After being a New Zealand fence manufacturing and distributing business with a touch of our history having to do with installation processes, we have picked up a wealth of fencing installation tips and tricks we would love to share. Being in business since 1974 has given us the opportunity to learn our products thoroughly and have a lot of learnings around standard building and standard fencing practices.
Complying With Council Regulations
There are no specific regulations around who can or who can't install any type of fencing or balustrade in New Zealand at this time. You don't need any specific qualifications to install any type of balustrade or fence, in some instances when you are dealing with swimming pool fencing you may need to provide a PS1. A PS1 is a producer statement, this proves your pool fencing or balustrade fencing is compliant with the Building Code. Some councils will also require a PS3 for a balustrade or pool fence installation. A PS3 is a statement to say that the installation has been installed correctly and complies with the engineered PS1 specifications. We have PS1’s available for our glass fencing products so to get in touch, please email info@belairefencing.co.nz if you require a PS1 to be signed off.
Our fencing and balustrade systems go through significant strength testing processes which allows them to be passed through an engineer before we go to market. This process means we are able to learn a lot about which would be the best methods to make the most robust and strongest fencing systems that will stand up to the harshest elements and the New Zealand weather conditions.
Good Installation Practices
Standard fence post depths - We would always recommend using inground posts where you can, on a standard timber, masonry or colour steel fence system. Inground posts are always a lot stronger than flange mounted post systems. We do offer both options, but our fencing team will always recommend inground posts. When it comes to glass fencing and glass balustrades you don't have any other options than a flange mounted bracket system.
If you are installing your fence with inground posts, there are standard post depths that you should install the fence posts to. If installing the inground posts into soil, the standard post depth would require having 1/3 of the post in the ground. It is always required to have a minimum 100mm of concrete underneath the base of the post as well as filling up the post hole. This not only gives added support and secures the posts more in place, but also prevents the concrete around the post from cracking easily and breaking down faster.
If installing your fence posts in softer ground, you should consider making the post holes an additional 200mm to 300mm deeper to allow for an additional 200mm of concrete underneath the fencing posts. This will add another layer to making sure your fence is installed securely, which will keep it sturdy and plumb for many years.
Fence heights - As stated in one of our other fencing blogs, the most common fence is 1800mm high. This can change with different fencing situations, styles and applications. If noise wall is one of your choices, a specific height is required for the fence to be built to, in order for the fence to serve its purpose. This specific height can be determined by an acoustic engineer, otherwise reach out to our friendly team to get the best advice from past experience, we can help with specific fence heights to help mitigate or reduce noise. We supply pool fencing at a minimum of 1200mm high and balustrade must be 950mm high at a minimum.
Footing sizes - It is important you always have a good footing for your fence posts. Ultimately for the strongest and most tidy fence installations, you would always have a concrete mowing strip or concrete nib. This makes your fence a lot stronger and tidier. We would always recommend a concrete mowing strip, if you are putting in a mowing strip or concrete nib, this would require a minimum 100mm of nib either side of your fence post. If you have a 100mm wide fence post, the nib would be 300mm in width. In some ways they make the fence install easier and quicker. Occasionally some of our fencing installers won't install our solid walls without a concrete nib.
String lines for fencing installations - There is nothing more important than a basic $5 string line when you are installing your new fence. A taught string line will make all the difference between a good and a bad fence installation. You must always use a tight stringline when installing any type of fence, all this requires is pegging the stringline at each end of any straight sections where the fence will be running along, in order to get it accurately straight and the fence heights accurate.
Laser levels for fence heights - If you can get your hands on a laser lever when installing a fence then don't hesitate, we would highly recommend hiring or borrowing a laser level if possible. A string line will be ok on a short run of fencing, but any distance more than 10 meters you really need to use a laser level to get all your posts at the same heights. There is nothing worse than seeing a fence with the posts been installed inaccurately with many different heights or the fence sagging in the middle due to not using a stringline.
Checking for services - Always make sure you check for power, water, gas or any other services on the boundary before installing your new fencing. An easy option is to contact us before you start installing your new fence, to get help on where would be best to install your fence. Most front boundaries will have some form of services which you won't want to come into contact with. It can become very costly.
We trust you find the above information helpful, and we look forward to helping you with your proposed fencing project! Please reach out to our fencing sales team for further help on 0800 235 24673 or email info@belairefencing.co.nz