Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Sep 10, 2013 9:11 pm Apologies in advance if this is a repeat question, I have a garden bed that is level with my concrete but my colourbond fence drops below concrete level. My question is what type of material (most cost effective/durable) should I use to put up against the fence to protect it from the garden bed soil and moisture etc? And what is the best way to construct or attach this to the fence? Re: My garden bed project 2Sep 10, 2013 10:32 pm Just asking for clarity - you are going to be piling an amount (how much/high?) of dirt against the colourbond fence I take it... and want to protect the colourbond from rusting I assume? (or from being knocked over by the soil?) I doubt you can absolutely create a watertight seal against the fence with any material that would last beyond a very short time. Colourbond is coated, it's pretty tough and isn't going to rust through anytime soon. (Does Colourbond even rust? Isn't it a zinc product internally?) The reality is that moisture will wick up from under the fence, around any edges, dew will form etc and sneak into any tiny crevasse. If you just want to protect it from the soil sitting against the fence you could just put some black plastic between the fence and the soil (but moisture will still sit behind this) - cheap builders plastic would do. If you want to build something as a small retaining wall to stop the dirt pushing the fence over then concrete blocks/bessa blocks might work one or two courses high with a short post driven through every so often to help hold/anchor it. Re: My garden bed project 3Sep 11, 2013 5:59 pm It's highly advised not to have soil up against a colourbond fence as it will deteriorate very quickly. At the lowest point of the fence it's approx 600mm lower than concrete level and then gradually goes up. I was thinking something along the lines of pine timber attached to the fence to keep soil and fence separated. Any thoughts? Re: My garden bed project 4Sep 11, 2013 9:35 pm I guess it must be rust will be the problem, in which case having pine wet and leaning against it isn't going to help. You are probably best to build a small retaining wall and sit the colourbond on top of that wall - so that the colourbond is not in the ground at all. Alternatively a retaining wall and then a good few centimetres gap between it and the colourbond so that there is air flow? DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 16711 If you need to pay for a project manager you would be well advised to just engage a builder who would take full responsibility for the build. As opposed to you OB where… 5 15078 |