The Fence Post

Worm or snake fence  

• A fence, zigzag in plan, made of rails resting across one another at an angle - according to the Random House Dictionary.

This style of fencing is also known as Snake Fence, ZigZag Fence and Battlefield Fence - the latter term due to its presence on many Civil War battlefields. Worm Fence has been used in America since the 1600s. Easy to build, split wood rails are stacked on each other to create the fence. The ends of the rails alternate, creating the openings. For stability of the stacked rails, each section of fence is angled slightly from the previous one, giving the appearance of a worm or snake. Sometimes a pair of crossed posts would be used at the junction point of each section. This would allow the fence to be closer to a straight line.

No post holes and good for rocky terrain 

No vertical posts are required to build the fence--eliminating the need to dig post holes and making the fence easy to install - a particular advantage in rocky terrain. Nails and other hardware are not necessary. Such simplicity means it's repaired without difficulty and can be moved or taken down readily. 

With a rustic look

With a plentiful supply of wood and ease of construction, it is easy to understand why worm fence was the most common type of fence used in America by the late 1800s.  It is gaining popularity today for use as a rustic fence that will add to the appearance of a piece of property.

And here's a video that shows the process of creating one of these beauties:

Warp Wires, Shute Wires, Crimped Mesh and more

There are two types of woven wire hardware cloth: woven and crimped. Many of these styles are made as heavy meshes for very specialized uses, such as sifting screens. In both woven and crimped wire cloth meshes, the warp wires are those running the length of the roll. The wires running across the width are called shute wires.

Woven Wire Mesh 

• Plain Weave

  

  • warp and shute wires pass over and under adjacent wires
  • most plain weave is double crimped - warp and shute wires are crimped and locked into position

• Twilled Weave 
  • warp and shute wires pass over two and under two adjacent wires
  • not as tight as plain weave - more pliable

• Plain Dutch Weave 
  • warp wires usually larger than shute wires
  • closely spaced shute wires makes dense weave with wedge shaped openings

• Twilled Dutch Weave 
  • combination of Dutch and Twilled weaves

• Smooth Top Crimp 
  • crimps are on underside of mesh
  • has a smooth flat surface on top 

Information taken in part from Edward J. Darby & Son, Inc. catalog.

That fence, is it really necessary?

 "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost

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 dislodge stones from walls. Repair and replacement are a spring ritual. Here the poem is excerpted--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 think about when you are considering a fence:

• 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?

A Wide Range of Styles

Hardware cloth is available in many different styles. This wire cloth's most common standard specifications, available at most retail stores, are usually welded. As domestic production has declined, woven wire mesh hardware cloth has become challenging to find.

The most readily available types of hardware cloth, available in 50' and 100' rolls, are:

• 19 gauge with 1/2" x 1/2" openings 
  • also called 2 x 2 or 2 mesh - two squares to the inch
  • available in 24", 36" and 48" widths                                                                                                                                                     
• 23 gauge with 1/4" x 1/4' openings
  
  • sometimes referred to as 4 x 4 or 4 mesh - four squares to the inch
  • available in 24", 36" and 48" widths
  • available in 5', 10', 50', or 100' rolls

Less common styles are more difficult to find at the retail level:

• 21 gauge with 3/8" x 3/8" openings 
  • sometimes called 3 x 3 or 3 mesh - three squares to the inch
  • available in 24", 36" and 48" widths   
  • available in 100' rolls only                                                                                                                                                
• 27 gauge with 1/8" x 1/8" openings 
  • also referred to as 8 x 8 or 8 mesh - eight squares to the inch
  • available in 24", 36" and 48" widths

As the mesh's opening size decreases, so does the gauge or thickness of the wire used to decrease.

Welded wire cloth meshes for many different applications, including:

• aviaries
• window guards
• screen door reinforcement
• exclusion screens for nuisance wildlife
• small animal cages
• shrub and tree protection
• sieves and strainers
• stucco mesh
• ferro-cement boats
• sculptures and other structures

Can you think of other possible uses for hardware cloth?

Have you used hardware wire cloth for an exciting or unusual project?

A New Law to Protect Cattle

According to Wikipedia "drift fences were used in the Texas Panhandle from 1882 to 1887 to control cattle drift, the winter migration of livestock to warmer territory." In an effort to prevent cattle in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas from crossing into the state during blizzards, Texas ranchers built a barbed wire drift fence that stretched for 200 miles with a gate every three miles.

The drift fence prevented cattle from migrating to better grazing land during the heavy snows of the 1886-87 winter. Most froze to death along the fence. It was removed in 1890 after passage of a law prohibiting fencing of public property.

A Changed Application

Drift fences are still in use today but the application has changed. The long continuous barriers are one of the most effective techniques to sample wildlife species in a particular area to learn such things as population density. Reptiles and amphibians, insects and small mammals are often the subjects studied. When the animals come upon the fence, they move along looking for an opening. Many can be captured in a single night, when many species are most active and hard to observe.

Strategy for Placement

Different materials are used to make the fences. They can be strategically placed in areas with different ecosystems where wildlife movement is most active. Depending on the location, metal flashing or silt fence might be used. Various types of traps, such as pitfall and funnel, are used along the fence to capture subjects. Hundreds can be collected in a single night.

Here's an excellent example, though a bit slithery:

Drift fence is an example of a type of fence that retains the original name while its application has changed over the years. Can you imagine an application that might serve your needs?