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The Beast Fence Panel
If you’re looking for a high-quality, affordable fence panel for your upcoming garden renovation project, the Beast Fence Panel is a perfect choice.Exclusive to G&G Fencing and Landscape Supplies, we designed and manufactured The Beast Fence Panel at our workshop in Northfleet in Kent. Each fence panel is crafted by hand by our experienced design team, who have decades of experience in the landscaping business.
The Beast Fence Panel is a project we’re incredibly proud of, and we love seeing photos of our fence panels freshly installed in our customers’ gardens.
In this article, we will take a look at the Beast Fence Panel, and what makes it so unique. We’ll also provide some additional information about wooden fence panels and how they are used in different types of gardens.
1. What is a fence panel?
2. How can a fence panel improve the look and feel of your garden?
3. Do I need planning permission to install a fence panel?
4. How much do wooden fence panels cost?
5. Should I paint my fence panel?
6. What is the Beast Fence Panel?
7. Why choose the Beast Fence Panel?
8. The materials we use for the Beast Fence Panel
9. Sustainable and strong spruce wood
10. Feather edge cut fencing for security
11. Dimensions of the Beast Fence Panel
12. Why the Beast Fence Panel is the UK’s strongest panel
13. A 7ft and 8ft fence panel… is this really possible?
14. In conclusion
What is a fence panel?
A fence panel is a way of defining the perimeter of a garden or outdoor space. They are the fence of choice for thousands of homeowners across the UK.
Fence panels are long wooden panels that have been designed to look like individual slats of wood. They can be easily and quickly installed in any garden space, without any gaps or holes.
Fence panels are easier and cheaper than building a wall around your garden, and more convenient than installing individual wooden fence pickets.
You can use fence posts between the fence panels, as well as a gravel board under the fence panels to add extra security and protect your fence panel from the elements.
Find out more about our concrete fence posts and gravel boards
How can a fence panel improve the look and feel of your garden?
A wooden fence panel can help to transform your garden or open space.
Here are some of the ways a fence panel can make your garden more functional, as well as more attractive.
1. Fence panels define the borders of your garden, so you know what space is yours and what space is your neighbours
2. Fence panels offer privacy, meaning that people can’t see inside your personal outdoor space. Perfect if you enjoy barbecuing or sunbathing in your garden!
3. Fence panels can help give shade, protecting your plants and shrubs from the hot sun. They can also act as a windbreaker, stopping the wind from damaging delicate flowers
4. Fence panels can prevent weeds and other unwanted plants from entering your garden
5. Fence panels prevent strangers and animals from getting into your garden, as well as children and pets from getting out
6. Fence panels can reduce noise from neighbouring gardens and nearby traffic
7. Fence panels can make your garden look more attractive, and add extra value to your property
Do I need planning permission to install a fence panel?
You generally do not need planning permission If your fence panel is less than 6ft 6in high. However, if the boundary line of your property meets a highway or footpath of a highway, then you may need to get planning permission.
If in doubt, speak to your local council – they will be able to let you know if you need to get planning permission or not.
Find out more about planning permission for fences on the Government’s Planning Portal.
Even if you don’t need planning permission for your fence, we would recommend discussing your fencing plans with your neighbours. That way, you can check if they are happy for you to install a brand new fence. You may also be able to access their property to fit the fence panels, which will make installing the panels much easier!
How much do wooden fence panels cost?
It depends on the size and the material they are made of. The wider the panels, the more materials that are used, which increases the price.
You can find out more about the cost of the Beast Fence Panels at the bottom of this page.
Don’t forget to factor in the cost of paint/wood stain, gates, additional hardware and installation into your garden project too.
Should I paint my wooden fence panel?
Our Beast Fence Panels use UC3 treated wood (more on that a little later in the article). We don't recommend treating your brand new fence panel with paint, creosote or sealant for the first 2 years. When it is time to treat this will help prolong the life of your fence and protect it from dampness, ice and mould.
The great news is that there are a wide range of different sealants and paints out there, so you can customise your fence to match the look and feel of your garden.
Whether you go with a traditional wood colour or something a little more fashionable, like a Mediterranean blue or green, paint is a fantastic way to customise your new fence!
What is the Beast Fence Panel?
Although we’ve created many fence panels in the past at G&G Fencing and Landscape Supplies, our team wanted to create a panel that was extra special.
We wanted to create a fence panel that was incredibly strong, and that looked nice from both sides. Sometimes with wooden fence panels, the side facing your garden will look good, but the side facing your neighbours won’t be as well-designed.
We also wanted something that could be manufactured in a variety of sizes. Different customers have different needs, and we were keen to create something that would look good and be functional, no matter the project.
We spent time researching the best manufacturing methods, and asked our customers what they wanted from the fence panels they planned to install in their gardens. After some experimentation, we came up with the Beast Fence Panel!
There are a lot of different types of wooden fence panels out there, and you’re probably wondering why you should choose the Beast Fence Panel for your upcoming DIY project.
Here are some of the reasons why the Beast Fence Panel is the right choice for you:
- Solid and sturdy – the Beast Fence Panel will withstand any weather conditions and still look great
- Feather edge cut wood – this cutting method leaves no gaps, and means that your fence will look good from both sides
- A wide range of sizes available – the Beast Fence Panel is the perfect fit no matter how large or small your garden is
- Created using sustainable wood – the right choice for an eco-friendly garden
The materials we use for the Beast Fence Panel
The frame of the Beast Fence Panel is made using two side rails that are fully pressure-treated to UC3 standards.
What do we mean by UC3? UC3 is a type of wood that has been treated for outdoor use. UC3 wood is ideal for use outdoors and above ground. This means this type of wood is regularly exposed to rain, snow, wind and heat. As a result, it needs to be high-quality and not warp, crack or split.
The backing rails on the panel are cut at an angle so that rain drips straight off. This protects your fence panel from softness, holes and cracks, which can lead to mould, mildew and rotting.
The number of backing rails will depend on the size of the fence panel. Our 3ft and 4ft panels have three backing rails, while our 5ft, 5ft 6 inches and 6ft have four backing rails. Our 7ft and 8ft panel has five backing rails.
The side rails are nailed into the side of the backing rails. We only use the highest quality stainless steel nails with our Beast Fence Panel. You can frequently get ‘black drip’ with galvanised nails, which leaves unsightly blue-black marks on your wood.
We then add an angled top cap that deflects rain from settling on top of the fence panel and gives the Beast Fence Panel a finished, high-quality look.
When the fence panel is ready, we put a brass plaque in the middle of the fence panel as a final finishing touch. This plaque shows that the fence panel was handcrafted by the team at G&G Fencing and Landscape Supplies and has been manufactured to our exceptional standards.
Sustainable and strong spruce wood
A wide variety of diverse types of wood are used for fence panels, from pine to cedar. We use British spruce (also known as Sitka spruce) for our Beast Fence panels.
Why have we chosen spruce for our wooden fence panels? Spruce is a good option for fence panels as it is easy to cut, file down and manipulate. As it is light in colour, it also means you can paint your fence panel in any colour you choose.
Another advantage of softwoods like spruce is that they are sustainable. Spruce grows quickly, which means forests are quickly replenished. A spruce tree can grow up to 1 metre a year in good conditions, making it one of the most eco-friendly wood sources available.
We’re proud that all the wood we use for our fence panels comes from a sustainable source. With the Beast Fence Panel, you’re helping to invest in a more sustainable tomorrow.
Find out more about British spruce on the Woodland Trust website
Feather edge cut fencing for security
For added strength, all of the wood we use is feather edge cut from the centre of the wood’s core.
What is feather edge cut fencing? It’s a particular way that the fence panels are cut, often known as close board or shiplap. With feather edge cut fencing, the individual pieces of wood are cut on a slight gradient, and you can overlap each piece of the fence panel without gaps.
Feather edge cutting means that the fence panel is more robust and more secure – nosy neighbours and unwanted visitors won’t be able to see through.
In addition, as both sides of the fence are similar, the fence panel looks good from either side. This means that your next-door neighbours may be more willing for you to install your brand new fence panel as they won’t see the ‘bad’ side!
Dimensions of the Beast Fence Panel
As well as being hard-wearing and aesthetically pleasing, the Beast Fence Panel comes in a range of sizes to perfectly match every garden. This means you can mix and match the different widths to suit the dimensions of your outdoor space.
All Beast Fence Panels are 6ft (1.829mm) wide. This is because 6ft is the ideal width to offer strength and prevent intruders from entering your property.
We offer our fence panels in different heights, including:
- 3ft
- 4ft
- 5ft
- 5ft 6 inches
- 6ft
- 7ft and 8ft (we go into a little more detail about how and why we created our 7ft and 8ft fence panels later!)
Why the Beast Fence Panel is the UK’s strongest panel
We’ve said that the Beast Fence panel is incredibly strong and durable. At this point you’re probably thinking… ‘how do we know this?’
We tested our fence panel to see how much weight it could take, and the results were outstanding!
We took one of our panels and placed it on top of two sleepers. We then placed several bags of heavy cement on top of the Beast Fence panel to see how many the panel would take before it gave way. Check out our video below to see the experiment in progress.
We knew that the fence panel would be strong, but we kept adding more and more bags of cement, and the panel just would not budge!
The Beast Fence Panel took 33 bags of cement before it started to take the strain, which is 885kg, or 139 stone!
To put this into context, 885kg is:
- Two grand pianos
- Two horses
- Six pandas
- Ten kangaroos
- Ten adult men
- 150 bowling balls
That’s a lot of weight that the Beast Fence Panel can take!
What does this mean for you and your gardening project?
It means that the Beast Fence panel will be able to withstand the windiest conditions and still stay standing. If an excitable dog or child accidentally runs into it, it won’t fall down. If a hurricane starts throwing plant pots and garden furniture into your fence, your fence panel won’t budge.
Some of the fence panels on the market look good and will stay standing, but aren’t as strong as they could be. Every one of the Beast Fence Panels that leaves our workshop has been built for strength and durability.
After all, that’s why we called it the ‘Beast’!
A 7ft and 8ft fence panel… is this really possible?
When we began creating the Beast Fence Panel, we initially started with the smaller fence panels, and our customers loved them! However, we did get some customers asking if we could make anything taller.
So… challenge accepted! We set to work creating a higher high-quality fence panel that was still strong and durable, with extra backing rails to provide additional stability and strength. We’re proud of our work, and the 7ft and 8ft Beast Fence Panels are available as a made to order panels.
What Materials are used
The frame of The Beast Fence Panel is made using 2 side rails that are fully pressure treated to UC3 standards and backing rails that are cut at and angle to allow rain drip off.
5ft, 5ft 6in and 6ft panels have 4 backing rails.
3ft and 4ft panels have 3 backing rails.
The side rails are nailed in to the side of the backing rails with with 64mm nails.
- 32mm x 38mm side rail
- 32mm x 70mm backing rail
The Feather Edge
On the beast fence panel and all of our fence panels we use fully pressure treated UC3 feather edge. There are 24 slats of 100mm x 22m feather edge of every panel that we make that are all nailed in with stainless steel nails. We only use British spruce feather edge cut from the centre of the core to assure the best quality fence panels you can buy. All of our wood comes from a sustainably source.
The Top Cap
We use an angled top cap that is fully pressure treated to UC3 standards on top of all our fence panels. This is used to deflect rain from sitting on top of the fence panel and gives it a finished look.
Finishing Touches
To finish the the beast panels we put a brass plaque in the middle of the fence panel.
The Test
We put our fence panel through a strength test and the results were outstanding. We placed the panel on top of two sleepers to see how much weight it would take. The fence panel took 33 bags of cement or 885kg before it gave way, take a look at the video below.
