Most people ask this question standing in the garden looking at a fence that has just come down in a gale, wondering whether to replace like for like or spend a bit more. The honest answer is that close board and panel fencing are built for different jobs, and the right choice usually comes down to your boundary length, how exposed the site is, and how long you want to leave it alone. Here is how they genuinely differ once they are in the ground.
Panel fencing is a pre-made unit, normally 6ft x 6ft, dropped into slots between concrete or timber posts. The most common types around Winchester are lap panels (thin overlapping horizontal slats) and closeboard-effect panels, which look similar to the real thing but are much lighter. They go up fast, which is why developers use them on new estates.
Close board is built on site, piece by piece. Two or three horizontal arris rails span between posts, and feather edge boards are nailed on individually, each overlapping the last by around 12 to 25mm. A gravel board sits along the bottom to keep the timber off wet soil. It is a slower job, but the result is a single continuous structure rather than a row of separate units.
Panel fencing is the cheaper option up front, often by a meaningful margin once you account for labour. Close board typically costs somewhere in the region of 40 to 70 percent more per metre installed, depending on post type, board thickness and whether the ground needs digging out or levelling.
The payback is in longevity. A budget lap panel might give you 5 to 10 years before it starts to sag, split or blow out. Properly installed close board with concrete posts and gravel boards, using pressure treated timber, is realistically a 15 to 20 year fence and often longer if it is treated every few years. Over two decades the close board frequently works out cheaper, but only if you plan to still be there.
Exposure matters more than most people expect. On the open ground around the edges of Winchester, up towards the downs, or on anything catching the prevailing south westerly, panels act like sails. The whole 6ft x 6ft unit takes the load and either lifts out of the slot or cracks the panel frame. Close board distributes wind pressure across individual boards and rails, so it flexes rather than failing outright.
Slopes are the other deciding factor. Winchester has plenty of gardens on a gradient, and panels can only be stepped, leaving triangular gaps under each bay unless you fit taller gravel boards. Close board can be raked to follow the ground line, giving a continuous top and no gaps at the bottom, which matters if you have a dog or want genuine privacy.
Ground conditions vary locally too. On the chalk you often hit solid material at 300 to 400mm, which is fine for post stability. In the clay pockets in the valley, posts want digging deeper and setting properly in concrete, and gravel boards become essential rather than optional.
Panels win clearly on repairs. If one bay goes, you slot in a new panel yourself in half an hour for the price of the panel. With close board, damage means replacing individual feather edge boards, which is cheap but fiddly, or a section of arris rail, which is a proper job.
Two practical points worth knowing before you commit. Fences over 2m need planning permission, and over 1m if they front a highway, which catches out a few people on Winchester's older terraced streets. And whichever way the boards face, the smooth side conventionally goes to the neighbour, so it is worth a conversation first, especially in conservation areas where appearance is scrutinised more closely.
Choose panels if the boundary is sheltered, the ground is level, the run is long enough that cost is the deciding factor, or you are likely to move within a few years. There is nothing wrong with a good quality panel in the right spot.
Choose close board if the fence is exposed, the ground slopes, you have a dog or want real privacy and security, or you simply want to install it once and forget about it. If budget is tight but the site is difficult, a sensible middle ground is close board on the exposed or sloping runs and panels on the sheltered sections.
Usually yes, if the posts are sound and the slots are the standard width, as the rails and boards can be fitted within them or the posts drilled for rail brackets. It is worth checking the post condition at ground level first, since replacing posts later is the expensive part.
Pressure treated timber does not strictly need it to survive, but a coat of quality fence treatment every two to three years keeps the colour and slows weathering. Pay particular attention to the bottom 300mm and any cut ends, as that is where rot starts.
In most cases yes, because the vast majority of fence failures happen at ground level where timber meets wet soil. Concrete posts and a gravel board keep the fence off the ground and typically add years to its life for a modest extra cost.
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