Timber Slat Fence Melbourne
A slat fence is the one you build when the fence is part of the architecture. Horizontal hardwood blades, evenly gapped, fixed to a steel or timber frame, running past a rendered wall or a deck. It costs roughly twice a paling fence because it uses twice the timber and a great deal more time, and every one of its decisions, species, blade width, gap, fixing, finish, is visible from ten metres. This page is about making those decisions well.
Species, blade, gap, fixing: the four choices that make a slat fence
Species comes first because it sets the colour, the price and the maintenance. Merbau is the Melbourne default: dense, red-brown, Class 1 durability, and it takes oil beautifully. Spotted Gum is paler and more varied, with a golden-brown grain that reads as more Australian. Blackbutt is paler again and the most stable of the three. Then blade width: 42mm blades give a fine, linear look and need the most fixings; 65mm is the most common and the best balance of cost and look; 90mm reads as boards rather than slats and suits a big wall. Then the gap. A 10mm gap is near-private and stops most airflow; 20mm is the usual compromise; 30mm and up is a screen you can see through at an angle. The gap decides privacy, and it also decides how many blades you buy, which is why slat is really priced by the square metre of timber rather than the metre of fence. Last, the fixing: face-fixed stainless screws are honest and cheap; a hidden-fix system clips each blade from behind so the face is clean, and adds a third to the labour.
Keeping a slat screen looking its best
Slat fencing is a premium look, and the finish is what protects the investment. Here is what each timber needs.
Merbau slat
Melbourne's most-chosen premium slat. Bleeds tannin for the first few months, so keep it off pale paving until it settles.
Spotted Gum or Blackbutt slat
Paler, more varied grain, and no tannin bleed. Blackbutt is the most stable across a wet Melbourne winter.
Left unoiled, all three silver to an even grey without losing structural life. That is a design choice, not a fault, and it is the lowest-maintenance option of all.
See the finish on a real boundary, not a chip
Timber colour shifts completely between a small sample and a whole fence. Tap a species or stain to wrap a real Melbourne backyard.
On-screen tones are indicative; timber grain and stain read differently in daylight. We bring physical samples to your free measure.
Timber fencing cost Melbourne
Indicative installed rates for a standard residential run, quality timber, H4 posts in concrete and rails included.
Technical specifications
Timber & treatment
Dimensions & install
Compliance & assurance
How a slat screen goes in
1Species, blade and gap on site
We bring blade samples in each species. You choose the width and we set the gap with a spacer against the wall it will sit beside.
2Fixed quote by timber area
Blades, frame, fixings and oil are itemised. Because slat is priced by area, changing the gap changes the quote, and we show you by how much.
3Timber ordered and acclimatised
Kiln-dried hardwood is ordered dressed all round, then stacked on site for a few days so it settles before it is fixed.
4Frame, then blades by jig
Posts or the steel frame go in first and are left to cure. Blades are then fixed from the bottom up with a spacer at every fixing so the gap is identical along the run.
5Oil, return and hand over
Two coats of oil at install. On Merbau we return once the tannin has bled out to re-coat, and you get the guarantee in writing.
A slat fence shows every mistake. We do not make them.
Installed by our own crews, guaranteed for a decade.
Not subcontracted, H4-treated posts in concrete, fully insured, every time.
Gapped by jig, every fixing
A 20mm gap that drifts to 24mm over ten metres is visible from the street. Ours is set with a spacer at every screw.
Kiln-dried and settled
Green hardwood shrinks and the gaps open up. We order kiln-dried blades and let them sit before fixing.
Stainless, not galvanised
Galvanised screws stain hardwood black around each head. 316 stainless does not, and it is what we use on every blade.
Merbau return visit
Merbau bleeds tannin for weeks. We come back to re-oil once it has stopped, which is when the colour settles.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on cost, timber grades and how a timber fence holds up.
Ask us anythingMerbau for colour and durability at the base rate; Spotted Gum for a paler, more varied grain; Blackbutt for the most stable timber across wet winters and no tannin bleed. Ironbark if you want a screen that will never move and do not mind the premium.
Timber fencing across Melbourne
Inner North
Known for renovated terraces and warehouse conversions, slat as the front screen.
Related timber topics
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