Garden guide
Lap vs Closeboard vs Picket Fencing: Which Should You Choose?
The short version
Lap panels are the budget full-privacy option most UK gardens use. Closeboard (featheredge) costs more but is stronger, longer-lived and repairable. Picket is low, decorative fencing for front gardens where you want boundary without blocking light.
Lap (overlap) panels
The familiar budget panel: horizontal waney-edge boards overlapped in a frame, 1.83m wide. Cheapest full-height privacy fencing, typically lasting around ten years. Downsides: thinner boards can warp or rattle in wind, and a broken board usually means a new panel.
Closeboard (featheredge)
Vertical featheredge boards fixed to horizontal rails — either built on site or as heavy-duty panels. The strongest domestic fencing: it shrugs off wind, lasts 15 years or more, and individual boards can be replaced as they fail. The choice for exposed gardens and boundaries you want to fit once.
Picket fencing
Low (0.9–1.2m) vertical pales with gaps between — classic for front gardens. It marks the boundary, keeps dogs and toddlers in, and stays neighbourly by letting light and conversation through. What it doesn't give you is privacy or security.
How many panels do you need?
UK panels are 1.83m wide, so measure your boundary in metres, divide by 1.83 and round up. Remember posts, gravel boards and post mix are sold separately. Our fence panel calculator does the maths, compares single panels against trade packs, and lets you switch between lap and picket styles.