There isn’t much information online when it comes to installing a picket fence with concrete posts and concrete gravel boards, or whether or not it can be done, so here is a very short post just to give you that information! As a landscape gardener I have never even thought about it! It’s only because I recently priced up (and completed) a job where the customer was adamant that this was what she wanted that I had to stop and think for just a moment.

Usually you would use fence panels such as lap panels or close board panels, with a vertical edge running all the way down each side sitting nicely inside the slotted concrete fence posts. I say nicely, but in actual fact there would be a bit of wobble with the option to add some batten to help secure the panels depending on how loose the panels are. When it comes to a picket fence, there are typically 2 horizontal boards used to hold the slats in place, which stick out either side. This means that there is no vertical edge to run down the slotted concrete post, making it less secure compared to using fence panels.

So…Can I use concrete posts when installing my picket fence?

The answer to this is YES you can, and I done exactly this in this job. On this particular job, we used a 3 foot high picket fence, 5 foot concrete posts (to allow 2 feet into the ground) and 6 inch concrete gravel boards. The gravel boards themselves are suppose to slot into the concrete fence posts so these aren’t the issue, it’s the picket fence itself.

All I done was purchased some roofing batten from our local DIY store and cut it down to the height of the upper board of the picket fence, and screwed some batten vertically on either side of the picket fence boards, holding them nicely inside the posts. It’s that easy! To be honest, I think it looks better than the traditional wooden fence posts and it will most definitely last a lot longer too!