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Hurdles are the most forgiving fencing there is to put up — no concrete gravel boards, no fighting a heavy panel into a slotted post, no cutting when the ground is not level. Two people can do a twenty-foot run in a morning with a spade, a spirit level and a pair of pliers. But there are four or five details that decide whether the fence lasts three years or ten, and almost all the ones we get asked about come down to fixings.
What you need
| Item | How many | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Panels | Run length ÷ 6ft | All our hazel and willow panels are 6ft wide |
| 1.8m UC4 posts | One per panel plus one | For panels up to 4ft |
| 2.4m UC4 posts | One per panel plus one | For 5ft and 6ft |
| Stainless cable ties | 8 per panel | Four to each upright. Fifty per pack covers six panels |
| Tools | — | Spade or post driver, spirit level, string line, pliers |
The post count is the thing people get wrong. It is one more post than you have panels, because each join needs a post and so does each end. Four panels need five posts. A ten-panel run needs eleven. It accounts for most of the “I’m one short” calls we take on a Saturday afternoon.
Setting the posts
Run a string line first. Hurdles are forgiving about level but they will show a wandering line, because the top edge of the weave draws the eye straight along it.
Mark your post positions at exactly 6ft centres along the line, then set the first and last post before any of the middle ones. Get those two right and everything between them follows.
- Aim for 60cm in the ground. That is the figure to work to at any height. It is not a maximum — on an exposed site or soft ground, deeper is better.
- Drive on firm ground, concrete on soft. A driven post in clay or good loam is solid. In sand, peat, made-up ground or anywhere waterlogged, use postcrete and let it go off before you hang anything.
- Check plumb in two directions. A post leaning along the run is obvious. One leaning towards or away from you is not, until the panels are up and the whole fence looks drunk.
- Leave the tops slightly high. Easier to trim a post down than to lift one. Cut them to a consistent height above the panel once everything is fixed — or leave them proud, which looks deliberate on a rustic run.
The one detail that matters most
Leave an inch or two of daylight under the panel. Do not let the bottom of the weave sit in soil, mulch or grass. This single detail does more for the life of a hurdle than any treatment, fixing or timber grade — it is the difference between a panel that reaches ten years and one that goes at four.
Woven wood rots from persistent contact with wet ground, not from rain. Rain dries. Soil does not.
On a slope this happens naturally as you step the panels. On the flat, prop each panel on an offcut of batten while you tie it, then take the batten away.
Fixing the panels — ties, not wire, not screws
This is where most hurdle fences are won or lost, and the answer is not intuitive.
Use four stainless steel cable ties per upright — so eight per 6ft × 6ft panel — spaced evenly up the height of the post. Thread each one through the weave rather than around the outside of it, pass it round the post, and pull it tight. Finish with pliers on the tail for a proper grip, then cut the end flush so nobody catches a hand.
Two things people reach for instead, and why both are worse:
Galvanised wire
Work-hardens exactly where you twist it. That twist becomes a brittle point, and a season of wind flexing it is enough to snap it. Then it rusts, and leaves orange streaks down the post.
Screws
Split the uprights. Worse, they pin the panel rigid — and a woven hurdle needs to give a little and come back. Pin it and something has to break instead, usually an upright.
Four points per upright rather than two is the other half of it. Movement is what destroys a weave, and two fixings let the panel rock. Four hold it still. It is two extra ties per post and it is the cheapest life extension available to you.
Slopes, curves and corners
This is where hurdles beat rigid panels outright. Because the panel ties to the face of a round post rather than dropping into a channel, nothing needs to be square.
On a slope, step each panel down slightly from the last and let the small triangle of daylight sit at the bottom. Do not try to follow the gradient with the panel itself — a stepped run looks intentional, a tilted one looks like a mistake.
Around a curve, simply angle each post a few degrees. A woven panel has enough give across its width to take a gentle bend without complaint, and a run of four or five can turn a surprisingly tight arc.
At a corner, one post serves both runs — tie the end of each panel to the same post, one on each face. No special bracket, no cutting.
Exposed and coastal sites
A woven panel is genuinely better than a solid one in wind, because it filters air through the weave rather than catching it like a sail. But the load that does remain still ends up in the post at ground level, so on an open site:
Use the 2.4m posts even at 4ft, for the extra depth.
Concrete every post, not just the ends.
Consider 5ft rather than 6ft — the reduction in sail area is worth more than the extra foot of screening.
Check the ties after the first winter, then annually.
Mistakes worth avoiding
| Mistake | What happens |
|---|---|
| Panel sitting on the soil | Rots from the bottom edge up, often within three or four years |
| Two fixings per upright | Panel rocks, the weave works loose, rods start to lift |
| Wire instead of ties | Snaps at the twist, usually in the second or third winter |
| Screwing through the uprights | Splits them, and removes the flex the panel needs |
| One post per panel | Nothing to fix the far end of the last panel to |
| Staining or painting | Traps moisture in the weave. These are meant to be left alone |
Common questions
How do you fix willow hurdles to posts?
Four stainless steel cable ties to each upright — eight per panel — threaded through the weave, round the post and pulled tight. Willow rods are slimmer than hazel, so draw them firm rather than fierce: tight enough that nothing moves, not so tight that the tie bites into a slender rod. Otherwise the method is identical for both materials.
How deep should hurdle fence posts go?
Around 60cm at any panel height, and more on soft or exposed ground. Use the 1.8m post up to 4ft and the 2.4m post for 5ft and 6ft, which leaves the right amount standing in each case.
Can I put hurdles on existing posts?
If they are round, sound and at roughly 6ft centres, yes — anything you can get a cable tie around will work. Square posts are awkward but possible. Check the base of each one first, though: a panel is only ever as good as what holds it, and there is no sense tying new work to a post that is going.
Do I need a gravel board?
No, and you should not use one. The gap under the panel is doing useful work — it keeps the weave out of wet ground. Closing it with a board is the opposite of what a hurdle wants.
How long does it take?
Two people, firm ground, no concrete: roughly a panel every fifteen to twenty minutes once the string line is set. A four-panel run is a comfortable morning. Concreting adds a day, because the posts need to cure before they take any load.
Which way round does the panel go?
Either. Both faces are woven and both look right — hurdles have no “good side”. Hang whichever face pleases you outward, and if one panel has a slightly neater edge, put that where it will be seen.
Before you order
Measure the run, divide by six for panels, add one for the post count, and allow a pack of ties per six panels. Then choose your height and material — hazel or willow walks through that, and hurdle fencing covers what a whole run costs. If you would rather just describe the job, get in touch and we will work the quantities out with you.