Replacing Privet Hedge with Fencing

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

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I've got 12-14m of privet I want to remove, it's in a dire state and a serious eyesore. Decided the best bet would be to do similar to what next door has done and fence it but the thought of removing that hedge isn't filling me with joy...

Any tips? What sort of price would 14m of fencing cost? gravel boards, post-crete the lot. I'll be doing the work with a few mates.
 
I don't know anything about fences, but beware what time of the year you carry out the work as, generally, it's illegal to disturb any nesting birds. Just a point to bear in mind given that birds are going to start thinking about nest building soon.
 
Yeah that was always my understanding but 2 years ago the highways agency (IIRC) came round to have a moan about the hedge encroaching on the footpath, I said I would have it cut when the birds aren't nesting and he didn't give a ****. Gave me 2 weeks to have it cut.
 
NoNameNoNumber;30497274 said:
Thanks, so lol... Replacing a 15' tall 5' wide privet with a 6' fence needs PP so I don't restrict access or visibility I guess.
Click to expand...

Have you considered just cutting the privet back to a manageable size? they can take a hell of a beating and come back very quickly. That way your not removing a wildlife habitat and the green benefit of the hedge in general?
 
Boundary with next door on the right, the worst of the hedge is behind the big bushy conifer-esque thing in the right hand corner and is a real eye-sore from outside.
I'd like to replace from the boundary to the tree on the left... Interestingly, there is already a fence IN the hedge the whole way round so I guess that circumvents the PP :D
IMG_20170213_143612_zpsfwkxnzz6.jpg
 
My number one priority would be removing the giant conifer thing! It will just get bigger and bigger and eventually you will remove it so might as well start with that!
 
Get rid of the conifer. Feed the existing hedge regularly and improve privets that are too far gone by planting young privet beside them. As regards the existing fencing? it looks to be post and wire, planning permission is determined on type of fencing not just height of fencing and panel fencing may not be allowed.
 
Ideally I'd pull the conifer down yes, issue being that's a busy road out there so want to retain as much of the privacy etc as possible.
If I pulled the conifer down, thinned out all of the debris and other growth etc and planted a load of new privet, how long would it take to establish itself? Ie how quickly can I recover the hedge?
 
2-3 Years, its pretty fast growing. Its worth the effort tbh a well looked after privet hedge is so much better than a fence panel tbh just needs cutting once a month in the summer. Will never fall over in the wind, less noise (better than a panel), wildlife sparrows and Blackbirds love them for some reason, Oh and you can cut a smiley face into them with some shears :)
 
Ok you're right, a hedge would be far better,
I've done a bit of Google Fu, you can buy (who knew?!) 6' tall privet hedge ready to go...
1.75-2.0m tall 15l pots a pallet of 16 for £472 ~ £29 ea.
1.5-1.75mm tall 4l pots £14.75 ea.

Seems the perfect fix, I chop the conifer down, take back all the other foliage in the area- basically everything to the right of the big tree towards the left. and then fill in all of the gaps in the privet with the pre-grown stuff. Question is, is the 6' privet with the 15l root ball worth double what the 5' privet with the 4l root ball?
 
All you are paying for is time.

Personally if are going to be in the house for another 5 years or so I would go with the 5ft plants, Hell if i leave my hedge unchecked it can grow 12" in two months at least.
 
I've just come off the phone to them, very nice lady at their end but she certainly wasn't trying to sell anything.
Basically infilling with the root balls may not work as the established roots of the other privet will take over if the new plants aren't cared for. (I expected bonemeal and mycorrhizal fungi to help with that) only difference is the 15l root ball will be more stable in it's infancy than the 4l ones but no more likely to take.
She said to cut it back harsh around now before the birds nest then keep cutting as often as possible. Again I asked if maybe I should buy their bonemeal or something to help the new hedge, she said I could do and it wouldn't hurt but not to bother.
If I really felt the need to infill with anything then best bet would be to get a load of small bare roots and let them mesh them selves in...

Not really the answer I was hoping for but I guess it saves me £400 and gives me optimism that maybe the hedge will survive. So plan thus far; cut the hedge back tomorrow, take it all down to around 7-8' clear out as much debris as I can to help get the air and sunlight through and take that conifer back. Come May I will order maybe 10 of the 5' 4l root balls, cut back the rest of the conifer and other junk and plant the new privet along with a load of fertiliser and go from there.

Sound like a plan?
 
Sounds great to me, conifer roots do not seem to be that bad in my experience well when I took my mums down.

Will look great in a couple of years.
 
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