Fencing in Shell Cove, Built to the Guidelines
Shell Cove is one of the few places on the coast where the fence is partly designed before you buy the block. Much of the suburb was built as a planned estate around the marina, and parts of it have design guidelines that set out what the front fence, the side fence and the colour can be. Building the wrong one is an expensive way to find that out.
The other thing that shapes every fence here is the salt. Shell Cove is right on the water, and on the streets closest to the harbour and the beach the air carries enough salt to rust cheap fixings and pit aluminium within a few years. The fence material matters, but the screws, brackets and hinges matter more.
Marcio is Wollongong based and Shell Cove is a regular run down the coast. Timber, Colorbond, steel and pool fencing are all our own work, and the steel gates and posts come out of our own shop.
Fencing Work We Do in Shell Cove
Front Fences to the Shell Cove Guidelines
Where your precinct's guidelines apply, the front fence is a low one, with piers at the corners and entries and timber or masonry infill between them. Pickets are painted in a light tone or white. We build to the guideline you are under, and we can make the pedestrian gate to match, since driveway gates are not allowed under them.
Colorbond Side and Rear Boundaries
Side and rear fences in Shell Cove are commonly Colorbond up to 1.8 metres, in the colour the guidelines set. They start a metre behind the front of the house, and the front fence returns along the side to meet them. We set the posts for the sandier coastal ground and use fixings that suit salt air.
Pool Fencing on a Shell Cove Block
Where a pool fence is also the boundary fence it has to be at least 1.8 metres high, and every pool barrier needs the right gap at the bottom, a clear non-climbable zone and a self-closing gate. We set these out to AS 1926.1 before building, in glass, aluminium or steel, with fixings chosen for the coast.
Is Your Back Fence an Estate Fence?
Fences facing parks, open space and the wetlands were often built as part of the estate to a special design. Before you replace one, find out whether yours is one of them, because the rules for those fences are different and some need a pedestrian gate. We will help you work out what applies before quoting.
Fences and Gates Around the Illawarra
A custom aluminium slat panel fabricated for a fence and gate set.
Estate Rules, Front Fences and Salt
Start with the guidelines for your part of the estate. The detached housing design guidelines for some Shell Cove precincts are specific. Front fences are low, with piers about a metre high and timber or masonry infill. Colorbond or similar metal front fences are not permitted, and gates across driveways are not allowed. Side and rear boundary fences can be Colorbond up to 1.8 metres in the specified colour, but they start a metre behind the front of the house and metal fencing cannot face a street. Not every precinct has the same document, so we ask you to check yours, and your title, before we specify anything.
Fences facing parks, open space and the wetlands are a special case. Some of those were designed and built as part of the estate, and the guidelines expect them to keep privacy while still letting people see through. If your back fence faces open space, do not replace it until you know whether it is one of those.
Then there is the salt. Aluminium does not rust, but it does pit in salt air, and it corrodes quickly where it touches stainless or steel fixings. Steel needs proper galvanising and a finish suited to the coast. Close to the water we choose fixings to suit the fence material and we keep dissimilar metals apart, because that is where coastal fences usually fail first.
Many Shell Cove homes have pools, and a pool fence that is also a boundary fence has to be at least 1.8 metres high. We set those out to the barrier rules before they go in rather than after an inspection. The ground near the water is often sandier than the clay further inland, which drains well but gives a post less grip, so we set the depth for the soil we find. On the newer streets the ground can also be fill placed during the estate works, and that is worth knowing before the first hole goes in.
More on fencing, pool fencing, Colorbond fencing and gates and balustrades.
Do Shell Cove Estate Rules Override the Planning Rules?
They sit on top of them. The state exempt development rules set the limits for a fence that does not need approval, such as 1.8 metres for side and rear boundaries and 1.2 metres along a road. Estate guidelines and covenants on your title can then be stricter, setting the colour, the material, where a side fence can start and what the front fence looks like. A fence can be exempt under the state rules and still be wrong for your estate.
So the order is simple. Check your title for a covenant, check the design guidelines for your precinct, and then pick a fence that fits both. Shellharbour City Council publishes the Shell Cove guidelines, and your conveyancing documents should show what applies to your lot. We read them with you before quoting, so the fence goes up once and stays up. If anything is unclear, the developer or the council can usually confirm which document applies to your lot.
Need a fence line looked at in Shell Cove?
Send through photos of the fence line and the rough length, and you will get a straight answer on what it involves and what it costs.
Contracts, Deposits and What NSW Asks For
Renovation work in NSW comes with consumer protections worth knowing before you sign anything. A written contract is required once the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. Work between $5,000 and $20,000 can run under a small works contract; above $20,000 it needs a full home building contract, and home building compensation cover with the certificate that goes with it. The maximum deposit anyone can ask for is 10 per cent, on a small job or a large one. Variations should be agreed in writing before the varied work happens, not reconciled at the end. None of that is unique to us, and you should expect it from whoever you use.
Quoting a Shell Cove Fence
Every job gets quoted on what it actually needs. We look at the access, the condition of what is already there, the materials you want and how much of the existing work can be kept, then give you a figure before anything starts. Two jobs that look identical in photos can be very different once someone is standing in the room, so we do not publish a rate card. You get a price for your job, and it does not move once we have agreed it.
Shell Cove is a regular run for us down the coast from Wollongong, past Shellharbour village, and jobs around Shellharbour, Oak Flats and Kiama are grouped where the timing allows. A first visit means walking the line, reading the guidelines for your precinct with you, checking for a pool and looking at how close the fence is to the salt, so the quote is right first time. There is no charge for that visit or the written quote.
Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by licensed partners, not in-house.
Shell Cove Fencing Questions
Can I put Colorbond across the front of my Shell Cove home?+
Under the detached housing design guidelines for parts of Shell Cove, no. Those guidelines do not permit Colorbond or similar metal front fences, and they do not allow gates across driveways. Front fences are low, with piers about a metre high and timber or masonry infill. Colorbond is fine for side and rear boundaries, from a metre behind the front of the house. Check the guidelines for your precinct and your title before you order anything.
What fence material lasts best near the water in Shell Cove?+
Any of the common ones can last, as long as the fixings and finish suit the coast. Colorbond and galvanised steel hold up well when the fixings are matched to them. Aluminium does not rust but it can pit in salt air and corrode where it touches stainless or steel fixings, so those need to be kept apart. Timber is fine with galvanised or stainless fixings. The fixings are usually what fails first, not the fence itself.
How do I get a fencing quote in Shell Cove?+
Send the length of the fence, a few photos and, if you have them, the design guidelines for your precinct and any covenant on your title. Tell us if there is a pool. We then walk the line, confirm what the rules allow and look at how exposed the fence is to salt air, then give you a written, itemised quote with the exclusions listed. We do not publish rates, because no two jobs here are the same. Call 0413 147 335. If the fence faces open space, mention that too, since special rules may apply.
Can you build the fence, the pool barrier and the gates together?+
Yes. Boundary fencing, pool fencing, gates and the steel posts and frames that go with them are all our own work, and the steel is made in our shop and galvanised for the coast. Doing them together means the pool barrier and the boundary fence are set out as one line, with the heights and gaps right where they meet. If a pool light or an outdoor power point is needed, our licensed electrical partners handle it on the same job. One crew, one quote and one person to call.
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“Turned a weekend-long headache into a one-visit fix. Absolute legend.”