Palisade Fencing Materials & Information

This page aims to provide Palisade fencing information and advice.

Palisade, or Picket fence as it is sometimes called, is a popular front or back garden boundary fence, particularly where a solid fence is not needed or desired. Palisade/Picket fencing is also suitable for partitioning off separate parts of the garden, such as the veggie patch, from areas used by children and pets.

Palisade gates in various styles to match your fencing are also available, together with all the required gate fittings to make hanging your gates easy.

All our Palisade fencing materials are pressure treated with preservatives for longevity. Please read our page on looking after pressure-treated fencing to keep your fence looking good throughout its life.

To produce the traditional cottage-style fence, once the timber has dried, it can be stained or treated with a good quality coloured fence treatment. The treatment should be water-based, microporous and of external quality. We recommend that dark colours be avoided as they attract heat which may cause additional movement in the timber. Treating with regular paint is not recommended; in most cases, this will shorten the life of your fence.

Palisade (Picket) can be supplied in kit form or as pre-assembled palisade panels.

Palisade supplied as a kit of parts to be assembled on site.

There are three standard bay sizes. A bay is measured from one post’s centre to the next post’s centre. The bays range from 1.8m (6′) to 3m (10′). We do not recommend exceeding 3m bays, although 3.6 m rails are available for use in unusual circumstances and where there is no other choice.

Generally, 1.2m high Palisades and below require two rails. However, 1.35m to 1.8m high Palisades need a minimum of three rails.

Rails between the posts would generally be triangular-shaped Arris rails. Sawn square rails as used in Post and Rail fencing, can be substituted if desired, but bay sizes are usually reduced to 1.8m for this option. Both types of rails fit into mortices cut into the posts by our workshop at preset dimensions for the height of the fence required. Supporting the rails with mortised posts will work well on most types of ground, allowing you the flexibility to cope with slopes and sweeping curves easily.

For a reasonably flat and straight fenceline, square rails can be screwed onto the face of the posts. The Palisades are then attached to the rails so that they run continuously for the complete length of the fence, including in front of the posts. As mentioned above, bay sizes are often reduced when using square rails.

Palisade spacing

Palisade spacing usually is “hit & miss” using a palisade as a spacer, although the spacing can easily be adjusted to suit individual requirements.

To work out the number of Palisades or pickets required for a classic hit & miss spacing, when using our palisades, multiply the length of the fence line in feet by 2 OR the distance in metres by 6.5.

• For a 13mm (1/2″)  spacing, multiply the number of feet in the fence line by 3.5 OR the length in metres by 11.5
• For a 38mm (1 1/2″)  spacing, multiply the number of feet in the fence line by 2.66 OR the length in metres by 8.7
• For a 50mm (2″)  spacing, multiply the number of feet in the fence line by 2.4 OR  the length in metres by 7.9

For small children, we would advise using round or flat-topped palisades. Using closer spacing will help to reduce the risk of small children being able to climb the fence. For Palisade fencing with an overall height of less than 900mm, round-top or flat-top Palisades are the safest options.

Palisade panels.

Our standard Palisade Panels are 1.8m (6′) wide and can be made in heights up to 1.8m. The Palisades we use to make our palisade panels are the same as those we supply for palisade fencing in kit form, with round, pointed and flat tops.

Palisade panels are attached to the back of posts set into the ground at 1.8m centres. The panel rails meet in the centre of the back of each post and are attached using external woodscrews.

Questions? Need more Palisade fencing information?