Timber Plywood Hoarding

Plywood, OSB and concrete-based timber hoarding

Programme length, the traffic passing the line and how much of it faces the public decide which build suits a job.

Plywood timber hoarding

Hardwood plywood boards to EN 636-2, screwed to treated softwood posts and rails, make up the standard build for demolition and construction frontages, sold as the plywood timber hoarding kit. It is the specification to choose where a local authority or principal contractor asks for conventional plywood hoarding on dug posts. The hardwood face takes paint and stands up to knocks from pedestrians and site traffic.

Advanced timber hoarding

Heavier posts set closer together, extra rails and a full set of top, bottom and infill capping make advanced timber hoarding the build for long programmes and exposed runs. Corner plots, open frontages and elevated ground put more wind on a hoarding, and the stiffer frame is designed for that load. The capping covers board edges and joints, which protects them from the weather and keeps the line presentable for the life of the job.

OSB chipboard hoarding

Oriented strand board on a lighter timber frame, supplied unpainted, makes OSB chipboard hoarding the entry-level build. It suits short programmes of around six to twelve months and low-traffic lines such as rear boundaries, plot divisions and compounds away from the public, where cost matters more than finish. Where the line faces a busy street or the job will run longer, one of the plywood builds is the better choice.

PCH concrete barrier hoarding

Interlocking precast concrete barrier blocks carry a plywood hoarding in the PCH concrete barrier hoarding system, so one line both screens the site and resists vehicle impact. It is the build for busy urban and roadside sites where traffic passes close to the perimeter. Each unit is lifted into place, so plan for crane, forklift or Moffett offloading when it is delivered.

Structural plywood sheets

Replacement boards, repairs and extensions to a run are covered by loose 18mm structural plywood sheets, cut to the standard size that common hoarding frames are built around. Contractors who frame their own hoarding, or who need to board up a doorway, window or materials compound, use the same sheets, which have one smooth face for paint. The sheets are available for next day delivery.

Dug-in posts or ballasted hoarding

Most timber hoarding stands on posts set in the ground, and where digging is not possible the line is held by weight instead. On open ground, posts go into dug holes and are fixed with rapid-setting Postcrete, which is poured dry into the hole and needs only water, so a gang can set a run of posts and move straight on to the rails. Where buried services, a concrete or tarmac hardstanding, a basement slab or a short programme rule out excavation, concrete ballast blocks used as kentledge, or the concrete base of the PCH build, hold the hoarding without foundations.

The method matters more for hoarding than for fencing. A solid board face catches the full force of the wind across every bay, while open mesh temporary fencing lets most of it pass through, so hoarding needs deeper embedment or heavier ballast over the same length, and exposed locations need more again. Before any hole is dug, the line should be checked against service drawings and scanned with a cable avoidance tool, and any stretch that crosses buried cables or pipes moved over to ballast.

Timber hoarding cost per metre

Build and length set most of the price of a run. Board type comes first, with OSB the lowest-cost face and standard plywood, or MDO plywood with its smooth overlaid surface, costing more. A heavier frame with more posts along the run adds timber and labour, full capping adds material along the top, bottom and joints, and a painted finish costs more than unpainted board. Run length sets the quantity of board, posts and capping the order needs, and gates, corners and any ballast needed where posts cannot be dug in are added on top.

The timber hoarding calculator prices a standard or advanced build to the total length of the site, with options for the board, the colour and the capping. It breaks the run down into the materials it needs, so the cost per metre can be set against the programme and budget before ordering.