Aluminium fencing UK: slatted panels, supplied and fitted.

Aluminium does not rot, rust or warp. Steel starts to corrode the moment its coating is breached, and timber drinks water at every cut end. Powder-coated aluminium has neither problem, so the failure points that end a fence's life simply are not there.

It is light, about a third of the weight of steel, so the posts can be slimmer and the bays wider without the line losing its shape. And because the powder-coat is baked on in the factory rather than painted on in a garden, the finish is a bonded surface, not a layer that can flake or fade unevenly.

The result is a crisp horizontal line with even shadow gaps that does not cup or twist the way timber boards can, and routine care is a wash down.

Roughly double closeboard per metre. The material is more expensive, the posts are engineered rather than sawn, and the run has to be set out precisely because aluminium does not forgive a wandering line the way timber does.

What you get back is time. There is no staining cycle, no cupped board to replace, no post rotting at ground level. A factory powder-coat does not need re-staining, which is the main reason people choose it over a timber slatted run at £170–£200/m. How long the finish keeps its colour depends on the coating system, so we confirm the manufacturer's coating guarantee for the product chosen.

Aluminium posts may be ground-set, base-plated or fitted using a manufacturer-approved core-drilled detail. These are different fixing methods: the substrate, loads and manufacturer’s instructions determine which is suitable. Wall and slab fixings are reviewed and priced separately rather than given a universal labour uplift.

We settle that on the visit rather than guessing from a photo, because the wrong fixing for the substrate is the most common way a metal fence fails in high wind.

Aluminium is not hot-dip galvanised like steel. Its pretreatment, powder coating and suitability for coastal or exposed conditions must be checked against the chosen manufacturer’s data; no universal coating uplift applies.

Any RAL colour is possible, but non-stock colours are made to order and add lead time. Stock colours, usually anthracite grey and black, are the fastest. Availability depends on the manufacturer.

Timber slatted (£170–£200/m) gives the same horizontal look for the lowest price, but it needs treating and timber can move as it weathers. Composite (£320–£380/m) is a solid, low-maintenance screen with a board look. Aluminium (£350–£400/m) costs the most and gives the slimmest posts, the sharpest gaps and no staining.

If budget leads, choose timber slatted. If you want a solid screen with little upkeep, choose composite. If the fence is part of a modern design and you plan to stay, aluminium is the one to look at.

Stock bays in standard heights are the quick, sensible route and keep the price where the table says it is. Made-to-measure — non-standard heights, raked runs following a slope, curved sections, a specific RAL — is fabricated for your garden and we price it after a survey rather than off a rate card.

Cut ends matter on site. Anywhere a slat or post is cut to length the raw edge gets sealed before it goes in, because an unsealed cut is the one place a powder-coated system can start to fail. Fixings and section sizes follow the chosen manufacturer’s specification, and in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction we check what the borough allows on a front boundary before anything is ordered.

If your run needs that, say so on the estimate form. It gets flagged straight away and we look at it properly instead of sending you a number we would have to walk back.