Rails and Battens

Mick George stocks wooden fence rails from 22x100mm up to 47x150mm. The most common sizes for garden fencing are 47x75mm and 47x100mm. The range also includes 38x87mm, 38x100mm, 47x47mm and 47x150mm, plus bevelled rails in 47x125mm and 47x150mm. All are pressure treated for outdoor use. Rails are sold in standard lengths, so check the length you need against your post spacing before ordering.

They are called arris rails, or simply fence rails. On a closeboard fence they are the horizontal timbers that run between the posts and carry the vertical feather edge boards. The rail along the top is sometimes called a counter rail or capping rail. You may also hear them called across the rails or cant rails. They all mean the same horizontal supports.

Use 47x75mm or 47x100mm rails for a standard closeboard fence. A 1.8m (6ft) fence needs three rails per bay, fixed at the top, middle and bottom. A fence up to 1.2m can manage with two. Go up to 47x100mm if your posts are more than 2.4m apart or the fence is in an exposed spot, as the longer span puts more strain on each rail.

Use bevelled rails where water would otherwise sit on the top edge. The sloped top sheds rain, which keeps the rail dry and makes it last longer. They are the better choice for the top rails of a closeboard fence, post and rail fencing, and anywhere the rail is exposed to the weather. Plain square rails are fine for middle and bottom rails that are covered by the boards.

Rails go on you side of the fence. The boards face outwards, so the neighbour sees the flat face and you see the rails and posts. This is a convention rather than a legal rule, but it is what most people expect. The exception is where you want the rails hidden from a garden you use more than the outside, in which case you can turn the fence round.

Fence capping is a length of timber fixed along the top of a fence to cover the end grain of the boards. End grain soaks up water, so capping is the single best way to stop the top of a feather edge fence rotting. It also gives a neater finish. Mick George stocks standard fence capping, rebated capping that sits over the boards, and premium panel capping for a tidy top edge on panel fences.

The feather edge boards fix straight to the arris rails, so you do not need battens across the face. You will need a 22x100mm batten screwed to each post to carry the gravel board, and a 47x47mm centre stump and the midpoint of each bay if the posts are more than 2.4m apart. A counter rail or capping along the top finishes the job.

Use galvanised arris rail brackets. Screw or bolt the bracket to the concrete post, then screw the end of the rail into the bracket. Some concrete posts are morticed, with slots cut to take the rails directly. Others have pre-drilled holes for bolting the rails through. Use the fixings supplied for concrete, as ordinary wood screws will not hold in it.