garden fencing

[jpleng1]

3 days ago I had a garden fence completed by contractors which looked great.I was told it was a solid board fence which had been tanalized?All foreign terms to me!!!!Now 3 days later the fence has huge gaps,up to 1 inch between each board and they are warping outwards.Also the 4''by4'' posts are splitting all the way down the length.The boards are about 2 cm thick and I have 80ft of fencing having paid a lot of money for this it wasn't what I was expecting or is this supposed to happen???I don't know what type of wood it is but it looks to me like something they would make palletts out of !And what does the term SOLID BOARD mean?When I first took them on I made it clear I wanted a top quality fence and privacy was paramount so having got none of this and having paid the money how can I go about getting things rectified?Thank you!

[andy hughes]

First of all, write to your contractor (politely!) advising of the defects, and asking him to contact you within five working days. Send trhe letter Recorded Delivery, and keep a copy. If that fails, send another advising proposed (and make sure you stress the 'proposed' bit) legal action if no attempt is made to rectify the unsatisfactory work. Again, keep a copy. If that produces no action you have two choices - visit your Citizens' Advice Bureau for advice on suing the contractor through the Small Claims Court, or, less hassle, but potentially more expensive, get a good solicitor. Hopefully, the second course of action won't be necessary, but in all dealings, remain calm and polite, remember, he's got your money, and you are either going to have to be nice, or be legal, to get it back. Good luck.

[SteveD]

Take some photographs to back up your comments.

[slimjim]

Go and visit him with a very large gnome! His name isn't O'Reilly is it?

[Fitzer]

To answer part of your question, tanalizing is a process whereby timber is treated against rot by, basically, putting it in a pressure chamber with the preservative to drive it deep into the wood. Tanalized timber is said to be good against rot for 20 years.

[Maude]

If what you have written is an accurate description of the state of the fence then it cannot be rectified other than by completely removing what is there and then installing a fence with proper fencing materials. You do not say, but presumably you have nothing in writing. If this is so, immediately contact the Police and say that you have been the victim of a fraud, which I think you have. Then contact Trading Standards and provide full details. Then contact the Inland Revenue and do the same. Your chances of getting anything back are next to nil, and be careful not to spend further large sums with solicitors for nothing. Even if you win in a civil court you may not be able to collect. And if you contemplate any contact with the building trade in future, for heavens sake spend �50 first with a building surveyor and talk it over with him.

[johnbowers]

Tanalized timber is a pressure impregnation process. Your problem is one of 2 possibles. Either the timber they have used was not properly "seasoned" ie it had not been allowed to fully dry out from being felled or as the tanalith process has dried out the timber has shrunk which causes the symptoms you have ie cracking and warping. Certainly does not sound like top quality timber has been used.

[cheyenne]

they,ve used featheredge , and theyve kept them to far apart so they use less and save themselfs a few bob?hence the gaps .you will have to take them down carefully and put them back up . at least an inch in /