The fence that bent the rules

Let’s get one thing straight. EnviroSlat boards are just that – straight – and that’s how Futurewood, the manufacturer, designed them to be used. But sometimes customers like to bend the rules a bit, and you have to admit that in this particular case the results look terrific.

Tarrick and Heidi live on a gently sloping corner block in Elanora on the Gold Coast. They wanted their front fence to follow the curve of the street scape, using a concrete retaining wall to create a level front yard and sections of slat screen panels to soften the overall look and open onto the surrounding outlook.

The challenge was to find a low maintenance material that could follow the curve of the property.

Tarrick works in the plastics industry, and it was here that he heard about Futurewood composite timber.

“One of our customers was using it a lot in his restaurant. I’d been wondering whether I could somehow use aluminium, but Futurewood’s EnviroSlat sounded like a much better solution.”

Tarrick used standard ‘U’channels at either end of each section, but adapted some pieces of pool fencing so he could thread the slats through the middle of the centre uprights. Not only did the fence look the same from both sides, but it gently bent the planks to follow the curve of the concrete fence.

“EnviroSlat was great to work with,” said Tarrick. “It feels very solid – I was surprised at the weight – and it cuts really nicely.”

The fact that it was virtually maintenance-free and pre-coloured – they chose Slate Grey – was perfect for Tarrick and Heidi. “You wouldn’t want to be getting a ladder up from the front to repaint this one too often!”

A quality product and a healthy imagination is always a good combination, and the fence that bent the rules is a perfect example.

“We’re really happy,” said Tarrick. “It couldn’t have worked out better.”