What Does Universe Fencing Brisbane East Do?

Seven things: timber, Colorbond, aluminium and glass fencing, gates, retaining walls, and removing whatever is there now. Here's what each is actually for, including the cases where we'd talk you out of one and into another.

Timber Fencing

Still the default dividing fence out here, because it's the cheapest route to 1.8 metres of solid privacy and it's the material neighbours agree on without an argument when they're splitting the cost.

The thing that decides how long a timber fence lasts isn't the palings, it's the posts. On the reactive clay through the Redlands, a post set in a shallow hole moves as the ground swells and shrinks, and the fence develops a wave. We use H4 treated posts rated for in-ground contact, dig deeper than the minimum, and bell the hole out at the base. Timber also rakes, meaning it can follow a slope on an angle rather than stepping, which beats Colorbond on the hillier blocks around Alexandra Hills. Full detail on the timber page.

Colorbond Fencing

What people choose when they've finished maintaining a fence. No painting, no palings working loose, no rot at ground level. It dominates the newer estates through Thornlands and Victoria Point.

Close to Moreton Bay there's one detail that matters: keeping the bottom edge of the sheet out of wet soil and leaf litter, which is what a concrete plinth does. We'll usually recommend one on a bayside job. The other factor is wind, because a 1.8m steel run on an exposed boundary is a sail, and the load goes into the posts. We don't stretch post spacing to shave a quote. See the Colorbond page.

Aluminium Fencing

The pool fence material, and the reason is chemistry. Aluminium doesn't rust; steel does, and chlorinated water plus salt air is the worst environment you can put steel in.

What separates a good aluminium job from a cheap one is the hardware. The panels won't corrode either way, but 304 stainless hinges and latches pit and seize in bayside salt air within a few years. We specify 316 marine grade near the water. Aluminium also rakes, so it handles a sloping pool surround far better than glass does. It does double duty as front fencing between rendered piers, which is the standard look on the new builds. More on the aluminium page.

Glass Fencing

On the bayside a solid pool barrier can cost you the view you paid for. Glass solves that. Frameless 12mm or semi-frameless 10mm panels in Grade A toughened safety glass, set out to AS1926.1 with compliant gate hardware.

Near the water we use 316 marine-grade stainless spigots rather than 304, for the same reason as above. One honest limitation: glass panels are rectangular and can't be raked, so a sloping surround has to be stepped, and a steep fall can end up looking busy. If your pool surround has a noticeable cross-fall we'll tell you aluminium is the better call, even though it's the smaller job. Glass also works for deck balustrades and alfresco wind screens. See the glass page.

Gates and Automation

The gate is the part of the fence that moves, which is why it's the part that fails. Most gate repairs we attend weren't worn out; they were built light or hung badly.

We make gates to the opening rather than packing out a stock size, hang them on hinges rated for the real weight, and brace the frame so it can't rack. For automation we fit swing-arm, underground and sliding motors with safety beams, and we include battery backup as standard because the bayside loses power every storm season and a gate you can't open is an immediate problem. Narrow frontages through Wynnum and Manly often can't spare the swing arc, which is where sliding or cantilever setups come in. Detail on the gates page.

Retaining Walls

Walls fail because of water, not soil weight. Saturated clay behind a wall is far heavier than drained clay and pushes with hydrostatic pressure on top of that. Nearly every leaning wall we replace either had no drainage, or had drainage that silted up because nobody wrapped the aggregate.

Every wall we build gets aggregate backfill, geotextile and ag drain to a proper outlet. Materials range from treated timber sleepers through concrete sleepers, interlocking block and besser to placed rock. On the Redlands clay we lean towards concrete sleepers for anything you want to forget about. Approval thresholds differ between Brisbane City and Redland City, and we'll tell you which applies to your address. See the retaining walls page.

Fence Removal and Site Clearing

Most new fences start with an old one coming out, and that's the part people underestimate. Rotted palings lift away easily; concrete footings do not.

We take out the panels, dig out the footings, backfill the holes and cart the lot away, with metal recycled where we can. Because we run an excavator and a large team, scale stops being the problem: an acreage boundary at Thorneside, a failed sleeper wall, a fence line flattened by a bay southerly, or a site that needs clearing before works start. No job too big. One exception, and it's firm: we don't handle asbestos. If we find suspect fibre cement sheeting we stop and you'll need a licensed removalist. More on the removal page.

How a job runs

We quote on site, because the cost drivers out here don't show up in a phone description: the fall across the boundary, what the soil does when we dig, whether the machine fits down the side, how close you are to salt air, and what's coming out first. Once the price is agreed it's fixed. We turn up when we said, work through rather than disappearing to another job, and take the rubbish with us.

If more than one of these applies to your place, which is common, it's one crew and one price rather than coordinating separate trades. Get in touch or call 0485 064 951 and we'll come and look at it. Here's what we think separates us if you're comparing quotes.