Panel fence installation: posts, base boards, gates

What the price depends on

Labour is priced per running metre. The price depends on the length of the fence, the lie of the land and the soil: clay, roots and building rubble in the ground slow the digging down. Then there’s how the posts are set, whether there are base boards, how many gates and wickets, and whether an old fence has to come down first. Rates are in the table.

Panels, posts, clamps, base boards, concrete and gates are paid separately. Taking down an old fence, removing soil and rubbish and carrying materials onto the plot are separate items too. Fixings for the panels are usually included in the labour.

Rather hand the job over? More here: apartment finishing in Warsaw.

How a panel fence is built

Posts are set in holes and concreted, or driven and screwed in where the soil allows. The spacing is set by the panel width, so it’s marked out along a string line rather than by eye.

A base made of precast concrete boards slots into holders between the posts. It closes the gap under the fence, stops grass growing up under the panels and keeps a dog from digging out. Without it the panel just hangs above the ground.

Gates are either swing or sliding. A sliding gate needs a clear stretch of fence alongside for the leaf to run onto. If you’re planning an automatic opener, the power supply is a job for an electrician with Polish SEP qualifications; check this in the handyman’s offer.

A few legal points. Under Polish building law, a fence up to 2.2 m high needs neither a permit nor a notification; anything taller has to be notified (zgłoszenie). The local zoning plan (MPZP) sometimes sets its own rules for fences, so check it. Gates and wickets on the street side must not open outwards onto the road.

Safety before digging

There may be gas, electric cable, water mains or fibre under the plot. Before any digging, look at the utility connection plan and the base map (mapa zasadnicza), and ask the developer. Near service connections the digging is done by hand, carefully. If a gas pipe is hit or you smell gas, stop work, move away and call the gas emergency service.

How installation goes

1. The fence line is set out from the boundary markers and a string line pulled tight.
2. Post positions are measured off by panel width, with separate spots for the gate and wicket.
3. Holes are dug or augered to the right depth.
4. Posts are set in concrete, plumb and on the string line, with the height checked.
5. A pause while the concrete gains strength. Panels don’t go on freshly set posts.
6. The base boards go in, then the panels are hung on clamps.
7. Gate and wicket are fitted, with hinges and lock adjusted.

Common mistakes

• Posts spaced by eye, so the last panel won’t fit and has to be cut.
• Holes too shallow; frost pushes the posts up over winter and the fence leans.
• Panels hung before the concrete had set.
• No allowance for the slope, leaving triangular gaps under the fence.
• A cut panel left unprotected, so rust starts at the cut.
• A wicket hung so it opens onto the pavement.
• The fence built along the old chain-link, which wasn’t on the boundary.

What to prepare

• A plot plan with the boundary markers. Not sure where the boundary is? Get a surveyor first.
• The fence length and photos along the whole line.
• Where underground services run, if you know.
• A decision on where the gate and wicket go and what type they are.
• Materials already bought, or agreement that the handyman will choose them from the measurements.
• Access to power for the auger and tools.

Frequently asked questions

How to order

Describe the fence length, the plot and the gates you need in the app, and add photos and the plan. Tradespeople near you will send offers with their own price and timing. Pick one by reviews; only that person sees your address.

You pay the handyman directly and they issue the invoice. They stand behind their own installation and will put it right if a post they set goes out of plumb or the wicket won’t close. Boundary errors, services or rubble hidden in the ground and other people’s work are not on them.

Put up panel fences? Create a tradesperson profile and get fencing jobs in and around your town. You work for yourself and set up the business your way.