Cement sheeting on timber fence

[Patto]

I have just had a new rear timber fence installed. My side is the railing side and as I have a new swimming pool this new fence forms part of our pool safety barrier. As such I need to ensure the pool area of this new fence is non-climbable. I have already check with the inspector who is due to come and inspect early next week and they will not sign off on what many have suggested being a 60 degree wedge attached to the new railings. I am looking at battening out the rails and attaching fibre cement sheeting. Has anyone done this before? Not too sure on which way to hang the sheets either horizontal or vertical? Does it even matter??? Thanks 

[tony1982]

Hi there. 

Were you worried about adding so much additional weight to the fence?

[EricL]

HI @tony1982

Let me tag @Patto to make them aware of your question. I suppose if the cement sheets were placed on the ground first and then nailed in the brunt of the weight of the cement sheet would be on the ground and the fence frame would just be holding it up. Are you planning on doing the same project? Any updates you can provide would be much appreciated.

Eric

[Narellekaren]

omg that is so good. i have problem with noise. did this work for stopping noise from loud neighbours?

[EricL]

Hello @Narellekaren

I'm glad you found this cement sheeting fence project inspirational. I was going to suggest it as a possible alternative to your acoustic fencing ideas. I highly suspect that the cement sheeting has reduced the noise in the pool area, but let me tag @Patto to make them aware of your question. Using James Hardie 2400 x 1200 x 4.5mm 2.88m² HardieFlex™ Cladding is a good alternative as it provides a certain amount of noise reduction. I reckon a combination of the suggested noise reduction materials and cement sheeting should lower the acoustics from the opposite side of the wall.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Cracks]

It has marginally reduced the noise, but obviously can't stop what comes over the fence! My fence was only single palings butted roughly together (meaning there were gaps between almost everyone), so my main reason for the project was to fix the privacy issue which it has definitely done. Noise reduction is a bonus, but the new aesthetics have been the most pleasing aspect.

[Patto]

Hi @tony1982 

My fence had been installed only a few weeks prior and at the time I had extra length and concrete fir each post. I did go the thinnest cement sheeting to reduce weight. However having a thinner sheet resulted in some of the cement sheet screws pulling through when I tried to screw flush. I ended up glueing and screwing to counter any screws pulling through. 

[WayneM]

Lovely work @Cracks. Many thanks for sharing, and well done.

You've provided great information that will be a significant help to our community members. 

Thousands of people have already viewed your post and we are interested in turning your project into a Featured Project article. Do you have any more pictures you could share?

It would also be great if you could share any other tips or lessons learned during your project that would assist other members keen on starting similar projects.

Many thanks,

Wayne

[vonniedee]

This looks great … thinking this might solve my pool boundary fence issues … can the cement sheeting be attached to colourbond?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @vonniedee,

Physically you could attach the sheeting to a Colorbond fence, but you'll only have the two posts and the top and bottom rails to screw into. Unlike a timber fence, you wouldn't be able to fix the sheeting in the midsection. You'd likely need to add battens across the fence panel span in order to have additional mounting locations for your sheeting. When retrofitting sheeting to a fence that wasn't designed to carry an additional load, you'd need to assess the footers and determine for yourself whether you were happy to proceed with the project. I'd imagine it would be best to have the sheeting and its weight sitting on the ground and then fixing it to the fence to hold it upright, as opposed to having the sheeting weight hanging off the fence. I've created a rendering below to illustrate.  If in doubt, it would be a good idea to enlist the service of a professional to determine whether the fence is capable of bearing your sheeting weight.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Beercules]

Hey @Patto & @Cracks 

You're fences look awesome! I am also planning to do the same. May I ask what thickness of Fibre Cement sheets did you use?

Cheers