The Home Improvements Channel UK

For those who don’t know, these guys provide excellent DIY tip and tricks with their video tutorials online. Their social media presence is massive, which is why when they approached us expressing their need for some timber materials, we thought what a great way to demonstrate how to best use our leading fencing material, Western Red Cedar.

The two brothers, Phil and Brad, were actually planning to build a bespoke fence is Phil’s own garden, so they were very open to ideas. That’s when our office manager, Lizzy, came up with the brilliant suggestion of a horizontal barcode style fence. She described to them exactly what this style looked like and what they would need to achieve it, and sure enough, they fell in love with it.

The Barcode Style Design

To achieve the barcode style look, it requires a variation of different sized boards. The idea is to replicate the design of a barcode with your fencing battens. When looking at a barcode, you notice a variation of thicker lines and thinner lines. That’s where the different sized timber boards come in. Instead of the usual uniform look when you order one size batten to use across your entire fence, you alternate between the different sizes when installing the timber to create that barcode style effect. Of course, fixings play a role in creating this design too. It’s important you have the correct stainless steel screws to securely install your timber. There’s the Spax Stainless Steel Façade Screws T15 Head (which is very tiny), or the T20 Drive Head (which is small).

With this project, we recommended a variation of Western Red Cedar battens with three different widths to alternate between; the 20 x 45mm, 20 x 70mm, and 20 x 95mm. The more variation, the better the effect. Upon installation, The Home Improvements Channel UK did exactly what was required to complete the style, alternating and using all three sized battens interchangeably across the horizontal length of the fence.

It wasn’t just the profile of the battens that contributed to the barcode style effect, but it’s the Western Red Cedar appearance itself. This timber is well-known for its range of colouring. As a natural wood, it’s prone to colour variation, but Western Red Cedar in particular is famous for its range of light golden and mid to dark brown boards. This variety of pigmentation is perfect for building that barcode design if you cleverly alternate between the lighter and darker boards.

And that’s how you create a barcode style fence! We absolutely love this modern design. We think it’s an incredibly clever way of making excellent use out of our Western Red Cedar P.A.R. Fencing collection. You can take it even further, be as creative as your mind will take you and use several different widths, or install it vertically as the same style is also achievable in a vertical fit. That’s the beauty of working with wood, the options are endless! But it’s not our opinion that matters, it’s yours! There are so many different designs you can choose from when starting a new fencing project, the barcode style is just one of many. But luckily for you, we know all the designs and trends around!

So, what do you think, is the barcode style for you?