How to Install a Sports Pitch Perimeter Fence: Step by Step
Installing a pitch perimeter fence is well within reach of a capable club work party for a post-and-rail or single mesh system, and our managed teams handle the rest. This guide walks through the full process: setting out, digging, concreting posts, fitting rails and panels, and hanging gates. Whether you are doing it yourselves or simply want to understand what a professional install involves, here is the method — and the exact dimensions, which are also set out on our installation guide page.
Set out the fence line at the correct setback and mark post centres at 2,500mm. Dig 300mm-diameter holes to 750mm deep. Lay a 150mm concrete base, stand the post on it at 600mm embedment, then fill the concrete surround to 150mm below ground level and backfill the top 150mm with soil. Let the concrete cure for at least 24 hours before fitting rails and panels, leaving a 10–12mm expansion gap at every rail joint. Accurate setting-out at the start is what makes or breaks the finished result.
This work should only be carried out by skilled, competent personnel. Wear protective gloves and appropriate footwear throughout, and scan for buried services before any digging. Use only genuine Norvale Sport components — substituting third-party parts voids the 15-year warranty. If in doubt, take the managed installation option.
Before You Start: Plan and Measure
Most installation problems are really planning problems. Before any digging:
- Confirm your setback. Measure from the edge of the playing surface, not the line markings — 2,250mm minimum at FA Step 1, 1,830mm at most other steps. We recommend 2,250mm across all levels so the barrier never needs moving on promotion.
- Calculate post positions so bays divide evenly at 2,500mm and gates land in sensible places. Planning centres to avoid cutting panels saves time and waste. Our measuring guide walks through the arithmetic.
- Check for services. Scan for buried cables, drainage and irrigation before you dig. A 750mm hole is deep enough to find all three.
- Order with a waste margin. Allow around 5% on panels and rails for tolerance and breakage.
- Hire an auger. A mechanical post hole borer will cut the labour on a full pitch dramatically, particularly on clay or compacted ground.
The Dimensions
| Item | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Post | 127 × 127mm PVCu, 1,800mm supplied length |
| Post centres | 2,500mm |
| Post hole | 300mm diameter × 750mm deep |
| Concrete base | 150mm in the bottom of the hole, post stands on it |
| Post embedment | 600mm below ground level |
| Concrete surround | Filled to 150mm below ground level |
| Soil backfill | Top 150mm, once the concrete has cured |
| Post above ground | 1,200mm to the post top |
| Barrier height | 1.1m to the top of the top rail |
| Rails | 2,449.2mm overall with a 38.1mm tenon each end, 3 per bay |
| Expansion gap | 10–12mm between rail sections at each post |
Post foundation cross-section — 300mm diameter hole, 750mm deep. Post at 600mm embedment on a 150mm concrete base, with 150mm soil backfill at the surface.
The Installation Sequence
1. Set out the line
Run a string line around the full perimeter at the correct setback, squaring the corners carefully. Mark each post centre at 2,500mm intervals. Time spent here is repaid at every later stage — and a fence line that is out by 50mm at one corner will be out by 200mm by the time you reach the next.
2. Dig the post holes
Dig 300mm-diameter holes to 750mm deep. Consistent depth is what keeps the rail lines level, so check each one rather than eyeballing it. On a full pitch that is around 140 holes, which is why an auger is worth the hire cost.
3. Set the posts in concrete
Lay a 150mm concrete base in the bottom of each hole and stand the post on it. The post is supplied at 1,800mm and sits at 600mm embedment, leaving 1,200mm above ground. Fill the concrete surround to 150mm below ground level — not to the top. Check both plumb and line against your string before the mix goes off, then brace the post.
Once the concrete has cured, backfill the remaining 150mm with soil. That gives a clean grass finish at the base of each post rather than a visible concrete collar, which matters more than you would think on a ground that gets photographed.
Fitting rails and panels before the post concrete has properly cured is the most common cause of a wavy, misaligned finished fence. Allow at least 24 hours, longer in cold weather. This is the one step you cannot rush or correct later.
4. Fit the rails
With posts set and cured, slide the rails into the mortise holes — three rails per bay. Each rail is 2,449.2mm overall with a 38.1mm tenon at each end; engage to the full tenon depth. Leave a 10–12mm expansion gap between rail sections at each post. PVCu moves with temperature, and a run fitted tight in January will bow in July.
5. Fit the mesh panels
On single or double mesh systems, the panels clip into the pre-drilled holes in the rails — no additional fixings or specialist tools needed. Work bay by bay round the perimeter. On post & rail there are no panels; the rails alone form the barrier.
6. Hang the gates
Gate posts are set in concrete the same way, but doubled up — two posts side by side at each hinge and latch position — for the extra rigidity a swinging leaf demands. Allow 2,024mm for a single gate module and 3,637mm for a double. Gates arrive pre-assembled with hinges fitted; check every one swings cleanly, latches, and that drop bolts engage before you sign the job off.
7. Walk it before you finish
Walk the full perimeter. Check every rail is seated with the correct expansion gap, every panel is fully home with no loose sections, and every gate works. Measure the setback on all four sides, and confirm there is no gap left between the barrier and the spectator hardstanding — that last one is a published criterion and it is the sort of thing that fails an otherwise good installation.
DIY or Managed Installation?
A post-and-rail or single mesh run on flat, accessible grass is a realistic club project for a competent volunteer team. Where managed installation earns its cost:
- Double mesh at graded grounds, where a compliant, level finish matters for the assessment.
- Sloping or difficult ground, hard standing, or restricted access.
- Tight deadlines — particularly the 31 March grading cut-off.
- Warranty and certainty of a result that passes first time.
Installation adds £28–£32 per metre depending on system. Our 2026 price guide sets out what that means for a full pitch either way.
Supply Only or Fully Installed
Whether your club is installing itself or wants our managed teams to handle everything, we supply the Norvale Sport system to suit. Free quote for either option within 24 hours.
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