Posted by Duncan Page on Tue, Dec 22, 2009
As part of their Museum on Main Street program, The Smithsonian has put together a traveling exhibit entitled Between Fences. As explained in the exhibit's publicity article:
"We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Thousands of types have been invented, millions of miles have been produced, and countless rivals have seized post, rail, panel, and wire to stake their claims. In 1871, the Department of Agriculture estimated the total value of fences in the United States at 1.7 billion, a sum almost equal to the national debt. Our past is defined by the cutting point of barbed steel and the staccato rhythm of the white picket. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape.
The United States as we know it could not have been settled and built without fences; they continue to be an integral part of the nation. Fences stand for security: we use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods. They are decorative structures that are as much part of the landscape as trees and flowers. Industry and agriculture without fences would be difficult to imagine. Private ownership of land would be an abstract concept. But fences are more than functional objects. They are powerful symbols. The way we define ourselves as individuals and as a nation becomes concrete in how we build fences."
Focusing on all regions of the United States, Between Fences subjects include all types of residential, agricultural and industrial fencing. Visitors can learn about historical and contemporary fences and how they have impacted the American landscape.
Has this exhibit come to your area yet?
Would you go to see it if/when it comes?
Learn more about the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street.
Posted by Duncan Page on Sat, Dec 12, 2009
The phrase comes from Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall". On a spring day, Frost and his neighbor are walking along and repairing the stone wall that marked the boundary between their properties. Freezing and thawing of the ground during winter months dislodges stones from walls. Repair and replacement are a spring ritual. Frost is wondering if a fence is really necessary:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Frost asks: 'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.'
Despite the sentiment of this familiar quotation, there is no guarantee that good fences make good neighbors. In Melbourne Australia, the leading cause of disputes between neighbors is caused by fences. Disputes can get out of hand and escalate into a grudge match. When a state or local government erects a fence, abutters and neighbors often take offense. Sometimes, as an act of protest or to prove a point, a property owner will put up a fence that aggravates and upsets people.
Things to consider when you are thinking about putting up fencing:
- Is a fence really necessary?
- What should the fence look like?
- Is it needed to fence something in?
- What impact will it have on abutters?
- Is it necessary to keep something out?
- What are the zoning or code requirements or limitations?
- Are there any identifiable issues that may cause problems in the future?
Have you ever experienced negative reactions to fencing you may have installed? How did you resolve them?
Is there something "that doesn't love a wall, that wants it down"?
Do you think good fences make good neighbors?
Posted by Duncan Page on Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Ever heard of a fence made out of papercrete?
What exactly is papercrete?
This video will show you how to make a 4' by 8' section of fencing - real DIY stuff, folks.
Ingredients?
- 30 pounds of concrete
- 18 pounds of joint compound
- 1 pound of boric acid
- 90 pounds of newspapers
- Just add water and you're good to go!
But would you really want a papercrete fence around your house?
Posted by Duncan Page on Tue, Nov 10, 2009
New types of security fencing are currently being developed and evaluated. One type is called "floating" fence. There are two different "floating" fences - one for use on land and the other one on water.
Floating fencing on land
A 15 foot high fence stretches along a seven mile section of the US-Mexico border in the Imperial County sand dunes between Calexico, California and Yuma, Arizona. This particular area is subject to drifting sand which causes changes in the topography.
Built at a cost of $40 million, the unique floating fencing is designed to be unfastened to anything below the sand's surface. When drifting sand starts to bury the fence line, sections can be lifted up by a machine and placed back on top of the sand allowing the 15 foot height to be maintained. New fencing does not have to be erected. Known as the "floating fortress" and "sand dragon", this new fence design is credited with reducing not only illegal immigrants but also drug smuggling.
See a picture of the floating fence.
Floating fencing on water
The other type of "floating" fence is being used by the US Navy as way of protecting ships from terrorist attacks. Termed a "Waterfront Force Protection Barrier System", over 30 kilometers of floating fences have been successfully installed around Navy installations.
The floating fence, capable of stopping high speed boats, is adapted from a fixed security barrier system. The fencing consists of independent 35 to 50 foot modules that are connected to each other. Pontoons support a steel structure. Vertical steel nets, usually 9 feet tall, are secured to this structure and sit on cylindrical shaped floats that form the actual fence. Variations in currents and tidal ranges up to 30 feet are accommodated. Gates are incorporated into the design as required.
Read the PDF about floating fences from Harbor Offshore Barriers, Inc.
Can you think of other situations where either of these fences could be of use? Do you think they're cost effective?
Posted by Duncan Page on Mon, Nov 02, 2009
In April of 1976, after four years of planning and obtaining required permits and permission, construction began on an unusual fence. Completed on September 10, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Running Fence" was removed, leaving no traces, fourteen days later on September 23rd.
The 18 foot high fence was made with 2,222,222 square feet of heavy woven white nylon fabric. It wound for 24-1/2 miles through the rolling hills of Sonoma and Marin counties in northern California, terminating in the Pacific Ocean in Bodega Bay. The Running Fence crossed 14 roads and the town of Valley Ford. Openings were left for cars, people, cattle and wildlife. It was placed so that it could be viewed from 40 miles of public roads, as shown in this old super 8 movie.
350,000 hooks were used to attach the top and bottom edges of the heavy fabric to steel cables. The cables were secured to 2,050 - 3-1/2"x21' tubular steel posts set 36" in the ground. Posts were not set in concrete. 90 miles of cable and 14,000 earth anchors were used to laterally brace the posts. Close to 400 people helped install the fence. After its removal, all material was given to the ranchers who allowed it to pass through their property.
In addition to the materials used, all paid for by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, this monumental art project consisted of:
- 18 public hearings
- participation of local ranchers
- 42 months of collaborative efforts
- drafting a 450 page Environmental impact Report
- three sessions of the Superior Courts of California
- temporary use of hills, the Pacific Ocean and the sky
The project elicited strong reactions.
Do you think this is a work of art?