Shared fences can present a design challenge when the neighbours have different tastes, but fixing timber to an existing fence can create an attractive feature wall.
The project
Unsurprisingly, I'm not a fan of Colorbond fencing, and particularly not the cream colour the estate decided to go with.Again unsurprisingly, given my love for timber, I thought "Why don't we just cover it with wood?". So off I went to my friend's timber mill (a seven hour round trip) to pick up 800kg of freshly cut Marri wood.
I framed it with treated Pine and staggered the rough sawn Marri across the lot for a rustic and 'cosy' effect.
If you're tackling a similar project, use these Buildex 14g x 50mm Zinc Alloy Bugle Batten Tek Screws to fix timber to the top and bottom rails of your Colorbond fence. The rails are thicker than the sheeting, so your screws won't penetrate the neighbour's side. An impact driver is best, or a hammer drill should do.
Clamp the timber to the Colorbond as close to your drilling point as possible because once the screw penetrates the timber and begins drilling into the steel, it'll have resistance and will push the timber off the fence.
It took an average of four minutes to file the rough edges and oil each piece of wood and there are over 100 pieces in the project. Add to that the time it takes to frame and fix the pieces to the frame, which was particularly hard with slightly misshapen rustic wood and dealing with Perth's heat, it was a big project. But we're stoked with the end result. I painted the remainder of the fence Shale Grey, which I'm much happier with.
Before and after
How to add an extension to a Colorbond fence
While the standard install height for Colorbond fencing is 1800mm, for a small investment you can add privacy and security to your boundary fencing with D.I.Y. extensions taking the finished height to 2100mm. Pete shows you how to add an extension to a Colorbond fence in this step-by-step guide.
Popular fence and screening projects
You can transform a dull fence into an attractive feature of your garden or pool area. Find ideas for your own space in our Top 10 most popular fence projects and Top 10 most popular screening projects, and check out more of Pete's projects in his Feature fences discussion.
