Using your Hardie fence or Colourbond fence as a retaining wall is a No! No!

Hardie Fencing: what not to do

The most common cause of Hardie/ cement fibre fencing/ asbestos fencing/ super six fencing falling

over is build up of soil on one side of the fence as is often the case. We see this on a regular basis, and you don’t need to be a Perth fence contractor/installer to work out what has caused the problem.

A common problem is that people see the Hardie fence/ asbestos fence/ super six fence as a solid structure that will take some pushing over when in fact, if abused, can result in major landscaping or building damage. For example, when doing a bit of DIY landscaping around the home, it may be considered that when creating that limestone garden bed against the Hardie fence/ asbestos fence/ super six fence, people forget to retain in the rear of the limestone garden bed or in front of the Hardie fence/ asbestos fence/ super six fence line.

As the garden bed is back filled against the Hardie fence/ asbestos fencing/ super six fencing, this creates pressure. In most cases, the Hardie fence/ super six fence/ asbestos fence will hold in the short term, but as time goes by the Hardie fence/ super six fence/ asbestos fencing will start to move. As the Hardie fence/ super six/ asbestos fencing is installed as an inter-locking system, the whole Hardie fence/ super six fencing/ asbestos fencing will start to move and eventually will go over like dominos. This is often seen in the storm season where 100km/hour winds are just that little extra push needed to create the inevitable disaster.

It is often the case that people say "oh well, my fence insurance will cover the damage". Although we are in no way going to say what the deal may be between the policy holder and their insurance company, you may want to make sure that your policy covers using your hardie fence/super six fence/ asbestos fence or colourbond fencing as a retaining wall, and also the fact that you will at that point need to consider retaining the soil build up with limestone retaining / timber retaining / or panel and post retaining before the installation of your new colourbond fence or hardie fence is installed.

This can result in disputes between neighbours that in some cases may go on for months and in worst case scenarios may even require a trip down to front the local magistrate (not a happy experience) but one we see play out on a regular basis for a number of our customers.

Hardie fence and more so Colorbond fencing is not designed to be used as a retaining wall under any circumstance. Any warranties that are offered will be void and manufacturers are clear that it is not recommended.

In many older suburbs around Perth, we see landscaped blocks built up without any retaining walls being installed. These are things to consider when purchasing your new home. It would seem not all builders have considered the long term effects of people using the Hardie fence and most cases asbestos fencing as a retaining wall. If you are unaware of what problems may be on your boundary fence line, please ask Perth Trade Centre for advice before considering limestone retaining walls, timber retaining walls or panel and post retaining walls, colourbond fence or hardie fence installation.