There is no single fence panel that suits every garden. The right choice depends on what you want the fence to do: keep the cost down, give maximum privacy, cope with an exposed site or become a visible part of the garden design.
Wern-Wood stocks several distinct panel styles rather than treating every wooden fence panel as the same product. If you already know what you need, browse our full Fence Panels range.
Our quick recommendation
For the cheapest option, choose a lap panel. It is the budget choice in our range, but it is also the panel we consider the weakest. Unless price is the main priority, we would normally steer customers towards one of the stronger alternatives.
For maximum privacy, choose featheredge / closeboard. It creates a solid full-height boundary without the gaps found in hit & miss fencing.
For windy or exposed gardens, we would look at featheredge / closeboard, Golden Florence or hit & miss. We consider those three broadly comparable in strength, but the panel is only part of the fence. A strong post and the correct amount of postmix are just as important on an exposed run.
For appearance, choose the style you actually like. Once the practical requirements are covered, there is no reason to force a decorative choice that does not suit the garden.
Fence panel types at a glance
| Panel type | Best suited to | Privacy / screening | Available Wern-Wood sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lap / overlap | Budget garden boundaries and replacement bays | Closed panel | 6ft wide; 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and 6ft heights in Natural Green, plus Autumn Gold 6ft × 6ft |
| Featheredge / closeboard | Strong traditional boundaries and privacy fencing | Solid, full-height privacy | 6ft wide; 4ft, 5ft and 6ft heights |
| Horizontal hit & miss | Contemporary boundaries and exposed gardens | Partial screening with airflow | 1800mm wide; 1200mm and 1800mm heights |
| Golden Florence decorative | Decorative garden boundaries | Decorative screening | 1800mm wide; 900mm, 1200mm, 1500mm and 1800mm heights |
| Trellis | Fence topping, climbing plants and lighter screening | Open lattice | Multiple rectangular and shaped sizes |
Lap fence panels: the budget option
Super Lap Fence Panels use horizontally overlapped boards to create the familiar traditional lap-panel appearance. They are the cheapest panel option in our range and are available across a useful spread of standard heights.
The trade-off is strength. We consider lap panels the weakest of the main panel styles we stock, so unless a customer specifically wants the budget option, we would normally recommend looking at featheredge, Florence or hit & miss instead.
Featheredge fence panels: our choice for privacy
Featheredge Fence Panels are fully framed closeboard-style panels. They form a solid boundary without the intentional gaps found in hit & miss fencing, making them our first choice when privacy is the priority.
They are available in 6ft-wide sections at 4ft, 5ft and 6ft high. If you are building a continuous closeboard fence from scratch or dealing with non-standard bays, loose Featheredge Boards provide more flexibility, and our Featheredge Fence Calculator can work out the material list.
Hit & miss panels: screening with airflow
Our Horizontal Hit & Miss Fence Panels alternate horizontal boards across the panel. That creates partial screening while still allowing light and airflow through the fence.
We regard hit & miss as one of the stronger panel choices in the range, alongside featheredge / closeboard and Florence. It is a good option where you want a contemporary boundary and do not need a completely closed privacy fence.
Golden Florence: decorative without dropping down to a budget panel
Golden Florence Fence Panels are for customers who want the fence to be part of the garden design rather than simply a background boundary.
We consider them broadly comparable in strength with our closeboard and hit & miss panels. Once the required height and level of screening work for the job, the choice between these styles often comes down to which appearance the customer prefers.
Which panels would we choose for a windy garden?
For an exposed or windy garden, we would choose between featheredge / closeboard, Golden Florence and hit & miss rather than a lap panel. However, changing the panel alone does not make a weak fence strong. Use a suitably strong fence post and the correct amount of postmix for the installation.
For more on the post itself, see How Deep Should Fence Posts Be? and Postmix vs Concrete for Fence Posts.
Where does trellis fit?
Trellis Panels have a different job from a solid fence panel. Open lattice can add decorative height, support climbing plants or provide partial screening while retaining much more light and airflow.
Wern-Wood stocks rectangular diamond lattice in several heights, plus convex and Omega-shaped panels. Trellis should not be treated as a full-privacy substitute for a closed featheredge panel.
What about decking balustrade panels?
Our Decking Balustrade Panels are pre-assembled timber panels for decking and balustrade systems. Cross Top, Elite Cross Top and horizontal slatted styles are all 900 × 1800mm. Their main role is decking balustrade rather than standard garden-boundary fencing.
Choose the panel, then check the size
Once you have chosen the style, measure the actual bay before ordering a replacement. Our Fence Panel Sizes guide explains why 1800mm, 1830mm and a panel described as “6ft” are not always interchangeable.
To compare the live range and prices, browse Fence Panels.
