tend to see a drop-off in business around this time, so you may be able to take advantage of the off-season to get even better prices on certain materials or labour. For this reason, Autumn is a popular time of year too, as it provides the best of both worlds – not too hot for the wood to warp, and not too cold or rainy for structural integrity to become a concern.
These are all just general considerations though – it’s all subjective up to a certain point, and when it comes right down to it, the best time to install your garden fencing panels is probably simply when it’s easiest for you!
Whatever the case, we’re happy to do our bit for you here at Welch Fencing – As an experienced British manufacturer of concrete fence posts and garden fence panels, we’ve got the very best UK prices, and even have our very own fleet of delivery vehicles at our disposal, allowing us to get your products right to your door.
If you have any questions about any of our products, or you need any more detailed information, feel free to contact us on 01772 336 476, or fire us a quick email on sales@garden-fence-panels.co.uk.
