Why Fencing Contractors Are Adding PVC to Their Range

If you're a fencing contractor in Perth, you've probably had a customer ask about PVC in the last six months. Maybe longer. The enquiries are picking up, and if you're not offering PVC as an option, those jobs are going to someone who does.

This isn't a pitch. It's a straightforward look at why more contractors are adding PVC to their range, what the installation is actually like compared to Colorbond, and what Probuild offers trade partners who want to get into it.

The Demand Side — Why Homeowners Are Asking for PVC

The shift has been gradual, but it's real. More Perth homeowners are actively searching for PVC fencing, and the reasons are practical.

Coastal properties. Western Australia has over 20,000 kilometres of coastline, and Perth's suburbs cop a daily sea breeze that eats into metal fencing. Homeowners near the coast have watched their Colorbond develop rust spots where the coating gets nicked — sometimes within a few years. PVC doesn't rust, doesn't corrode, and there's no coating to scratch through. For anyone within a few kilometres of the ocean, it's a sensible choice.

Low maintenance. Timber fences need staining every couple of years. Colorbond can dent, scratch, and show rust if the coating is compromised. PVC needs a hose-down once in a while and that's about it. For homeowners who don't want to think about their fence once it's up, that's a genuine selling point.

Design variety. This is where PVC has changed the most in the last few years. It's not just white picket anymore. There are privacy panels, semi-privacy, modern slim profiles, decorative styles, and designs that go well beyond what most suppliers offer. Homeowners are seeing these options on social media and in their neighbours' yards, and they want them.

Pool areas. PVC handles pool chemicals — chlorine, salt — without corroding or staining. It meets the barrier height requirements and it looks clean around a pool area for years without needing attention.

As a contractor, you don't need to convince anyone that PVC is a good product. The homeowner is already interested — they just need someone who can supply and install it.

How PVC Installation Compares to Colorbond

If you've been installing Colorbond for years, PVC is different — but it's not difficult. There is a learning curve, and it's worth being honest about that upfront.

The post-and-rail system will feel familiar. You're still setting posts in concrete, still running rails between them, and attaching panels or pickets. The tooling is lighter — you're not cutting steel or drilling through metal. PVC cuts cleanly with standard tools, and the panels slot together rather than needing rivets or screws in most cases.

What's different is the joinery. PVC uses a rail-and-bracket system that has its own logic. The first couple of jobs, you'll be referring to the instructions and probably calling the supplier a few times. By the third or fourth job, you'll have the rhythm down. Most contractors who've made the switch say it's faster to install than Colorbond once you're familiar with the system, because the panels are lighter and the connections are simpler.

The posts are set at standard spacings and the panels come in set widths, so your measuring and layout is straightforward. Raking for sloped blocks is handled differently to Colorbond — the panels can be raked to follow the ground line rather than stepping, which gives a cleaner finish and is something homeowners specifically ask for.

One thing contractors consistently mention: PVC is easier on the body. The panels are lighter than steel sheets, there are no sharp edges to deal with, and you're not grinding or cutting metal on site. Over a full day's work, that adds up.

Product Consistency — What Arrives on Site

One of the things contractors notice quickly with PVC is how consistent the product is when it arrives. The panels are manufactured to spec — same dimensions, same profile, same colour — every time. You're not sorting through sheets looking for dents, scratches, or coating damage before you start.

With Colorbond, most contractors have had the experience of unpacking sheets on site and finding scratches from transit, or needing to touch up edges where the coating has been nicked. That's time on site that doesn't go into the installation. PVC doesn't have that problem. The product arrives ready to install.

There's no on-site cutting of steel, no filing sharp edges, no need for touch-up paint. The offcuts are clean, the panels are uniform, and the finish is the same on every piece. For a contractor managing multiple jobs a week, that consistency saves real time.

The Range — 30+ Styles Changes How You Quote

Here's where PVC actually changes the conversation with a customer. When you're quoting Colorbond, the main variable is colour. The profiles are essentially the same. The customer picks a colour and that's most of the decision made.

With PVC, you can offer over 30 distinct styles — privacy panels, semi-privacy, picket fencing in half a dozen different profiles, modern slim designs, decorative options, and more. Each one looks genuinely different on a property. When you're sitting with a homeowner talking through options, you've got a much bigger range to work with than "what colour Colorbond do you want?"

That matters for two reasons. First, it gives you a quoting advantage. You can match the fence to the property — a heritage-style home gets a colonial picket, a modern build gets a slim blade profile, a coastal property gets a clean privacy panel. You're not offering a one-size-fits-all product.

Second, it moves the conversation away from price and towards design. When a homeowner is choosing between styles that look different and suit their property differently, the conversation is about what they want — not just what's cheapest. That's better for your margins.

Custom Capability — Saying Yes to Jobs Others Can't

This is where it gets interesting from a business perspective. Probuild has custom PVC manufacturing machinery at our factory in Malaga — the only setup of its kind in Western Australia. That means we can make things that other suppliers physically cannot.

Custom heights. Raking for sloped blocks. Specific profiles to match existing fencing on a property. If a customer wants something particular, we can make it. For a contractor, that means you can say yes to jobs that other suppliers would have to turn down or compromise on.

Sloped blocks are a good example. A lot of Perth properties have some fall to them, and stepping a fence up a slope looks average. PVC panels can be custom-raked to follow the ground line smoothly, which looks significantly better and is something homeowners are willing to pay for. If you're the contractor who can offer that and your competitor can't, you're winning those jobs.

Non-standard profiles are another one. Probuild can manufacture custom heights and unique panel profiles that off-the-shelf suppliers cannot offer.

Probuild Exclusive Range — Designs Nobody Else Has

Beyond the custom capability, Probuild manufactures a range of designs that are exclusive to us. No other PVC fencing supplier in Australia can make these, because they don't have the machinery.

Blade Picket — a straight PVC blade profile that gives a clean, contemporary look. It's a new design and it's only available through Probuild.

Blade X Picket — the same blade profile set on an angle, which creates a distinctive visual effect. Again, exclusive to Probuild.

Modern Slim Picket — a 35x35mm picket profile that's slimmer and more refined than standard picket. It suits modern builds and gives a different feel to the traditional picket fence.

The Willow — a decorative picket style that's unique to Probuild. It's a standout design that homeowners notice.

Front-Facing Pickets — Face Picket Federation, Face Picket Colonial, and Face Picket Traditional. Standard picket fencing has pickets attached to the back of the rails, so the rail side faces the street. Front-facing pickets reverse that — the pickets face outward, which looks better from the street. Nobody else can do this.

For a contractor, these exclusive designs are a genuine competitive edge. Your customers can't get Blade Picket or The Willow from anyone else's installer. If a homeowner has seen one of these styles and wants it on their property, they need a Probuild trade partner to supply and install it. That's work that can only come to you.

The Trade Portal — Ordering, Tracking, and Workflow

Probuild runs a dedicated trade portal for its contractor partners. It's not a generic wholesale catalogue — it's built for the way fencing contractors actually work.

You can see what's available, place orders, track deliveries, and manage your account without needing to call or email. If you need to check something while you're on site or between jobs, you can do it from your phone. The portal also integrates with common workflow tools, so orders and deliveries fit into the way you already manage your jobs rather than adding another system to check.

Deliveries go direct to site. You tell us where the job is and when you need materials there, and we organise it. You're not picking up from a warehouse, you're not loading sheets onto a trailer, and you're not making two trips because something didn't fit. The product turns up where you need it, when you need it.

For contractors running multiple jobs, that kind of workflow matters. It's the difference between spending your morning on the phone chasing deliveries and spending it on site getting work done.

Becoming a Probuild Certified Installer

Probuild Certified Installers are the contractors we recommend when homeowners contact us looking for someone to install their fence. It's a straightforward partnership that works both ways — you get access to trade pricing, the full product range including the exclusive designs, and the trade portal. We get a network of installers we're confident in, who know the product and install it properly.

What you get as a Certified Installer:

• Trade pricing across the full range, including custom and exclusive products
• Access to the trade portal for ordering, stock visibility, and delivery tracking
• Direct-to-site delivery across Perth metro and regional WA
• Marketing materials — product brochures, colour samples, and specification sheets you can use with your own customers
• Product support from people who actually manufacture the fencing and can answer technical questions

Becoming a Certified Installer isn't complicated. Get in touch, tell us about your business — where you work, what you install, how long you've been at it — and we'll set you up. There's no franchise fee, no lock-in contract. You buy the product at trade pricing and you install it for your customers.

Support for Contractors New to PVC

If you haven't worked with PVC before, that's fine. Most of the contractors in our network came from Colorbond or timber backgrounds, and the transition is smoother than you'd expect.

We'll walk you through quoting and installation so you're confident before you start your first job. That means going over the product range so you know what to recommend for different applications, talking through the installation process so there are no surprises on site, and helping you put together accurate quotes that reflect the actual time and materials involved.

You can come out to our factory in Malaga, see the product up close, and ask as many questions as you want. We'd rather spend an hour with you before your first job than have you guessing on site. And once you're up and running, the support doesn't stop — if you hit something on a job that you're not sure about, give us a call and we'll talk you through it.

PVC is a growing part of the fencing market in Perth, and contractors who add it to their range now are positioning themselves well. The demand is there, the product is proven, and the support is in place. If you've been thinking about it, get in touch and we'll have a chat about what it looks like for your business.