The Fence Post

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?

Uncomplicated, Effective 

A video to inspire you to make your own homemade lighting display.

Planning some projects as the holidays approach?  Thinking about what type of fence or mesh to use?

Cages - for rabbits and other small animals

• 16 gauge, 1/2" x 1" mesh - use Galvanized After Weld (GAW) for the bottom of cages
• 14 gauge, 1" x 2" mesh - use Galvanized Before Weld (GBW) for the top and sides of cages.

• Hexagonal mesh netting, also known as poultry fence
• Flexible - easy to work with and cut into shapes
• Galvanized - 1/2", 1" and 2" meshes
• Black vinyl coated - 1" mesh                                                                                                  
• Small mesh hardware cloth
• 1/2" x 1/2" and 1/4" x 1/4" meshes
• galvanized and vinyl coated

• Protect your shrubs and plantings
• Heavy duty protection with woven galvanized deer and wildlife fence - height up to 10'
• Black vinyl coated 1" hexagonal netting blends into background - up to 7' height
• Unobtrusive, 7-1/2' light weight black extruded plastic 2" x 1-3/4" mesh deer fencing

Bird Cages

• Galvanized and vinyl coated wire mesh
• 1/2" hexagonal mesh
• Galvanized After Weave (GAW)
• Excellent cage mesh for canaries and other small birds
• 48" x 25', 50' and 150' rolls

Dog Kennel Flooring

• 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" mesh
• Heavy 12.5 gauge GAW core wire
• Thick black or green PVC coating
• 36" and 48" x 25' rolls are available (green only)

• Excellent tool and fastener for building cages and other projects
• Connects and secures pieces of mesh

Of course, these items can be used year round as well.

Can you think of additional items?

Are there more uses for the products listed here?

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?

Quite a Few Advantages

In a 1925 booklet, the Portland Cement Association praises the superior qualities of concrete fence posts. Apparently at that time these posts were becoming very popular for several reasons. Concrete posts:

• become stronger with age
• are not damaged by fire
• weeds along the fence line can be burned without damaging posts
• are not affected by weather, insects or fungi
• will not rot
• reducing expense and time of replacement
• are uniform in size and shape
• easy to line up and set for an attractive appearance
• stay put

Concrete fence posts are fairly easy to make. Their final shape will be determined by the molds used. Wood or metal molds are acceptable. At the time the booklet was printed, metal molds for posts were available to purchase. Reinforcement rods are required for strength.

Concrete posts were used extensively by some of the railroads for their right of way fences. Use by farmers quickly followed. They were recommended as ideal permanent posts for vineyards to support grapevines. It was claimed that they would outlast the vineyard.

Providing Style with Substance

Corner and gate posts were often made on site due to the increased size and weight required to resist the tension and bear the weight. Angle braces to give the fence rigidity can also be made of concrete.

It is possible to make elaborate and decorative posts. The forms or molds can be made with interesting angles. Laying small stones against the form face in the mold gives the posts an interesting texture.

Are concrete posts a thing of the past, when "Spare time can be profitably used in making them?"

Would attractive concrete posts be of interest today?

Would you want concrete posts surrounding your garden or property?

Here's a formidable woman setting some posts: