How to fix soil direct contact to H3 timber fence?

bbcd29

Neighbours land is much lower than mine, so there’s H3 Timber Panelling between us that will be directly touching soil if I want to level the soil on my side but I can still avoid this. At the moment it’s uneven and abit of a slope on the side. I’m on a budget and doing it on my own. Please help.

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @bbcd29. It's brilliant to have you join us and many thanks for your question about fencing.

Fences typically have a plinth board along the base, often made from H4 treated timber, which can safely have some soil in contact with it. If you only plan to raise the soil slightly, for example, less than 100 mm, installing an H4 treated plinth board at the base of your H3 fence is a good way to protect the panels from direct soil contact.

However, fences aren’t designed to retain soil, so if you want to bring the soil higher or add a significant amount, it’s not a good idea to pile it against the fence, especially when the neighbour’s land is lower. In that case, you should build an independent H4-treated retaining wall from sleepers just in front of the fence, allowing your soil to sit against it instead. For small slopes, the plinth board alone may be sufficient, but for heavier or taller soil build-ups, a separate retaining wall is the safest option to protect the fence from pressure and eventual damage.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell