Fence Panel Replacement After a Storm: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

First 48 hours - the checklist

1. Photograph the damage before you move anything - insurance will ask.

2. Make the boundary safe: don't try to re-hang a panel that's flapping; take it down flat and lean it against the fence line.

3. If the boundary encloses pets or children, use temporary heras panels or a run of chestnut paling until repair.

4. Check your buildings insurance policy - most policies exclude fences from storm damage unless the wind speed exceeded 55mph and there's Met Office confirmation for your postcode.

Is the post salvageable?

Concrete post: usually yes if the base is intact, even if the top has snapped. A concrete repair spur bolted to the sound section is a legitimate fix.

Timber post: if it's snapped at ground level, no - the wood at soil line was already rotten and this storm just found it. Replace with a concrete post, don't reset another timber one.

Repair vs full run replacement

1-3 panels down, posts sound: replace the panels, £180-£450 total.

3+ panels down, one post snapped: replace panels + post, £350-£850.

Multiple posts down or a long run leaning: the whole run needs assessment - it's often cheaper to fully rebuild than to keep patching.

How quickly can we come out?

For a named storm in Surrey or Hampshire we usually visit within 3-5 working days and fit the following week. Emergency temporary bracing (heras hire) can be arranged same-week where the boundary is genuinely unsafe.

Why the fence blew down in the first place

A fence blowing over is almost never the panel's fault. Panels are sails, posts are the structure, so when the wind wins it is usually because the post or its footing gave way. Replacing panels alone puts the same fence back in front of the same wind.

The four causes we find most often: timber posts rotted at the wet line just below ground, footings set too shallow (a quarter to a third of the post length should be buried), solid closeboard or lap panels catching full wind load in an exposed run, and panels only lightly clipped so they lift out of their channels before the posts are even loaded.

Rebuilding so it does not happen next winter

Make the boundary safe first, then replace failed posts individually where the rest of the run is sound. Slotted concrete posts with gravel boards remove the ground-line rot problem entirely and are the standard durable rebuild in exposed gardens.

In genuinely exposed positions, hit-and-miss or slatted panels let wind through and cut the force on the posts dramatically. Responsibility for the boundary comes from the deeds and transfer plans, not the posts-on-your-side convention, so check the paperwork before agreeing costs with a neighbour.