Fence Panel Installation Costs UK — What to Charge to Fit Fencing in 2026

Quick Reference: Fence Installation Prices UK 2026

These are supply-and-fit figures for standard 6ft (1.83m) high panels on level ground with reasonable access. Everything below explains how to flex these numbers for the job in front of you.

Panel Types and What to Charge

The panel a customer chooses sets both your material cost and the price they expect to pay. Walk them through the options — most homeowners only know "wooden fence" and will accept your recommendation if you explain durability against cost.

Overlap and Waney-Edge Panels

Overlap (horizontal slats nailed to a frame) and waney-edge (rustic, bark-edged boards) are the cheapest mass-produced panels and the default on most new-build and budget jobs. They're light, quick to fit and widely stocked at every merchant. The downside is durability: the thin slats cup, split and blow loose, and a 6ft overlap panel in an exposed garden may need replacing inside 7–10 years.

• Supply & fit per 6ft panel: £60–£100
• Panel material cost alone: £28–£45
• Best for: budget jobs, rear boundaries, rental properties

Feather-Edge / Closeboard

Feather-edge (also called closeboard) is built from overlapping vertical boards tapered along one edge, fixed to horizontal arris rails. It can be supplied as ready-made panels or, more commonly on quality jobs, built on site board-by-board between posts. It's far more robust than overlap — boards can be replaced individually, and the fence will comfortably last 15–20 years. Site-built closeboard is the premium timber option and commands a premium price.

• Supply & fit per panel / section: £90–£150
• Site-built closeboard runs to the top of that range and beyond on tall or sloping ground
• Best for: front boundaries, security, customers who want longevity

Slatted (Contemporary) Panels

Slatted panels — horizontal planed battens with deliberate gaps — have become the fashionable choice for modern gardens. They look smart, but the gaps mean less privacy and the planed timber needs regular oiling to stay looking good. Material cost sits between overlap and composite, and fitting is broadly similar in time to a closeboard panel. Price these as a mid-to-premium product depending on the timber grade and whether the customer wants a hit-and-miss (double-sided) build.

Composite Fence Panels

Composite panels — a wood-fibre and recycled-plastic mix slotted into aluminium or composite posts — are the fastest-growing premium product. They don't rot, warp or need painting, carry warranties of 10–25 years, and command the highest price. The systems (Durapost composite, Cladco, Fortia and similar) use slot-in posts so fitting is clean and quick once the posts are set, but the material cost is high and you must order the matching post system, gravel boards and trims.

• Supply & fit per panel: £120–£250
• Panel material alone: £70–£140 plus the post/board system
• Best for: premium gardens, low-maintenance buyers, exposed coastal sites

Posts: Timber vs Concrete vs Steel / Durapost

The post system you use matters more than the panel for how long the fence lasts. The overwhelming majority of timber fence failures start at the post — it rots at the ground line and snaps in the first real storm. Quote the post system explicitly so the customer understands what they're paying for.

Timber Posts

Cheapest and quickest, but timber posts rot at ground level. Pressure-treated 100×100mm posts last roughly 10–15 years; cheaper 75×75mm posts noticeably less. Always set in concrete (postcrete), never just rammed earth, and ideally keep the timber out of permanent ground contact with a metal post spike or a concrete spur where you can. Add £12–£25 per post in materials.

Concrete Posts and Gravel Boards

Slotted concrete posts with a concrete gravel board at the base are the durable, traditional UK upgrade. The panel drops into the slots, the gravel board keeps timber clear of wet ground, and the post itself never rots. They're heavy (a two-person lift), the bays must be exactly spaced, and they look industrial — but the fence will outlast several sets of panels. Budget an extra £30–£60 per bay over timber posts for the posts plus gravel board.

Steel / Durapost Systems

Galvanised steel post systems — Durapost being the best-known — split the difference: lighter than concrete, won't rot like timber, and carry a 25-year guarantee. Panels and gravel boards slot in, and a rubber wedge holds standard timber panels firmly without nails. They cost more than timber per post but install fast and look far better than concrete. Increasingly the default on quality jobs. Add roughly £25–£45 per post in materials over timber.

What's Included in a Fitting Price

Underpricing usually comes from forgetting that "fitting a fence" is a list of separate tasks, each carrying time and material. Make sure your quote — and your costing — accounts for all of it:

• Posts — timber, concrete or steel, correctly sized for the fence height
• Postcrete / concrete — typically one to one-and-a-half bags per post hole
• Gravel boards — concrete or composite, to keep panels off wet ground
• Panels — plus a small allowance for damaged or short-cut bays
• Post caps and trims — small cost, but customers notice when they're missing
• Fixings — clips, nails, screws, brackets appropriate to the system
• Ground clearance — strimming, removing shrubs and roots along the line
• Removal and disposal of the old fence and spoil from post holes

Disposal in particular is routinely under-costed. Old creosoted fencing and concrete post spoil can't go in a domestic skip cheaply, and a full garden of rotten panels can fill a transit. Add £15–£40 per panel for removal and tip fees, or quote skip hire as a separate line.

Cost Drivers — What Pushes the Price Up

The panel price is fixed; the labour is not. These factors are where two seemingly identical 10-panel jobs can differ by £800 in cost to you. Survey for every one of them before you quote:

• Sloping ground: Panels must be stepped or raked, posts cut to different heights and gravel boards stacked. A steep garden can add 30–50% to the labour.
• Access: No vehicle access, carrying concrete posts and postcrete through a house or down a narrow side passage, or barrowing spoil out by hand all eat hours.
• Hard digging: Clay, flint, tree roots or — worst of all — old concrete and buried footings in the post line can turn a 20-minute hole into an hour with a breaker.
• Removing the old fence: Pulling out concrete posts set in large footings is heavy, slow work that customers always underestimate.
• Height: Taller fences need deeper, wider post holes and more concrete; over 1.8m the wind loading rises sharply and posts must be set deeper still.
• Boundary disputes and levels: Matching a neighbour's existing run or working to an exact boundary line can add survey and setting-out time.

Fence Height and Planning Permission

You don't want to install a fence the customer then has to take down. Under permitted development in England and Wales, a fence does not normally need planning permission if it is no more than 2 metres high. The key exception: where the fence is next to a highway used by vehicles (or the footpath of such a highway), the limit drops to 1 metre.

So a 1.8m (6ft) rear-garden fence is fine almost everywhere, but a 1.8m fence along a front boundary facing the road needs planning permission because it exceeds 1m next to a highway. Listed buildings, conservation areas and properties with an Article 4 direction can be more restrictive still. Flag this to the customer in writing and make it their responsibility to confirm — but knowing the rule protects your reputation and shows you know your trade.

Worked Example: A Typical 10-Panel Garden Run

Here's a realistic costing for a standard rear-garden job — roughly 18 metres, 10 overlap panels (6ft), concrete posts and gravel boards, removing an old timber fence, level ground with rear vehicle access. Eleven posts for ten bays.

• 10 × overlap panels @ £35 = £350
• 11 × concrete posts @ £28 = £308
• 10 × concrete gravel boards @ £18 = £180
• Postcrete (approx 16 bags) @ £6 = £96
• Post caps, fixings, sundries = £40
• Skip / tip fees for old fence + spoil = £120

Materials + disposal total: ~£1,094. A 2-person team should complete this in roughly 2 days (out the old fence and dig day one; set, concrete and hang day two). At a £400/day team rate that's £800 labour, giving a job cost of around £1,894.

Quote the customer £2,300–£2,500 and you've protected a sensible margin on top of a properly-paid team. Quote "£1,800 all in" to win the job and one day of hard digging or a wasted run to the tip wipes your profit out entirely. Note how the panels — the thing customers fixate on — are barely a fifth of the job.

How to Quote Profitably and Avoid Underpricing Labour

Almost every fencer who loses money does it the same way: they price off the panel count and treat the post-setting labour as an afterthought. The panels are predictable; the digging, concreting and old-fence removal are where the day really goes. Protect yourself with a few disciplines:

• Price per bay, not per panel where digging is hard. A bay on clay with roots is worth double a bay in soft soil — reflect it.
• Always cost disposal separately. Old concrete posts and creosoted timber are heavy, dirty and expensive to tip.
• Build in a postcrete cure allowance. Posts set one day, panels hung the next, gives a stronger job and stops you rushing concrete.
• Quote the post system explicitly. Customers comparing your concrete-post quote against a rival's timber-post quote need to see why yours is higher.
• Survey the post line before you price. One probe with a bar can reveal the buried footing that would have eaten your margin.
• Set a minimum day value. A 3-panel repair still ties up a team for half a day with travel, tools and a tip run — price it accordingly, not at three times your per-panel rate.

Track what your fencing jobs actually cost versus what you quoted, and you'll quickly see which ground conditions and post systems make you money and which ones you keep underpricing. That feedback loop — quoted versus actual — is what turns a busy fencing round into a profitable one.