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How to install a wattle fence

Updated: October 2026

You have a woven hurdle or a willow screening roll, and you need the fitting order before you dig. How to install a wattle fence means posts and daylight for a hurdle, and ties to a sound fence for a roll, with the fixings bought separately. The [wattle fence comparison](/hub/fencing-and-wire/wattle-fence) sets out the products. The Products Compared editorial team took this sequence from UK maker guides and the amazon.co.uk listings, not from a build we filmed. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. If the timber is soft, the boundary is disputed, or a bird is nesting on the line, stop before the first hole.

You have a woven hurdle or a willow screening roll, and you need the fitting order before you dig.

Our top picks

Wadan Wadan willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m

Best overall

Wadan Wadan willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m
6.7/10about £46.99
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Prime Plus Prime Plus willow screening roll

Alternative

Prime Plus Prime Plus willow screening roll
4.3/10about £44.99
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Abaseen Abaseen willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m

Rank 3

Abaseen Abaseen willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m
8.5/10about £49.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Check the support, the nest and the boundary first
  2. 2.Posts, clearance and ties for hurdles
  3. 3.Fix a screening roll to a sound fence
  4. 4.When to stop and call someone
  5. 5.Sound posts, or a fence you have already proved

Check the support, the nest and the boundary first

Probe each post base before you mark centres. Soft timber will not carry new willow, and a roll on a loose fence adds sail. Repair the fence, or set new posts and fit hurdles. Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to damage a wild bird's nest while it is in use or being built. In Northern Ireland the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 gives nests the same kind of protection. If a nest is on the line, wait. GOV.UK states that the post side does not prove who owns the boundary. The height rules are on the wattle fence buying guide.

Posts, clearance and ties for hurdles

Hazel Hurdle World sets a string line at 6 ft centres and the end posts first. You need one more post than you have panels. Use 100 mm UC4 posts, 1.8 m up to 4 ft and 2.4 m for 5 ft and 6 ft. Put about 60 cm in the ground, and concrete the post on sand, peat or waterlogged ground before you hang a panel. Leave an inch or two of daylight under the weave. Eight stainless cable ties fix a 6 ft panel, pulled firm rather than fierce. That maker avoids galvanised wire and screws. Fountain Timber allows wire, or a screw and washer on a sawn post. Species and life ranges are on willow versus hazel hurdles.
Wadan Wadan willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m

Testsieger

Wadan Wadan willow screening roll 1.5 m x 4 m
6.7/10about £46.99
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Fix a screening roll to a sound fence

Hang a roll only on a fence, railing or frame that is already firm and flat. Prime Plus names galvanised wire, cable ties, screws or nails, and they are not in the box. Wadan listings require assembly and do not show fixings as included. Abaseen’s removable line describes taking the screen down later. Primrose and UK Garden Supplies both space fixings at about 10 cm across and about 50 cm up. Fix the binding wire, not the rod. On the post side of chain-link, fit a top and bottom rail first, and a middle rail once the roll is more than 150 mm high. A frame you build because there is no sound support is still not a woven hurdle.

When to stop and call someone

Finish hurdles on firm, agreed ground, or tie a roll to a fence you have proved sound. Call a fencer on soft, peaty or exposed ground if you are unsure of the concrete or the sail. A disputed boundary or a listed building needs advice before you dig. A balcony sits outside this method.

Sound posts, or a fence you have already proved

If the line is agreed and the ground is firm, set one more post than you have panels, leave daylight under the weave, and use stainless ties pulled firm rather than fierce. If a fence is already firm and flat, tie the roll to the binding wire and buy the fixings yourself. If the timber is soft, a nest is in use, or the boundary is disputed, stop.

Common questions

How do you fix a willow hurdle to posts?
Set the end posts first, with one more post than you have panels. Hazel Hurdle World uses eight stainless cable ties on a 6 ft panel, threaded through the weave and cut flush. Pull them firm rather than fierce. That maker avoids galvanised wire and screws. Fountain Timber allows wire, or a screw and washer on a sawn post.
How deep should hurdle fence posts go?
Hazel Hurdle World puts about 60 cm in the ground, and more on soft or exposed ground. A 1.8 m UC4 post suits hurdles up to 4 ft, and a 2.4 m post suits 5 ft and 6 ft panels. Drive into firm clay or loam. On sand, peat or waterlogged ground, concrete the post and let it set first. Fountain Timber’s 460 mm and 600 mm figures stay with that maker.
What fixings come with a willow screening roll?
Prime Plus names galvanised wire, cable ties, screws or nails, and they are not in the box. Wadan listings do not show fixings as included either. Buy the wire, ties or staples before you unroll, and hang the roll only on a fence or frame that is already sound.
How do you attach willow screening to an existing fence?
Fix the roll only when the fence is firm, flat and upright. Primrose spaces fixings at about 10 cm across and about 50 cm up. UK Garden Supplies uses the same interval, with 1 mm galvanised wire, cable ties, or staples of 15 or 20 mm. Fix the binding wire, not the cane. Chain-link on the post side needs rails before the roll goes on.
Can you cut a hurdle to length?
Fountain Timber says you can cut a hurdle down in height, while the width should overlap the next panel, because a cut width can leave the weave unwoven. Keep any overlap on your side. This cut rule stays with the hurdle, not with a screening roll.

Related pages

Willow privacy screening

Wattle fence

Best willow screening roll: size, reviews and price

Willow screening roll or hurdle: what to buy first

Willow vs hazel hurdles: thickness, colour and life

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices and star lines are from amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2026.

  1. Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Class A (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Planning permission: fences, gates and garden walls (Wales) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Build a fence or wall (Scotland) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK — your property boundaries (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK — wild birds: protection, surveys and licences (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Hazel Hurdle World — willow hurdles (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Musgrove Willows — questions before buying willow fencing (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. NBS — BS 1722-11:2006+A1:2018 prefabricated wood panel fences (retrieved 15 October 2026)