Composite Fence Panels

Composite Fence Panels in Ireland

Composite fence panels give you the look of timber without the yearly upkeep. Our composite fencing is built from co-extruded boards that slide into aluminium H-profile posts, bay by bay, with nothing to paint, stain or treat. The boards shrug off Irish rain, the colour holds through the summer, and a wash with warm water and a brush is all the care it needs. Every PuraFence kit, board, gate and post is backed by a 20 year manufacturer warranty.

Composite isn’t for everyone. Skip it if you want real wood, a fence you can re-stain in a new colour later, or the lowest cost on the day. It also needs its own posts, so an old run of timber posts can’t be reused. If that matters more than low upkeep, see how composite compares with timber further down.

What Is WPC Fencing?

WPC stands for wood-plastic composite, so a WPC fence and a composite fence are the same thing. The board is made from wood fibre bound in plastic, extruded into a hollow profile that never needs treating. When you see WPC fence panels in Ireland, they are composite fence panels under another name. Looking at plastic or PVC fence panels because you never want to paint again? Composite gives you the same easy care, with a brushed finish that reads like timber rather than plastic.

Not all WPC fencing is built the same way, though. The biggest difference between boards is whether the composite core is left bare or wrapped in a protective cap, and that is the first thing to check when you compare fences.

Capped, Co-Extruded Composite Fencing

Every board we sell is co-extruded. Two materials are pushed through the die together: the composite core, and a polyethylene layer that wraps every face of it. That outer layer is the part that meets the weather. It holds the colour through strong sun, keeps rain out of the core, and leaves dirt on the surface, where a wash lifts it off. An uncapped board has no such layer, so its bare wood-plastic face is left to weather.

Inside, the boards are hollow and chambered, which keeps them light and straight between the posts. The finish is brushed, a fine directional texture that reads like planed timber from a few metres away.

Types of Composite Fencing: Solid or Slatted

All our composite fencing is PuraFence composite fencing, a kit system in two styles. Both use the same posts, the same board size and the same kits, so the choice is only about the look, and the two can run along the same boundary.

Solid composite fence panels: PuraFence Classic

Classic is our core range. Flat, brushed boards interlock into one continuous panel with no gaps, for full privacy on a boundary, a patio or a side passage. It comes in four colours, with a matching gate. See the full PuraFence Classic composite fencing range.

Slatted composite fence panels: PuraFence Royal

Royal is the design-led range. Its slatted face breaks each bay into horizontal lines, so the boundary reads as a run of lines rather than a wall, which suits modern gardens and planting along the fence. It adds Cedar to the Classic colours. See the full PuraFence Royal slatted composite fencing range.

Composite Fence Panel Sizes and Kits

Composite fence panels are sold as kits. Each kit arrives flat, as loose boards and a post, and builds one bay of fence at 1900 mm post centres, the distance from the middle of one post to the middle of the next. Every kit holds the same parts:

• 12 composite boards: each 161×20 mm and sized to the bay, they stack between two posts to make a panel roughly 1.9 m high, a little over 6 ft.
• 1 H-profile post: a 75×75 mm post with a slot down each side, so one post holds two panels and needs no brackets or rails.
• 1 post cap and 1 base plate: the base of the panel sits on the base plate, and the cap finishes the top of the post.

Base-plate or in-ground posts

Every colour comes in two kit versions, and the difference is how the post is fixed. The 1900 mm base-plate kit has a 1.9 m post on a base plate fixed to a paved or solid foundation, for patios and slabs where you can’t dig. The 2500 mm in-ground kit has a 2.5 m post, with 60 cm set in concrete; it anchors far more securely against wind, so choose it on exposed sites. Spare posts in both lengths are in our composite fence posts range.

How many kits you need

Divide the length of your fence by 1.9 m and round up to get the number of kits, then add one extra post to finish the run, because the last bay needs a post at each end. A 7.6 m fence is four kits and one extra post. Single composite fence boards are sold too, for an odd-width bay at the end of a run, extra height or a replacement: see the PuraFence Classic boards and Royal slatted boards.

Composite Fencing Colours: Black, Grey and Wood Tones

There are five composite fencing colours across the two ranges. Black and grey composite fencing are the most popular choices in Ireland, and there are two warm wood tones for a softer look. Pick the colour for the walls, paving and planting around it:

• Ebony Black (Classic and Royal): a true deep black with a fine grain, for a fence that is a feature rather than a backdrop.
• Dark Grey (Classic and Royal): a deep anthracite with a slightly cool edge, as on the Classic Dark Grey composite fence panel kit.
• Light Grey (Classic and Royal): a clean, neutral pale grey that keeps a boundary bright against rendered walls.
• Teak (Classic and Royal): a rich, mid-warm timber tone with a hint of red-brown.
• Cedar (Royal only): a soft, mid-honey timber tone that reads as wood at first glance.

Composite Gates

Our composite gates sit inside the two PuraFence ranges, and every colour in both has a matching gate, so the entrance carries the same finish as the fence around it. Each gate is a self-assembly kit that ships flat with the frame parts, four composite boards, hinges, a latch and the assembly fixings. You build the frame square and cut the boards to fit, so have a saw ready.

The Classic gate has a solid infill that matches the Classic panels, so it makes a private side gate, and it comes in all four Classic colours, as on the Classic Light Grey composite gate. The Royal gate comes in all five Royal colours: you cut each board into three to make twelve slats that match the Royal look.

Each gate hangs between two H-profile posts set to the spacing in the PuraFence gate guide, so order the posts with the gate. For a timber entrance, compare our garden gates.

How Much Does Composite Fencing Cost?

Current prices for every kit, gate and post are in the grid above. Four things decide what a composite fence costs you:

• Range: Royal is the design-led range and sits above Classic in the same colour.
• Length of the run: one kit per 1.9 m bay, plus one extra post per run.
• Gates: each gate kit needs two posts of its own.
• Post type: the 2.5 m in-ground post is the longer post, and the 1.9 m base-plate post suits paved ground.

The fairest way to compare composite fencing with timber, or one supplier with another, is the cost per metre run: a kit’s price divided by 1.9 m, with the posts and any gates added. Put the whole run in the cart and it totals everything before you order.

Composite Fencing vs Timber

A timber fence costs less to put up, and a composite fence costs less to keep. Treated timber fence panels need an oil or stain every year or two to hold their colour, while a capped composite board only needs a wash. Composite also has no bare timber at the base to treat, and it arrives in a colour you choose rather than one that weathers to grey.

Timber still wins if you want real wood: warm grain, the option to change colour, and a lower price per metre. Our hardwood fence panels are the natural-wood alternative, and most people oil them to keep the colour. To compare every material side by side, see all our fence panels.

How to Install Composite Fencing

A PuraFence run goes up bay by bay, and the posts are the only part that needs real care. The PuraFence installation manual covers each step; the order is always the same:

• Set out: mark every post position at 1900 mm centres, leaving the gate spacing for any gate.
• Set the posts: sink 2.5 m posts 60 cm into concrete, or fix 1.9 m posts to base plates on a paved or solid foundation. Plumb each post before the concrete sets.
• Slide in the boards: drop 12 boards into each bay, leaving the expansion gap the guide gives for the day’s temperature, from 4 mm at 0 °C to 2 mm at 20 °C.
• Cap the posts: fit a post cap to finish the top of every post.
• Build and hang the gate: assemble the frame square, cut and fit the boards, then hang it on its two posts.

Allow about 10% extra for cutting if you are making up odd bays. After that, wash the fence every 3 to 6 months with warm soapy water and a soft brush, and keep any pressure washer under 1,500 PSI and at least 300 mm from the surface.

Composite Fencing in Dublin and Across Ireland

Every composite fence panel kit, gate and post is stocked in our Dublin warehouse for collection, or delivered across Ireland. PuraFence comes as a complete kit system, so it is ready for you or the fencing contractor of your choice to install. Order the kits, the extra post and any gate together so the whole run arrives in one delivery. Planning more of the garden? Our composite decking shares several colour names with the fencing.