Great Fences - The Fence You Love Won’t Fade Away!

Those of us of a certain age will remember that, back in 1964, the Rolling Stones took a song called ‘Not Fade Away’ to Number 3 in the UK singles chart. For purists with even longer memories, we need to note that the song was originally a hit in the US for Buddy Holly in the mid-1950’s. Strangely, for all Mick Jagger’s protestations of enduring love, the actual song fades away after one minute and fifty seconds.

‘But what’, we hear you ask, ‘has not fading away got to do with fencing?’

That’s a good question, and we’ll happily tell you. In a word: ‘everything’.

One of the biggest problems with traditional wooden fence panels is that, left to themselves, the colour fades away to a rather grubby grey within a few years of installation. This gives the structure a washed out look that ceases to act as a strong backdrop for your herbaceous borders or floral planting. Alternatively, it means regular maintenance, either with paint or preservative, to keep any proper definition in your garden design.

Fading is mostly caused by ‘weathering’ – a combination of water and ultra-violet (UV) rays from the sun which bleach out the colour. Water is also a fence’s worst enemy in terms of longevity, causing rot and mould.

To minimise fade, you need a ‘fully comp’ fence

Composite fences, such as DuraPost® Vento Panels or Urban Slatted Panels are horses of a different colour (if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor!). Strictly speaking they’re horses of three colours – grey, brown and natural. Not only are they incredibly hard wearing, made from recycled HDPE (high density polyethylene and rice husks), we also include a UV stabiliser during the manufacturing process.

The result is a fence panel guaranteed for 15 years. Whilst we can’t guarantee that the colour will be as pristine in 15 years’ time as it was on Day One, we can promise that any degree of fade will be minimised.

To put it another way, a rolling stone may gather no moss, but a DuraPost® ‘fully comp’ fence won’t fade into the background. Which means all the effort you put into your planting colour scheme will come much more in focus.