The Fence Post

Some Very Handy Tips

Wait for it! Some excellent hands-on help with managing hardware cloth.

Hardware Cloth is great for a variety of 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

These wire cloth meshes are not just available with galvanized-after finishes--hardware cloth is also available with vinyl-coated and stainless steel finishes. 

Pasturing Goats - A Basic Design

Here's a practical demonstration in creating a very sound enclosure for keeping goats: 

Learn more about Goats and Fencing.

The Right Tools 

The wonderful folks from Bekaert step in to help renew an extensive field fence with high tensile woven wire and barbed wire. A classic demonstration using a gripple, a stretcher bar, and a new-fangled staple gun.

Stopping Deer

Avoiding damage to your property from deer is best accomplished with a sturdy, well-maintained fence. There are some unique solutions to repelling deer using fencing and we begin with the fact that black is very difficult for deer to see. A deer will not risk jumping over a fence that uses black Bezinal-coated zinc-aluminum finish on the wire; it makes it very hard for them to discern the boundaries of the fence. In a single bound, deer can clear about 8 feet. The height and diameter of the black-coated wire of a 7-foot fence will cause enough confusion to send them rummaging for food elsewhere. A deer's capacity for flight is prodigious, and gauging risk to its limbs is an innate skill. An injury to a leg means becoming fodder to predators. For your part, the preparation and maintenance of a deer fence must include various factors:

• Make sure that the fence is tight to the ground to prevent the deer from crawling under the fence
• Vines that will inevitably grow on it should be cleared--the vines will eventually add definition to the fence which will aid the deer in clearing it 
• Keeping the fence in good repair is key as deer are quick to find where the fence has been damaged
• Gates mean access and must be kept closed especially before dusk

Twilight and Superior Night Vision

• Comparing the eyes and pupils of deer to humans, a deer's are larger on both counts
• The light-gathering capacity works out to be about nine times that of human vision
• The receptors of light in the back of a deer's eye (rods and cones) are accompanied by a reflective layer which to us appear to shine at night
• These receptors, the rods, cones, and the light which interact to create a deer's ability to have superior night vision means that it is at final count 18 times better than human eyesight at night (for our part, the capacity for detail during the day is superior to a deer's)  

Hence, a deer's most effective vision comes in low light. So, as our vision towards evening starts to dim, a deer's vision is just getting going. The shape of a deer's eye is more oval, maximizing objects on the horizon where danger may lurk, rather than from above (here's a reason why hunters that are elevated above the deer's primary source of reference have an advantage.) For a deer, the light from above can distract and this is why the black 7-foot fence is enough for them to avoid the risk of not clearing it--what's above them is simply not a usual source of threat from predators. 

The Mesh You Need

You'll find that black vinyl-coated hexagonal deer fence lasts a long, long time. The 20-gauge galvanized wire is woven into a 1" hex mesh, galvanized, and then coated with a tough, flexible, thick coating of black PVC tightly bonded to the wire. The resulting vinyl-coated deer fence is very corrosion resistant. It is also extremely resistant to cracking, chipping, and weathering and the inhibitors in the vinyl protect it from UV degradation. Another benefit of the black coating is how it makes the mesh blend in with the landscape. Call Louis Page (866) 328-5018 if you have more questions. 

Although the initial outlay may seem expensive, the most cost-effective plan to guard your outdoor investments is a deer fence and when considered over time, it becomes very cost-effective. 

Rust: The Enemy of Your Welded Wire Fence

• air
• moisture
• abrasion

These three can make short work of breaking down iron and its common alloy--steel. 

However, a coating of zinc reacts differently to these factors. As it corrodes, it forms a barrier (or patina), running interference between it and the steel or iron that it is sheltering.

Classes of Zinc Coating 

Class 1--lightest coating of zinc; widely available and lasts 2 to 11 years in non-coastal climates. (.28% zinc per sq. foot)

• Protection drastically reduced in humid climates. (For the record, there is no Class 2.)

Class 3--heaviest coating of zinc; lasts 13 to 30 years, often must be special ordered (.80% zinc per sq. foot)

• However, in humid conditions, the coating may last at least 15 years with wider wire gauges lasting longer

Zinc galvanization creates a first-rate coating for mesh and fencing that lasts

After wires are either welded or woven into a mesh, the entire finished product is drawn through a bath of molten zinc (830°F.) This galvanization-after-weave or weld method (GAW) creates a mesh that emerges with a thick coating tightly bonded to the wire. Each strand of wire is protected and more importantly, each vulnerable welded or woven area is thoroughly sealed. In some circles, this is known as "galvanic healing!" Officially, this is termed, cathode-anode protection.

More zinc = more protection...

...delaying the time  until rust sets in. So the more zinc per square foot, the longer it is until it rusts.

What's at work here?  Friability.

If something is friable, it is subject to the rubbing process that works on the surface of unprotected iron or steel, which offers no natural corrosion-resistant patina. Friability describes the flaking and breaking apart of a solid substance.

And the benefits of a Class 3 zinc coating?

• Lowest cost over the long run
• Damage resistance--the zinc patina guards the metal underneath
• Cheaper than stainless steel
• Consistent results
• Longest life

And what does the ASTM standard actually mean?

Seeing this on a product, such as for zinc coatings, shows that a company is adhering to a certain set of criteria for the quality of a product. These are internationally accepted guidelines, based on research, for the specifications of materials, products, and services as approved by a  governing board. (ASTM International was once known as the American Society for Testing and Materials.) Buyer beware: a company's adherence to these standards is voluntary. 

A Class 1 coating for your mesh or fence is anything but top rate. Now think again about that coating. It can mean: this looks fine or it'll do. In the long run (or even the short run), it will not stand up.  

Various elements that cause deterioration:

           airborne sand and dust           chemicals             salt               air             pollution       

A few zinc facts:

Zinc is the 27th most abundant element in the earth's crust. 70% is mined, 30% recycled. More than 50% of this is used to coat steel and keep it from disintegrating.

Zinc is found in rocks, soil, air, water, the biosphere as well as in humans, plants, and animals. (If you're an oyster lover, you're in luck: zinc is plentiful in oysters and it is essential for optimum health.)

Biology: organisms must have zinc to exist. For example, in the human body, zinc is important for cell division and is responsible for the function of red and white blood cells.

Finally, a short video:

Here's an example of zinc galvanizing in action: