[TheForge] building a fence

[Andrew Vida]

HOw about barbed wire?  You can get 1/4 mile of heavy gage wire for 
about $75 and posts for about $4 apiece.  You would need large corner 
posts sunk (preferably driven) at least 24" into the soil (or you can 
dig holes and sink them into concrete footings).  Corners also should be 
braced along the lines og the fence so that when you put tension on the 
wires, they don't tear out of the  ground.  Black locust is great for 
this, or 8x8 pressure treated, 8 ft lengths and 4x4 bracing nailed to 
the posts and likewise sunk into concrete footings.  Find someone with a 
tensioner and borrow it.  Get the wires real tight, then drive your 
steel posts inline at 10 foot intervals.  8 foot is also OK.  I would 
get the 6 foot posts.  Run 4 or 5 wires 12" apart.  That should keep the 
dogs contained for maybe $500, give or take $200.  It's also good for 
keeping human varmints off the property.

Lessee... 2 rolls of wire - $150
50 steel posts - 	~200
Lets say, 10 8x8 PT - ~200
Staples		- $30
Braces	- $100
Gates - forgot about those.... Not sure how much, I make my own.  Maybe 
another $200?  You're still under $1000.  Beats the hell out of $14K.

terry l. ridder wrote:
> hello;
> 
> sorry for the intrusion of blacksmithing content.
> 
> lord willing, in july i may have some money from the
> settlement of legal nightmare number 2, the head-on-collision.
> 
> i am looking into building a fence to keep my dog, harley,
> and harley's buddy, davidson, in the yard. i have received
> estimates for chain link and red cedar fence. the chainlink
> fence comes in at around $8500.00 usd and the red cedar fence
> comes in at around $14,500.00 usd. the fence is nothing fancy.
> i have seen some very nice ironwork fences out in the country
> around dekalb county illinois. some have brickwork posts, some
> have stone/masonary posts, and others have iron/steel posts.
> most have the posts spaced at 8 feet between posts. each fence
> panel is approximately 8 feet by 4 feet. there are several
> different styles that i have found in the rural areas of dekalb
> county illinois. there are those which i call concave. the
> individual pickets of the iron fence gradually decrease in length
> till the half way point in the panel. there are those which i call
> convex. the individual pickets of the iron fence gradually increase
> in length till the half way point in the panel. the individual
> pickets are square tubing, round tubing, solid square bars, solid
> round bars, textured square/round solid bars.
> 
> using solid bars for the individual pickets does make the fence
> panels heavy. the panels would last for a long time.
> 
> using tubing for the individual pickets does make the fence
> panels lighter. depending on how well the tubing is sealed at
> the ends would determine the lifespan of the fence panel.
> 
> textured solid bars would be a nice touch even if they were only
> used in the fence which faces the country road. perhaps even some
> scrollwork in the fence panels.
> 
> the east end of the fence would have an 10 feet wide double gate.
> the west end of the fence would have an 10 feet wide double gate.
> 
> the end post and corner post need to be stouter posts than
> the line posts.
> 
> i am currently attempting to model various styles of fence
> so i have a rough visual idea of what they would look like
> in the yard.
> 
> the finish of the fence is totally unknown at this time.
> 
> the dimensions on the fence are as follows.
> 
> the longest east-west straight run is 248 feet.
> the west end turns north for 50 feet than back
> east for 67 feet to one of the double gates.
> then east another 53 feet after the gate.
> the east end turns north for 63 feet than back
> west for 7 feet to one of the double gates. then
> west another 6 feet after the gate.
> 
> not counting the gates there is 494 feet of fence.
> 
> would others here have additional suggestions, comments, share
> the gotchas that they have experienced?
> 

-- 

	-Andy V.

no .sig
go .fig