What a Featherstone fence has to do
Most fencing jobs come down to a short list: privacy from the neighbours, a secure garden for a dog or children, a boundary that stands up to the weather, and something that looks right with the house. In Featherstone the house might be a terrace built while the collieries were working, an older property in North Featherstone or Purston, or one of the new homes going up on the old Pit Houses site, and each asks something different of a fence.
Terraced yards and shared boundaries
Featherstone's terraced streets, such as Carlton Street, date from the town's growth around Featherstone Main and Ackton Hall collieries. Their yards and gardens are usually narrow, with a boundary on each side, so a new fence is as much about the neighbours as about you. Talk to them before work starts: agree where the line runs, which side the posts will sit, which way the good face of the panels will look, and that everyone is happy with the height. In a tight yard, materials sometimes have to come through a passage or the house, so access is worth working out at the quote stage.
New-build boundaries
The town council notes that Strata Homes is building two, three and four bedroom homes where the Pit Houses estate stood. New estates often arrive with basic boundary fencing, and on many developments the front gardens are left open plan. If you are thinking about fencing a front garden on a new estate, check your deeds or ask the developer first, as new estates sometimes have rules about front boundaries. At the back, a garden like this often suits a taller close board fence, or panels with a trellis topper for extra privacy without making a small garden feel boxed in. It is also worth checking whether the fence along the back of the plot is yours or a neighbour's before planning to replace it.
Choosing panels, posts and rails
There is no single right fence. Overlap panels are quick to fit and suit most back gardens. Close board, built in place with featheredge boards fixed to rails, is stronger and easier to repair a section at a time. Picket and post-and-rail fences mark a boundary without blocking the light, which can suit an open front garden. Posts can be timber or concrete. Concrete posts with gravel boards keep the timber off the ground, where it rots fastest, while timber posts look softer and can be cut to fit awkward runs. If your garden sits beside a path or open land, height and sturdiness may matter more than looks. For a dog that digs, a solid gravel board along the bottom closes the gap it would otherwise tunnel through. You can talk all of this through at the quote visit.
Slopes, uneven ground and wet corners
Featherstone isn't flat. Walking routes from the station climb a hill to reach North Featherstone, and the town trail published by Exploring Yorkshire by Rail passes reclaimed colliery land and crosses Sewerbridge Beck along the way. A fence on a slope is either stepped, with each panel set a little lower than the last, or raked to follow the ground; stepping usually looks neater with panels, and raking suits close board. Reclaimed or made-up ground can be uneven, and low corners can hold water after heavy rain, which shortens the life of timber at ground level. It pays to look at exactly where the posts will go before choosing anything.
Repair or replace?
Not every tired fence needs replacing. A single snapped post, a few loose panels or a rotten gravel board can often be fixed, which makes sense when the rest of the run is sound. When most of the posts move, or the panels are splitting along the whole length, a new fence is usually the better choice in the long run. After a storm, it helps to send a photo of the damage when you get in touch, so we can see straight away whether it looks like a repair or a new run.
Fencing alongside other work
A new fence is often the start of a bigger change. If you are also thinking about a patio, a gravel area or new turf, landscaping in Featherstone can be planned with the fence so everything lines up. To ask for a fencing quote, call 07347 572509, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, with the length of the boundary and what is there now. We are a family run, fully insured business based in Knottingley, putting up fencing for homes and commercial premises. There is more on our fencing page, and our other services in the town are on the Featherstone page.
