Picket fencing in Sandwich

Where picket makes sense

Picket fencing is a front-garden answer, not a rear-boundary answer. It is around 900mm to 1.2m high, low enough to see over, pointed or rounded at the top, spaced pales on a horizontal rail structure. It is the right frontage for a cottage on Strand Street, a Victorian terrace in the town, a village house on Ash Street or an Eastry cottage set back from the road.

The build we quote

• Treated softwood posts (100x100mm), 600mm in ground
• Two horizontal rails (100x50mm treated)
• Pales at 75mm or 100mm wide, spacing to match, pointed or rounded tops
• Matching gate to a pedestrian entrance, hung on galvanised T-hinges
• Painted or stained finish - two coats on delivery, one coat after settle-in

Highway boundary rule

On a highway-facing boundary, picket fencing needs to stay under 1m without planning permission. Inside the Sandwich conservation area, Dover District Council can require conservation-area consent even under 1m if the frontage is prominent. We check and flag it at the quote stage.

Kent 2026 price band

Painted picket fencing with a matching gate typically lands £75 to £100 per linear metre supply-and-fit for a standard 1m frontage, plus £180 to £400 for the gate depending on span and style. Untreated softwood painted properly holds its finish 5-7 years before it needs a second full paint.

Care

Picket lives and dies by its paint. Two coats up front is not a suggestion. After the first winter, one touch-up on any weathered edges. After that, every three or four years a proper wash and full coat. Done that way, picket outlasts most panel fences on the same street.