Six months after settling in up on our new property in Azimuth Estate, Tairua, it was quite apparent we needed to do something about both our privacy and keeping our dogs contained. Apollo and Seth had quickly decided they owned the whole subdivision and with a lot of interested people driving up to see what was going on, we needed to establish a good boundary fence.

Also, living in a very high wind zone, some immediate protection from the wind was going to help establish gardens and hedges a lot quicker.

1. Researching Fencing Materials, Fencing Compliance and Costs

If you are going to build a fence right on your boundary, there are two pieces of legislation you need to be aware of, the first is the Fencing Act which sets out your obligations with neighbours, the second is your local District plan, with each council setting the maximum height before a building consent is required (locally with TCDC that is a maximum height of 2m). We were lucky to have to great neighbours who straight away agreed to pay half of the materials cost. We decided to start at 1.5m at the front of the property to still make the most of our views, and 1.8m at the back of the property.

Tia is the researcher and planner of the house, and she quickly found a nice looking solution made by a company called Laminata in the Far North. Being a first time fence builder it looked like a relatively easy, yet smart solution to put together.

The system basically consists of twin posts at either end of stacked, laminated tongue and groove pine panels, and two capping products to finish off both the posts and the panels.

It looks smart, it gives maximum privacy and wind protection, now the proof was in the pudding as to how easy it was for a rookie like me to install. In this Covid19 year, time wasn’t too much of an issue, and saving a few pennies by going DIY seemed like a good plan.

We sourced the product through a number of outlets, first of all getting enough posts and panels from Bunnings to get us going with the post holes, then the remainder of the posts from Whitianga Timber, and finally the bulk of the panels from our local hardware store.

2. Digging the fence posts.

We live on very hard ground, and this was probably the biggest, most time consuming part of building the fence. I borrowed a post hole borer from a friend and that made life a bit easier, and I would highly recommend also having a good quality post hole spade, which you can get from the likes of FarmSource. I actually found using a post hole spade quicker than the borer to be honest. Being in a high wind zone, I dug the holes to 600mm.

I dug the fence posts in sections,first of all running a string line from one boundary peg to another, and measuring the holes out at 1820 centres (ie 1820 from the centre of one hole to the next). It would be fair to say this was fairly thirsty work and it was important to keep well lubricated during this process.

2. Putting together the twin posts.

The twin posts were put together using the spacers at both the bottom and top. The larger spacer goes at the bottom and is concreted in the post hole, this allows the panels to slide in between the posts later, the smaller one at the top, with the top section sawn off.

3.Concreting in the fence posts.

This was a two person job, with Tia and the kids all getting involved at various stages helping me out. At various ends I used quick crete for maximum strength and quick setting, with the rest of the concrete mixed by hand with cement mix, builders dust and water, which was a way to get the cost down a little bit. Running a string line at both the bottom of the post, and the top of the post, along with a good level, was a good tip a builder mate gave me to get the levels right and keep the fence straight.

4. Installing the Base boards

Next, the treated base boards that touch the ground were slid into place, levelled with a level, and screwed into the twin posts.

5. Installing the fencing panels.

With the posts in and base boards screwed in and levelled, which to be honest all took a few weeks in between other work, from here is where the fence building goes very fast. It is very easy to smash over a large portion of the rest of the fence in a day or two. The panels are simply slid into place, ensuring the tongue and groove locks into place, a rubber mallet is a pretty essential tool here, one after the other, and screwed both ends into the post.

6. Installing the capping rails.

Finally the capping rails were cut to size and placed over the panels.

7. Saw off twin post

The top of the post sawn off, (I used a circular saw for this) and a post cap placed on top.

The end result….we are pretty delighted, and highly recommend the Laminata system. We’ve ended up with a very private, wind resistant and style fence line! Cheers Laminata!

First Time Fence Builder