Fencing contracting

hoff135

Member
Location
scotland
I would take some pictures , I would not employ a fencer without seeing his work , put some on here if you feel brave [emoji2]
Its a few years since I did a new fence, normally its just repairing old ones at home.

This was one from 6 years ago. Its just a fence wasn't trying to impress anyone. Its just a "farmer fence"

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Chris123

Member
Location
Shropshire
Location
cumbria
Just had my chap in, 7 months late.
Has 2 years worth of work booked in for 2 teams.
Other jobs he covers is verge cutting and gritting.
Also does agri contracting, mainly bailing.

IF you clipped sheep as well, you'd not be short of work.
 

ARW

Member
Location
Yorkshire
We have just about a years worth of work ahead of us at all times.
To make a good living from it you have to love fencing and it be your passion, if you don’t the first winter will kill you off, also you can make much better money working for landowners rather than farmers.
It’s like most jobs, it always looks easier and you think it will pay better than reality, but in reality you have to carry £50k worth of wire and timber in the yard to keep going, £100,000’s of tackle that can help erect the fences quickly and properly to compete with the local rates of fencing per metre.
Then you have to get paid, which can be slow, and if you do a big job that can take up all your capital then you struggle to afford to do the next job, if you do make any money you instantly blow it on new/better machinery to make fencing easier.
to make a proper go of it you really need a tracked knocker, that keeps you fencing all winter in the snow and rain, no good fencing hard a 3rd of the year then waiting for it to dry up doing nothing while the work piles up
It’s taken me 13 years to build up to the level we are at now, we have all the machines and good staff but on the flip slide I’m 32 and need to stretch most nights, I constantly ache from head to toe, most evenings are for bills, quotes, looking at jobs or moving machines to the next job, winter is HARD, and nobody pays you to stay at home, we had a week this year of 2-3 changes of clothes a day, the job flooded twice but we had 2 diggers on hire that week for the job and under pressure to get it done and to the next job, nobody enjoys that but it has to be done or it would cost thousands
 

Willie adie

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Pro's
Plenty of work about.
Only need to invest in one machine rather than many different implements.

Cons.
Don't get paid if your not working, standing around doesn't make you any money.
Physical Job that requires you to work in all weathers to get on. That includes heat waves in summer and rain and mud in winter.
Stress of arranging materials in a pandemic with massive shortages and rapidly rising prices.
Customers expect you to be there tomorrow even though they only rang you today and you have months of work booked in.
Customers tell you they will clear lines ready but when you turn up nothing started and materials haven't been delivered/ordered.
That's spot on John , and you forgot the old while your here can you do this additional bit,
 

Kevtherev

Member
Location
Welshpool Powys
Fencing is a grand job which does pay ok if everything goes to plan.
I don’t do as much now as I used to and there’s lots in the area now offering fencing lots got tracked knockers putting it up at discounted rates per metre.
Have a couple of bad payers and it makes the job even harder.
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Stay small and you won’t end up buying work. I just keep on my own with a tracked knocker, if the weathers awful I stay at home, and don’t have lads looking at me for work. Only work for people I know or know of.

You can buy what you need for jobs from merchants to get you going to save buying any stock, will cost a bit more, but not massive amounts. It’s just not as flexible. I bought a tracked knocker that will be worth the same as what I paid for it, then just a pickup and trailer
 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Stay small and you won’t end up buying work. I just keep on my own with a tracked knocker, if the weathers awful I stay at home, and don’t have lads looking at me for work. Only work for people I know or know of.

You can buy what you need for jobs from merchants to get you going to save buying any stock, will cost a bit more, but not massive amounts. It’s just not as flexible. I bought a tracked knocker that will be worth the same as what I paid for it, then just a pickup and trailer
And you work bl**dy hard and do a good job.
 

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
You might find garden and domestic work where you can do small jobs youself does well and not much kit needed compared to thousands of metres of livestock fencing. A mini digger to get into awkward spots and dig drains, etc and can be towed behind a 4x4?
All the expensive tackle will do a lot more but not sure it is any cheaper.
 
If you enjoy fencing then you will make far more money for far less outlay putting up fencing for gardens/estates and the like where you will be doing near exactly the same work??

Guy who did some of our garden fencing owns a transit tipper, a trailer with a mini digger on it, a little cement mixer, chainsaw, disc cutter and with some hand tools. Keeps him and 3 blokes busy full time and literally turning down work because they can't fit it in. Turns up with a measuring wheel, quotes what he wants and tells the customer to order X posts/panels etc.

The trick with non-agricultural work is to answer your phone and work in a tidy way, cleaning up at the end of each day. Do that and you will have work coming out of your ears.
 

hoff135

Member
Location
scotland
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll have to think about it more. My plan was to buy another digger and either stop agri contracting or just do the couple of good regular customers work plus my own, which isn't a lot.

But when you hear about lads further down the road getting 8ton diggers and charging £25 an hour it kind of puts you off trying to compete with that.

Already have a mini digger which is busy enough at times. Maybe the answer is to focus on smaller jobs like clearing gardens, erecting garden fences etc.

Running big expensive kit at a cheap rate is so utterly pointless, its just not a place I want to go.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll have to think about it more. My plan was to buy another digger and either stop agri contracting or just do the couple of good regular customers work plus my own, which isn't a lot.

But when you hear about lads further down the road getting 8ton diggers and charging £25 an hour it kind of puts you off trying to compete with that.

Already have a mini digger which is busy enough at times. Maybe the answer is to focus on smaller jobs like clearing gardens, erecting garden fences etc.

Running big expensive kit at a cheap rate is so utterly pointless, its just not a place I want to go.

I was speaking with someone yesterday who is paid £20 an hour to drive a 13 tonner digger whenever it suits him though he is quite skilled at it. If you can earn £200 a day doing that it makes you wonder how many business owners/operators bother with a lot of what they do.
 

Tubbylew

Member
Location
Herefordshire
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll have to think about it more. My plan was to buy another digger and either stop agri contracting or just do the couple of good regular customers work plus my own, which isn't a lot.

But when you hear about lads further down the road getting 8ton diggers and charging £25 an hour it kind of puts you off trying to compete with that.

Already have a mini digger which is busy enough at times. Maybe the answer is to focus on smaller jobs like clearing gardens, erecting garden fences etc.

Running big expensive kit at a cheap rate is so utterly pointless, its just not a place I want to go.
Also folk seem to have endless money to spend on their gardens, and domestic fencing makes ag fencing look cheap, biggest problem is the people, but thats the same whatever you do.
 

GeorgeK

Member
Location
Leicestershire
I do the little bit of fencing we have and all I can say is I have a lot of respect for fencing contractors. It takes the rare combination of being strong and tough enough to keep slogging away no matter the weather and conditions, but also attention to detail, neatness and precision. I suppose the more you do the easier it gets but I'm ready for a rest after two day's fencing in a row :ROFLMAO:
 

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