Closeboard panels for solid privacy – By Glasgow’s garden fencing professionals
Closeboard fencing, also called a featheredge fence, is built from overlapping vertical timber boards nailed to horizontal rails on site.
It’s the build we reach for wherever full privacy and security matter most.
Each board is featheredge timber: thick along one edge, tapered to almost nothing along the other.
Neighbouring boards overlap enough to close every gap, even as the timber shrinks and swells with the weather.
A batten fixed over the join at each post stops rain driving through.
Closeboard gives the best noise reduction of any panel type too, since there’s no gap anywhere along the run for sound to pass through.
A closeboard fence costs more than an overlap panel of the same height, but the extra board thickness and individual fixing is exactly what makes it last longer under repeated Scottish storms.
We nail each board onto arris rails, the triangular horizontal timbers that give it something solid to grip along its full height.
Overlap panels for a budget-built run
Overlap fence panels, sometimes sold as lap panels or waney lap panels, use thin horizontal boards nailed in a criss-cross pattern across a timber frame.
Each board overlaps the one below it, closing the gap along its lower edge.
Waney lap keeps the natural rounded edge of the board, unlike the traditional lap panels trimmed square before assembly. It looks rougher as a result, though the two perform almost identically once fitted.
Overlap is easy to install as the standard fence panel range stocked by most builders’ merchants, sold as a complete, pre-built unit.
We can put up a full run in a single afternoon, not the several days a board-by-board fence takes.
The overlapping boards flex slightly in strong wind, which helps in an exposed spot. The thinner timber doesn’t last as long as a closeboard build, though.
Overlap suits a rental property or a quick boundary fix, where a same-day install and a lower price matter most.
Hit and miss panels for privacy with airflow
Hit-and-miss fence panels fix vertical boards to both sides of a central rail, offset so a board on one side covers the gap on the other.
Both sides end up with a similar level of privacy to a solid panel.
The small gaps between boards allow wind to pass through, easing pressure on the whole fence line. That matters in a garden that catches the worst of the weather: a fully solid fence line just gives the wind something to push against.
A hit-and-miss fence reads as more decorative than a plain closeboard run too. The alternating pattern of light and shadow through the gaps gives it a semi-solid fence texture a flat panel doesn’t have.
We recommend a hit-and-miss build for a boundary shared with a neighbour, since both sides get the same finished look. A one-sided panel leaves a neighbour staring at exposed rails.
Picket panels for an open, decorative boundary
Picket fencing sits at the opposite end of the scale from closeboard.
It’s built from evenly spaced vertical pales fixed to horizontal rails, with a visible gap between each one.
Picket fence panels come pre-built in standard widths for a front garden. A period property often suits pales we fix individually on site, matching an original design.
Continental gardens use a taller, pointed version called a palisade fence for the same open, decorative look with a bit more security built in, though it’s rarely seen on UK properties outside a period restoration.
A matching set of garden gates finishes a picket run properly, and a wooden fence built this way needs little more than an occasional repaint to keep the boundary looking sharp.
Picket rarely goes above a metre, since taller pales start to look top-heavy on such a light, open frame.
Slatted and contemporary panels for a modern look
Slatted fencing uses horizontal or vertical boards fixed with a visible gap between each one. That gap gives it a clean, architectural look suited to a modern garden design.
Slatted fence panels let more light and air through than any solid build, and the fencing style reads as sharper and more deliberate than a stained closeboard fence.
A contemporary fence like this usually comes in a dark stain or a powder-coated composite finish.
Slatted panels pair well with rendered walls and porcelain paving, since the horizontal lines match the same clean, minimalist style.
We still fit a batten behind each gap on a slatted panel, the same as on closeboard, otherwise driving rain finds its way straight through in an exposed garden.
Decorative and specialist panels
A decorative fence panel might have a curved top, a trellis top, or a woven willow or heather infill. It still marks the boundary, but the curved top or woven infill is what people actually notice first.
Fence toppers, a shorter trellis or lattice section added to the top of an existing panel, are the easiest way to add height and a softer look without replacing a fence that’s otherwise sound.
A woven willow or heather infill needs replacing sooner than solid timber, usually inside ten years, since the natural material breaks down faster once it’s exposed to the weather.
Concave and convex panels curve gently from post to post.
That gentle curve breaks up a long, flat boundary run nicely.
Used sparingly, these types of decorative fence panels work best.
A full run in a heavily patterned finish looks busier than most gardens need, and it sits better inside a wider garden design plan.
Timber, treatment and posts
Types of timber vary in how well they cope outside once a panel’s actually up.
We use pressure treated softwood as standard, since the preservative gets forced deep into the wood under pressure instead of sitting on the surface like a stain.
Cedar and larch both resist rot naturally. We’ll sometimes spec one of these for a client who wants an untreated, natural finish.
Concrete posts and gravel boards protect the two weak points on any fence: the post base and the bottom edge of the panel.
Timber sitting directly in wet soil is the single biggest reason a fencing project needs redoing early.
Spacing and post choices
Panel fencing is built to 6 feet wide as standard, so posts go in at 6-foot centres whether you’re building a fence from closeboard, overlap or picket.
Each fence post carries real load in a Scottish storm, so getting the depth and concrete right matters more than the panel sitting on top of it.
Post and rail fencing, just horizontal rails with no infill panel at all, marks a field or paddock boundary. It was never built to block a view.
A galvanised post support driven into firm ground can work out more cost-effective than digging and concreting a full hole, though it only suits ground that doesn’t shift much through winter.
We still concrete posts in on anything over four feet, since a bolt-down support alone won’t hold a tall panel through a proper gale.
Types of fence panels FAQs
What are the different types of fence panels?
Closeboard (featheredge), overlap (including waney lap), hit-and-miss, picket, slatted and decorative panels cover most of what’s fitted in UK gardens, and the choice usually comes down to privacy, wind resistance and how much upkeep you want to take on.
What is the strongest type of fence panel?
Closeboard is generally the strongest, since overlapping vertical boards nailed individually to rails hold up better than a pre-built overlap panel, and there’s no single weak seam running the length of the panel the way there is with a lap-built fence.
Are closeboard panels better than lap panels?
Closeboard costs more and takes longer to fit, board by board rather than as a single unit, but it lasts longer and blocks more sound and wind than a lap panel. Choose lap panels when budget and speed matter more than lifespan.
How long does a timber fence panel last?
A closeboard fence typically lasts 15 to 20 years with basic upkeep, thanks to the thicker featheredge boards. Wooden fence panels like standard overlap or lap usually manage 10 to 15 years, since the thinner timber used in their construction breaks down faster.
What size are standard fence panels?
A standard garden fence panel is built 6 feet (1.8 metres) wide, in heights from around 3 feet up to 6 feet in 1-foot steps. Custom widths are available for an awkward boundary, though they cost more than a standard panel size.
Contact GGM Landscaping for professional fence installation in Central Scotland
We fit closeboard, overlap, hit-and-miss, picket, slatted and decorative fencing across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the Central Belt, and choosing the right fence usually comes down to what job it needs to do.
If you’re still weighing a fence against a wall, or a hedge for the same boundary, those comparisons are worth reading before you commit to a panel type at all.
Call us on 07946 322717 or book a free garden consultation, and we’ll match the panel to the actual job.