The Hambledons guarantee – an explanation of why we offer it and why we think it’s important for our customers; brought in to give our customers assured peace of mind, this is unique and we don’t know of anyone locally who offers any guarantee. 

​

The problem with ‘modern’ softwood timber (most commonly sold everywhere) is that it is now in recent years ‘force grown’ and therefore less dense, which means water and microbes can decay the wood at a much faster rate than the same timber bought 20 years ago, the treatment process also varies greatly between timber suppliers and will not penetrate the wood deep enough. In our experience, the majority of fences we repair or replace have failed because of the post rotting at ground level and snapping off – this is quite normal for a circa 20 year old fence in a standard location, but also becoming very common for fences erected 4-6 years ago by other contractors with less dense ‘modern’ timber (one customer had a fence blow down in the first storm!) 

​

This means that fencing (and other timber structures) methods must adapt to the change in materials available for the service life not to decrease. At Hambledons we have therefore adjusted the materials and construction methods we use so that the fences we build are that of superior quality and will stand the test of time. From the fences we have repaired or replaced over the last few years it is apparent that not all contractors have adapted their methods. So, although our products should well outlast 10 years, our 10-year labour and materials guarantee on all Hambledons fencing and timber projects is therefore our way of standing by what we do and ensuring a solid product and peace of mind is provided for our customers.

​

When instructing a contractor to erect a new fence/gate/decking/garden building/pergola or any other timber structure, questions you can ask are is the timber UC4 incised (this is the gold standard of timber treatment and the only timber rated for ground contact), do the posts have additional covering at its vulnerable section (ideally a morphing adhesive tape (ours has a 25 year bond guarantee), how far apart will the posts be set (ideally no more than about 2.2 metres, less for windy sites), How deep are the posts set, concrete methods, what fixings are used, how many (screws/nails etc), among many other factors that will contribute to the strength, durability, and aesthetics of the structure. 

 

So when comparing contractor quotes, whilst it is important to compare the costs, it’s also important to compare the likely (or in our case the guaranteed) life span of the product before it needs replacing again (and paid for again).

​

The above relates to softwood timber posts, other products will have a longer life expectancy, for example composite, concrete or powder coated metal should last in excess of 25 years.