Fencing 86D Dark Brown: how to measure a boundary before ordering

Most fence orders that go wrong go wrong at the tape measure. The boards themselves are straightforward: Fencing 86D - Dark Brown - Outdoor - 180cm (1 Pack / 6pcs) is the dark brown finish in the fencing range, six boards a pack at 15 x 180 x 2cm each, 1.62m² of cover a pack and two packs per bay. It is the survey that needs the care.

Measuring the run

1. Walk the boundary and split it into straight runs. Corners, steps and a gate each end a run and start another.
2. Measure each run along the ground with a tape, not by pacing, and write the figure down in centimetres.
3. Divide by 180 and round up. That is the bay count, and the pack count is double it.
4. Add one post per run on top of the bay count, since a run needs a post at both ends.
5. Note anything in the way: a manhole, a drain, a tree root, an overhanging gutter, the rise of a path.

Note what happens at 340cm: two bays of 180cm is 360cm, so the run is 20cm short and the last bay has to be narrowed or the posts shifted. The listing does not state whether these boards can be cut to length, so that is a question for the shop before the order, not after it. Ask it with your measurements in front of you.

Ground that is not level

Each board accounts for 15cm of the height, so a bay builds up in 15cm steps and a full bay of twelve boards reaches 180cm. On a sloping boundary a fence usually steps down bay by bay, and the posts carry the step. The posts in the range give you the room to do it: 6" Fence Post - Black (1 Pack / 4pcs) is 190cm, and 8" Fence Post - Black (1 Pack / 2pcs) is 240cm, which is 60cm clear of a full board stack. Take the fall of the ground to the shop with the run lengths and let them advise which post height suits the top and bottom of the slope.

On delivery day

A pack is a 181cm carton at 18.5kg, which is longer than most hallways are wide. Plan the route to the back garden before the van arrives, and if the only way through is the house, say so when you order. Delivery is free within 50 miles of the Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

• Count the cartons against the order before signing for them.
• Open one and count six boards, then check the interlocking edges down the length.
• Check the finish of two boards from different cartons side by side in daylight.
• Store them flat and off the soil until the posts are in.

What the listing says about the board

The composite is described as weather-resistant and UV-resistant and as resisting fading and colour change in direct sunlight, and the boards are described as a seamless fit that connects without visible gaps. The listing gives no tone or grain description beyond the name Dark Brown, so judge the colour from the product page photographs or a board in the shop. It is worth doing: a dark fence takes light out of a small garden, and that is a decision to make with your eyes rather than from a name.

When the survey is done, Fencing 86D - Dark Brown prices up in packs of six against your bay count, with Fencing 86 Trim - 180cm if you are fitting to existing concrete posts and a fitting kit if the posts land on slab.