Panel fencing (overlap and lap) in Sandwich

What panel fencing is right for

Panel fencing is the six-foot-by-six-foot lap or overlap panel dropped into slots on concrete posts, or nailed to timber posts. It is fast to install - a run of ten panels in a day is normal once the posts are in - and it is the correct answer for sheltered urban and village gardens where wind loading is low.

Inside the Sandwich walled town, on the side streets off Strand Street and behind Church Street St Clement's, panel fencing sits at the right price point and looks correct against period brick. Same story in Ash, Worth and Eastry back gardens where the run is sheltered by the house and neighbouring boundaries.

Where panels are the wrong call

On the Sandwich Bay side, on the marsh-facing boundary of a Sandwich Bay Estate property, or on any exposed boundary catching the westerly off Pegwell Bay - panels lose. The clip or nail at the top of the panel becomes the failure point and a gust that closeboard would shrug off will tear a panel out and drop it in the neighbour's garden. If your run is like that, look at closeboard.

The build we quote

• Concrete slotted posts (recommended) or 100x100mm treated timber posts, 600mm minimum in ground
• 150mm or 300mm concrete gravel board at the base
• Overlap or lap panels, 6x6 as standard, smaller sizes on stepped runs
• Post caps and gravel boards colour-matched where possible

Kent 2026 price band

Panel fencing on concrete posts with a 150mm gravel board lands £60 to £85 per linear metre supply-and-fit. Timber-post variants are cheaper up front but need replacing sooner - honest total-cost-over-15-years is not always in favour of the timber build. We will break the numbers out on request.

What lasts and what doesn't

Panels themselves are around 10-15 years in Sandwich exposure. Concrete posts and gravel boards outlast the panels, so when a panel goes it is a single slot-out slot-in replacement, not a whole new fence.