Is closeboard the same as feather edge?

Yes. Closeboard, close board, feather edge, featheredge and featherboard all describe the same fence: tapered vertical boards overlapped and nailed to horizontal arris rails. The variation between suppliers is the timber grade, the number of rails, and whether the posts are timber or concrete.

Is closeboard worth the extra over overlap panels?

On a sloping, exposed or long-term boundary, yes — you're buying rigidity and a few more years of life. On a sheltered, level garden where you might redesign in five years, overlap does the same visual job for less.

Which one handles wind better?

Closeboard, comfortably. The arris rails tie the whole run together, so wind load goes into the posts rather than lifting an individual panel out of a slot. If wind is the main concern, also look at hit-and-miss, which lets the wind through on purpose.

Can I mix them along one boundary?

You can, and sometimes it's the sensible call — closeboard on the exposed run and overlap down the sheltered side. Send photos of the whole boundary and we'll price it as it should actually be built rather than as one blanket spec.

Closeboard or overlap panels — which is the better buy?.

Overlap — also sold as lap or waney edge — is a pre-made framed panel of thin horizontal boards. Closeboard, also called feather edge or featherboard, isn't a panel at all: it's built in place from tapered vertical boards nailed to arris rails. That construction difference is the whole comparison. One is a component you slot in; the other is a structure.

Short answer

Overlap panels are the cheapest way to replace a whole boundary and the easiest to change later; closeboard costs more per metre but is a genuinely stronger fence, built on site, that outlasts panels by years.

Overlap lap fence panels between concrete posts on a suburban boundary

Overlap panels

from £140/m

Pre-made framed panels that slot between posts.

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Closeboard

from £165/m

Feather edge boards built on site over arris rails.

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Side by side

Compared on

Overlap panels

Closeboard

Fitted price, typical run: Overlap panels£140–£175/m; Closeboard£165–£225/m
Realistic service life: Overlap panels10–15 years; Closeboard15–20 years
Built: Overlap panelsPanels made in a factory; CloseboardBoard by board on your boundary
Wind: Overlap panelsPanels can flex and blow out; CloseboardRigid — the rails carry the load
Changing it later: Overlap panelsLift a panel out in minutes; CloseboardNeeds cutting out, not lifting
Sloping ground: Overlap panelsSteps down, leaves gaps; CloseboardRakes with the ground, no gaps
Privacy: Overlap panelsGood — thin boards can warp; CloseboardTotal — no light through it

Prices are per metre, supplied and fitted, inc VAT, for a typical-length run across London and the South East. Access, ground and optional removal of the old fence move the number.

Choose overlap panels if

You're replacing a long boundary and the budget is the constraint.
The ground is level and the fence is sheltered by other gardens.
You want to be able to swap a single panel yourself years from now.
You may re-do the garden in a few years and don't want to over-commit.

Choose closeboard if

The ground slopes — closeboard follows it, panels step and leave triangles.
The garden is exposed, on a corner, or catches wind down a run of open plots.
You want the boundary solid enough that you stop thinking about it.
You've already replaced blown-out panels once and don't want to again.

What nobody puts in the brochure

Overlap panels

Overlap is the thinnest timber on the market. The boards warp, the frames rack, and in an exposed garden a panel can be out of its slot after one bad night. It's the cheapest fence for good reasons and it will come round again sooner.

Closeboard

Closeboard is built in place, so it can't be lifted out later — changing it means cutting it out. It's also heavier on labour, which is where most of the extra cost per metre goes.

Questions we get asked

Still deciding?

Composite vs timber

Buy timber if you want the lowest price today and don't mind treating or replacing it inside twenty years; buy composite if you plan to stay put and want a boundary you never touch again — it costs roughly twice as much per metre fitted and only pays that back over time.

Hit-and-miss vs closeboard

Closeboard gives you total privacy and costs less; hit-and-miss lets wind through on purpose, which is what you want on an exposed garden, and looks the same from both sides — so it's the better neighbour fence.

Concrete vs timber posts

Concrete posts cost more up front and win almost every time, because fences don't fail at the panel — they fail at the post, in the ground, where timber rots.

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