Background: We received an emergency phone call from the Havering Council following gale force winds overnight, which had caused a third of the school’s perimeter fencing to blow over. This left the site exposed, unsafe, and easily accessible from the outside and neighbouring properties. Upon inspection, we found that timber posts were used and were not sufficient to support the fence.

Solution: We attended the site initially to install temporary ‘Heras’ style fencing in the affected areas to make the school safe and secure. We then discussed options with the school for replacing the damaged fencing, they wanted to match the existing closeboard fencing. We suggested replacing the closeboard fence with a concrete post version for better strength and durability. The school was not happy with standard concrete slotted posts and timber panels as they can be easily lifted. We then came to the solution to use concrete morticed posts with arris rails and concrete gravel boards. This was more expensive but guaranteed a long-lasting fence that would withstand strong winds and prevent failure at the base. The client was very happy with the result. We currently have plans to renew the extra areas of the fence in the future once funds become available, to prevent this happening elsewhere.

We worked with the school during term time, sectioning off the working areas with temporary fencing to keep the children safe. Additionally, we regularly carry out advanced DBS checks on our staff.

We removed all timber fencing from the site leaving it safe and clean.

What we installed:

• 221m of 2m High Closeboard Fencing with concrete morticed posts, feather edge boards, rails, and gravel boards.