The Fence Post

What do your animals need?

Are you planning to get some animals that will need cages or pens?

Do you already have animals and need to upgrade, enlarge or improve their containment?

From hamsters to horses, birds to buffalo - there is a welded or woven wire mesh fencing available to do the job right.

Small Animal Enclosures

There are galvanized before, galvanized after, and vinyl-coated meshes available.

• Cages for canaries, for example, can be made using light weight galvanized after weave 1/2" hex netting
• For larger birds, welded meshes such as 1/2" x 1", 1" x 1", 1" x 2" and 1/2" x 3" can be used to make cages
• Chicken, turkeys and game birds require larger pens; galvanized after weave and vinyl coated hex netting works well for the sides and you can use welded wire meshes for ground wire; the extra galvanizing and vinyl coating extend the life of the wire
• Cages for rabbits, hamsters and the like can be made using 1/2" x 1"and 1" x 2" welded meshes; galvanized after weld products, when used, will last longest
  

Larger Animal Enclosures

Stronger meshes made from heavier gauge wire are required, and the opening size of the mesh can be larger.

• Dogs - smaller dogs can be contained with 16 gauge 2" x 2" woven or 2" x 3" welded wire mesh; for large dogs, 2" x 4" mesh works well; this is available in woven 12.5 gauge and welded 14, 12.5 and 11 gauge galvanized before, galvanized after and vinyl coated
• Horse corrals can be made with 12.5 gauge flexible woven horse fence in a 2" x 4" or diamond mesh pattern
• Secure enclosures for sheep and goats can be made using 12.5 gauge 4" x 4" woven mesh
• For ostrich & emu pens use 12.5 gauge 2" x 4" woven mesh
• Use field fence for cow pastures; there are different choices of 1047 style available
• Extra tall (up to 10') woven fences are excellent for deer and wildlife containment or exclusion

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:

A Life Between

Years ago, The Smithsonian put together a traveling exhibit entitled Between Fences. As it was 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, metal, and stone, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape.

Fence Function

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 are. 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, common and uncommon fencing includes various types of residential, agricultural and industrial fencing. A fence has a historical and contemporary impact and fences are instrumental in changing the American landscape.

At a historical and most basic level, fences are a practical means of defense and protection. Visually, fences tell us that we are approaching land that is set apart, is owned, defined, and not to be crossed. Fences are not static entities. They represent viable interest at the behest of those who control the land and must be reinforced time and again. A well-maintained fence indicates the owner's continuing investment, whereas an old, rickety fence tells us that those on the inside are vulnerable or neglectful and that the preservation of the fence line may be in jeopardy.  In our protection, fences keep us from incident, most obviously, from falling, indicating that our movement in the world must be regulated, that our freedom to explore is limited and in a fence, we are given a warning both symbolic and pragmatic.

And Spite Fences

A new concept for me was the phenomenon of " Spite Fences." This is when a neighbor builds a fence to purposefully antagonize his neighbors. The neighbors feel cut off from the angry builder of the fence and possibly from other neighbors. If the fence is unattractive, the general response of the neighborhood as a whole may be affected. Court cases that involved such disputes were difficult to measure, as the offense was for the most part psychological. In the U.S., the blocking of light and air is generally not considered an offense as it can be in other countries. Other than obeying local codes on the height of a fence, blocking the view of a neighboring yard is not a cause for official complaint. A major directive on fence building is that it not cause injury to others. However, some states have adopted ordinances regarding spite fences and have created some guidelines. In these cases, it must be established that the fence is solely built to antagonize and has no practical or seemly purpose. It is up to the defendant to prove that the fence has a function other than to perturb those living nearby.

For more on this subject, look at our blog, Spite Fences. 

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?