Fence Insurance.

[Dale.]

Garden fence insurance. Is there such a thing?

We had a fence come down in the recent storms. It was a 48 feet stretch of slated, railed and posted type. The posts snapped where they meet the ground, as they do.

I've decided to recycle as much of it as I can but nonetheless, the parts I have to replace have still cost just about £500 (rails and posts) by the time it's done, and that's doing the work myself. We have a lot of fence, probaly close to 4 or 500 feet of it, I don't want to think about the cost of replacing it if it were ever to come down.

The rest of the fence is in good repair, it's looked after but I do want to futureproof it.

I was wondering if there is such a thing as fence insurance, as part of house insurance. I checked our house insurance and it doesn't cover fence repairs. Also, being storm damage, it might be considered an act of God, so I don't know. Hopefully, I'd never have to use it, we've only ever claimed once on house insurance but I would like the peace of mind.

Anybody ever heared of, or had fence insurance?

ta.

 

[Pixbarmy]

If insurers can wiggle out of paying, they will! The last person I heard of was told that his fence wasn't maintained properly and that was why the posts had broken. I don't know how you can "maintain" an "in ground and concrete" fence post. I have since drilled single, angled holes into the section underground and put creosote in with a large syringe, then popped a small cork in to seal the hole. The creosote seepts into the underground section and protects it from rotting. Repeat every year and it works!

 

[ecoleman]

I've used these on any wooden posts that are sunk into the ground and they seem to do the job

Pro-Wrap Standard - Fence Post Rot Protection Wrap | Postsaver Shop

Postsaver's Pro-Wraps protect fence posts against rot. Our Standard size fits 3 x 3" — 4 x 4" square and 3 — 4" round posts. Buy now.

shop.postsaver.com

If I were to replace an entire fence I'd probably replace the posts with concrete ones. The price of timber has gone stupid ever since Convid. At lest with concrete you know you'll never have to replace them again,.

 

[hunnymonster]

Is it not called concrete posts? I (aged 18) helped my dad replace a wooden posted fence with a concrete posted on (wooden rails, palings, panels). I'm very not 18 any longer but the fence hasn't moved. It has lead to a written car off though (boy racer overcooked it & blam! - one panel replaced, posts fine)

I seem to remember nearly passing away moving the GDMF posts but other than that the fence lives on.

 

[LeeRatters]

A neighbour had an out of control fire during the covid lockdown which took out the conifers and fence and shed at the top of the garden. I think the conifers were the target in all honesty..... as they sat in a section of no man's land behind our fence. Anyway, the insurance wouldn't cover it, the housing association weren't interested and neither was anyone else....... In the end I made metal posts to concrete in so they shouldn't rot as easily as wood and attached timber rails and fence.

 

[Graham W]

You want these for "Rotten at the bottom" but otherwise good fence repairs.
Godfather posts. https://www.hnl-fencing.co.uk/product/concrete-gravel-boards/

 

[Mozthecat]

You want these for "Rotten at the bottom" but otherwise good fence repairs.
Godfather posts. https://www.hnl-fencing.co.uk/product/concrete-gravel-boards/
View attachment 418361

Also called repair spurs by some merchants.

Had to do three in our garden a while back and the hardest part was cutting through the postcrete that had been installed around the wooden posts. With an sds drill and chisel bits, it took around an hour and a quarter for the final one(having learnt on the first).

There are also metal ones on Ebay with a 6" "kink" to step over the concrete.

 

[Dale.]

Thanks for the replies, plenty of food for thought.

I will, for now at least, be using 4x4 wooden posts again, as I already have them. I had actually thought about strengthening the bottom of them with angle iron, screwed onto the corners, we'll see. The old posts lasted almost 20 years, so if the new ones last that long, that puts me well into my 70s, so maybe then, or if they fall before that, I 'll look into the concrete option.

The 'Pro Wrap' also looks very interesting.

Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[Nod]

Standing the new posts in wood preservative for a day or 2 before 'creting them in might help them live a bit longer but most pressure treated timber should last 10+ years these days. I think some is guaranteed for at least that.

 

[JohnC6]

Thanks for the replies, plenty of food for thought.

I will, for now at least, be using 4x4 wooden posts again, as I already have them. I had actually thought about strengthening the bottom of them with angle iron, screwed onto the corners, we'll see. The old posts lasted almost 20 years, so if the new ones last that long, that puts me well into my 70s, so maybe then, or if they fall before that, I 'll look into the concrete option.

The 'Pro Wrap' also looks very interesting.

Again, thanks for the replies.

My bold,Dale.

I see you already have wooden posts to put in but you definitely need concrete ones next time .I very much doubt they will last another 20 years because of the frequency of severe storms bringing hurricane-force winds which are only going to become more frequent and where you live on the west coast of Scotland is, as you know, a particularly vulnerable area. None of our fences have beeen damaged, let alone been brought down, by strong winds since we had concrete posts with the panels sitting in concrete gravel boards.

 

[mj4456]

When I installed our fence I built up the concrete around the posts higher than garden level so that water can’t ‘puddle’ around the post, don’t know if it’ll work but after I saw the guy do it at our decking installation it made sense, time will tell.