Margate · Cliftonville · Westbrook · Palm Bay · Garlinge · Birchington · CT9 · CT7
Closeboard, panel, picket, palisade, gates and decking across Margate, the CT9 coast, and out to Birchington. Concrete posts and gravel boards as standard, UC4-pressure-treated timber, honest £/metre pricing bands. Instant quote on WhatsApp, site visit where the run needs one.
What I do
Specified for Thanet's mix of coastal HMOs and holiday lets, Old Town conservation streetscape, Palm Bay chalk-cliff exposure, and the standard suburban stock through Garlinge and Birchington. The salt easterly off the North Sea is the single biggest factor in what fails and what lasts. The spec below is written for it.
Timber closeboard installed on concrete posts and gravel boards. The go-to for salt-easterly durability on Thanet coastal boundaries.
See closeboard fencing scopeOverlap, waney-edge and featheredge panels supply-and-fit. Quickest turnaround, honest price per metre on standard 6ft heights.
See panel fencing scopeTraditional pointed-top picket fencing for Old Town cottages and Cliftonville front gardens. Painted or stained to spec.
See picket fencing scopeVertical timber palisade for HMOs and holiday-let side returns. Good balance of security and airflow through the easterly.
See palisade fencing scopeSingle side gates, double driveway gates and pedestrian access, softwood or hardwood, hung on galvanised hardware.
See gates scopeSoftwood and composite decking for seafront balconies, holiday-let rear yards and Palm Bay garden lifts.
See decking scopeConcrete post and gravel-board sub-structure - the honest defence against chalk-soil damp and Thanet ground movement.
See concrete posts and gravel boards scopeStorm-damage repair, panel replacement, post re-setting after easterly gales. Fast turnaround on holiday-let rentals.
See fence repair scopeWhy local matters
The prevailing wind on Margate is a north-easterly straight off the North Sea. Salt-laden air lifts up the chalk cliffs at Cliftonville and Palm Bay and drives horizontally at any boundary facing north or east. Softwood untreated to pressure grade UC4 does not survive that; a fence run that goes up in a Kentish inland village and holds for 15 years might go up on North Foreland Road and be back to rotten stumps in four. The spec has to match the exposure.
Old Town around the harbour is a conservation area administered by Thanet District Council. Article 4 directions on some frontages remove permitted-development rights that apply everywhere else in Thanet, so a front-boundary fence over 1 metre may need a planning application even if the same fence would be permitted at Palm Bay or Garlinge. Cliftonville's HMO and short-let density brings a different problem - boundary security and neighbour-privacy come up in every scope conversation, and the answer is usually 6ft closeboard rather than 4ft panel. Palm Bay's chalk substrate means post-hole conditions can shift wildly across a single garden.
Coastal timber, honest life expectancy
Any timber going up within a mile of the seafront needs pressure treatment to UC4 (in-ground contact) as a minimum. UC3 treatment (above-ground) is not enough on Margate coastal exposure. On a UC4 spec, expect 12-15 years on a closeboard run before the first replacement boards are needed; 8-10 years on panels. I write the treatment class into every quote so you know what you are getting.
A proper job or you pay nothing
Every run finishes plumb on every post and level along the top rail. If it does not, the job is not signed off. That is the 'proper job or you pay nothing' baseline - not marketing copy, a working commitment.
Instant WhatsApp quote from photos and metres, verified on a short site visit if the run needs it, then the price is fixed. If the post-hole conditions turn out worse than expected on the day, that is my problem, not yours.
Every job leaves you with a photo record of the finished run, and the invoice records the exact timber spec, treatment class, and post concrete used. Useful if you sell the property, and useful for any warranty conversation down the line.
Where I work
CT9 covers the town proper, Cliftonville, Westbrook, Palm Bay, Garlinge and Old Town. CT7 covers Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea. Six broadly different property types across two postcodes, all worked to one spec.
The clifftop residential belt east of Margate proper. HMO and holiday-let dense, boundary security matters, salt-easterly is the primary decay driver.
More on CliftonvilleThe residential arc west of Margate seafront running towards Westgate. Mixed period stock, tight rear gardens, closeboard on concrete post is the workhorse.
More on WestbrookThe Turner Contemporary district around the harbour arm. Conservation-area planning is a live consideration; picket and painted panel keep the streetscape sympathetic.
More on Margate Old TownThe eastern seafront estate. Wider gardens, chalk-cliff exposure, wind-driven rain. Substantial closeboard runs on concrete posts are the norm.
More on Palm BayThe inland suburb south-west of Margate. Larger family gardens, standard panel or closeboard, less coastal exposure so timber life extends 4-6 years compared to seafront.
More on GarlingeThe village west of Margate, adjacent postcode CT7. Bungalow-dense, retiree market, careful low-boundary picket and gate work is a steady beat.
More on BirchingtonRecent work
A running log of jobs across Margate and Thanet. Updated as I finish them.
Frequently asked
Send a photo of the boundary, the total length in metres (or the panel and post count if you know it), the height you want (usually 4ft, 5ft or 6ft), and your Margate postcode to 07763 100 477 on WhatsApp. I reply the same working day with a fixed price. For closeboard runs and driveway gates I verify on a short site visit before we book the work in, because the post-hole conditions decide half the price.
Closeboard timber fencing on concrete posts with concrete gravel boards is the honest spec for Cliftonville, Palm Bay and any exposed CT9 boundary. Concrete posts do not rot when the base sits in the year-round damp of Thanet chalk-clay ground. Featheredge timber pressure-treated to UC4 gives 12 to 15 years on the salt easterly. Untreated softwood panels straight into softwood posts fail inside 4 years on that coast.
For a rear boundary up to 2 metres, no - it is permitted development. For a front boundary adjoining a highway, the limit drops to 1 metre. In Margate Old Town conservation area and on any listed property, the Article 4 direction removes some permitted-development rights and you should check with Thanet DC before ordering. I flag the check as part of the quote where the address is in a conservation zone.
Standard 6ft closeboard on concrete posts and gravel boards runs £75-95 per metre installed on straightforward runs. Panel fencing runs £55-75 per metre. Standard 6ft side gate £220-320 supply and fit. Prices firm on chalky Palm Bay ground and softer where the dig is clean; the site visit tightens the number before we book.
Yes. Every job carries the 'A proper job or you pay nothing' guarantee: if the run does not go up straight, plumb, level along the top, and secured to spec, you do not pay for it. That is separate from the manufacturer warranty on the timber itself (typically 15 years on UC4-pressure-treated closeboard, 10 years on panels).
Send a couple of photos, panel or gate counts, and your postcode. Instant quote on WhatsApp, verified with a site visit if the run needs it.