Fence builder based in Christchurch. Kwila is our go-to, but we build in any material and any style - cedar batten, standard paling, pool fencing, automated gates, you name it. Ten-year structural guarantee on every build.
Kwila batten is our signature, but we build any style in any material - cedar, pine, composite, aluminium, glass. Same structural standard underneath every one. What changes is the look you want on the street.
Our most-built fence. Kwila hardwood battens - the same timber we use on our decks. Rich red-brown grain, naturally durable, weathers to silver-grey if you want or stays warm with a coat of oil. Spaced for a screen look or tight-butted for full privacy. The fence we recommend first for street frontages and visible boundaries.
Cedar, pine, or any other timber you prefer. Vertical battens spaced or tight-butted, capped top rail so water runs off instead of soaking into the end-grain. Cedar silvers beautifully over time or takes a stain well. We build in whatever material suits the look, the budget and the boundary.
The classic 1.8m privacy fence. The workhorse for side and rear boundaries - straightforward, solid, and built to stay that way.
Built to pass NZBC Part F9 inspection - minimum 1.2m high, no climbable handholds, self-closing gate that latches itself without needing a push. Aluminium, frameless glass, timber or a mix. We book the council inspection and hand you the compliance certificate the day we finish.
Timber, composite or metal. Pedestrian width through to full driveway gates, all cross-braced so they hang dead-straight year one and stay that way year ten. A sagging gate is the most obvious sign a fence was built cheaply.
Sliding or swing with keypad entry, video intercom to the house, and safety beams to the driveway. Full motor install, wiring and testing done on-site.
A fence sits on the property line, which means three pieces of New Zealand law govern your build before a single post goes in. We handle all three so you don't have to.
The Fencing Act is how boundary fences get shared 50/50 with a neighbour - but only if you follow the Fencing Notice process properly. We mark the line against LINZ records, book a licensed surveyor if the line is disputed, and draft the Fencing Notice so the cost-share is legally enforceable, not a handshake your neighbour can back out of in six months.
Every pool in New Zealand needs a barrier designed to Part F9 of the Building Code - not just any fence that happens to be near the pool. 1.2m minimum height. No climbable handholds inside the 900mm exclusion zone. A self-closing, self-latching gate opening away from the pool. We design to F9 from the first sketch and hand over the council-issued compliance certificate the day we finish.
Boundary fences 2.5m and under are exempt from building consent under Schedule 1 of the Building Act. Anything taller - tall screen fences, fenced courtyards on elevated sites, some pool-fence situations - needs a building consent lodged and signed off. We work out which side of the threshold your build sits on at the site visit, and handle the lodgement if it's over.
Most Christchurch fences fail for the same reasons - weak posts, shortcut foundations, fixings that rust, and battens that bow. Here's what we do differently.
Posts rated for in-ground contact and long-term loading. Properly concreted, every time.
No rust bleed, no black streaks running down the face of your fence a year in.
Spacing and back-framing designed for the run length so battens don't bow, warp or twist as the timber moves.
Designed to meet building code requirements from day one, with the council paperwork handled too.
Six stages from first phone call to the day the ten-year structural guarantee kicks in. No surprises on the invoice.
We come to you, walk the boundary, measure the run. Talk through what the fence has to do - privacy, pool compliance, keep livestock in, predators out. Style and timber options based on the street frontage, the sightline from the house, and what neighbours already have.
Written quote through within the week. Itemised by run length, post count, gate sizes, hardware, compliance or consent fees if applicable. What you pay is what we quoted - we don't start low and drift.
Boundary confirmed against LINZ records - surveyor mark-out booked if the line is unclear or contested. Fencing Notice drafted if you want formal cost-sharing with a neighbour under the Fencing Act 1978. Pool fences lodged for NZBC Part F9 inspection. Fences over 2.5m lodged for building consent. Timber ordered direct from our suppliers once paperwork is clear.
Holes dug with the digger where access allows. Posts set in concrete, plumbed and cured before anything else goes on.
Rails run, battens or palings fixed with stainless. Gates hung and squared to the run. Automated gate motors installed, wired and tested on-site - including keypad, intercom and remote where specified.
Cedar stained if specified. Full site clean. Pool-fencing compliance certificate handed over where applicable. Ten-year structural guarantee signed off the day the job's done.
Every fence we build is quoted individually after a site visit. There's no flat per-metre rate because these variables move the number around.
Posts are the real unit cost driver - each one is a dug hole, a bag of 20MPa concrete, a plumb-and-cure. Cedar batten needs posts at ~1.8m centres; standard paling stretches to ~2.4m, so the same 40m run is ~23 posts in cedar or ~17 in paling.
Gates are the single biggest swing on most fence quotes. A pedestrian gate is a couple of hundred in hardware; a 3.6m sliding automated driveway gate (motor, track, keypad, intercom, wiring, safety beam) is often the largest line item on the invoice.
Cedar batten is the most expensive standard option - worth it on a street frontage, hard to justify on a rear boundary no-one sees. Most Christchurch jobs we do end up mixing: cedar on the street, pine on the sides.
1.8m is standard residential; 1.2m is the NZBC F9 minimum for pool barriers. Anything over 2.5m crosses into building-consent territory - tall screen fences and elevated-site privacy fences often land over without people realising.
Sloped boundaries force a decision: step the panels down in square increments (cheaper, triangular gaps at the bottom) or rake the top to follow the grade (more labour, cleaner look on a long street run).
Clay slows the auger, shingle needs sleeving, wet Canterbury ground wants longer cure time. If our 1T Kubota fits through the side gate we dig fast; hand-digging 30 post holes through a planted garden is real hours.
Straight answers to the things homeowners ask us most often. If your question isn't here, call John - he'll give you a straight answer, not a sales line.
Every fence is quoted after a site visit - cost moves with run length, style, height, gates, ground, access and whether it's pool-compliant. A 20m standard paling fence on flat ground is our cheapest build. A 60m cedar batten with an automated driveway gate and a pool-compliant section is our highest. See the Pricing section above for the variables.
Fences over 2.5m high need a building consent. Pool fences need NZBC Part F9 compliance and a council-issued certificate. Boundary fences under 2.5m usually don't need anything. We'll tell you on the site visit, and if paperwork is needed, we handle it rather than leave it with you.
Most residential fence runs are three to seven working days on site once materials arrive. Automated gates add one to two days for motor install, wiring and testing. Long boundaries (50m+), stepped sections on slopes, or wet ground all extend the timeline.
Cedar batten looks better, lasts longer and suits an architectural street frontage. It costs more. Pine paling is durable, takes stain well, and is our usual pick for rear and side boundaries that don't face the street. On sites with mixed frontage, we often run cedar on the street, pine on the sides - saves cost without showing it.
The Fencing Act 1978 is specifically designed for this. If the fence is on a shared boundary, you can issue a Fencing Notice formally proposing the work, the cost and a 50/50 split. The neighbour has 21 days to respond with a cross-notice if they disagree on materials, contractor or cost. If they don't respond, the terms you proposed stand and the split is legally enforceable. If they do object, you negotiate or apply to the Disputes Tribunal. We can prepare the Fencing Notice alongside your quote so you have a compliant document to serve rather than a hand-written letter - most neighbours engage properly once they see a formal notice.
A boundary fence sits on the line - that's what a boundary fence is, and both neighbours share ownership under the Fencing Act. If you're building entirely on your side (not a shared fence), you'd offset 100-200mm to keep footings, rails and any overhang wholly within your title. When the line itself is unclear or contested - older titles, replaced pegs, a dispute with a neighbour - we won't guess. We'll recommend a licensed surveyor do a mark-out before we dig, because a fence built 80mm over the line is a problem you pay for twice. Surveyor cost typically runs $600-$1,200 and we coordinate it.
We build across the Christchurch urban area and wider Canterbury - Halswell, Fendalton, Merivale, Redwood, Rolleston, Papanui, St Albans, Prestons, Marshlands, Rangiora, Ravenswood, Casebrook, Harewood, Redcliffs, Sumner, Kaiapoi, Ohoka, Cust, Yaldhurst, West Melton and everywhere in between. We also travel further across Canterbury and down to Queenstown or up to Nelson for the right job.
Our 1T Kubota digger fits through most side gates. We bring it onsite for post-hole digging where access allows. If we can't get it through, we'll tell you on the site visit and hand-dig - this can add time but doesn't always cost more.
Both. Panel replacement, post replacement, full rebuild - we quote what the fence actually needs, not what's quickest to sell. If only half the posts have gone, we replace those half. If the whole run is compromised, we'll tell you and rebuild properly.
Yes - that's most of our work. Same crew, coordinated timeline, and the joins between deck, fence and retaining actually align because the same team set both out. See our deck building, louvre and covered roof and timber retaining wall pages for the rest.
Free on-site visits across the Christchurch urban area. For the right job we'll travel further across Canterbury and the wider South Island.
Most of our work runs across Christchurch urban - Halswell, Fendalton, Merivale, Redwood, Papanui, St Albans, Prestons, Marshlands, Casebrook, Harewood, Redcliffs, Sumner, Yaldhurst - plus wider Canterbury including Rolleston, Rangiora, Ravenswood, Kaiapoi, Ohoka, Cust and West Melton. For the right build we'll travel anywhere in the South Island, from Queenstown up to Nelson.
Not sure if we cover your street? Ask →Free on-site quote. We come to you, walk the boundary, and send a written quote through within the week. No pressure, no hard sell, no follow-up spam.