Farm Fence/Woven Wire Fence Install

[summit151]

Hello. So I have installed some woven fence in the past. But I have only used wooden posts in the past. I installed large metal posts as my end/brace posts. My question now is once you attach the fence to the starting post and hook up the fence stretcher and tighten it up how would a guy attach it to the last metal post? It would obviously have tension on it and you would have to make loop it around the post and weave it back to the fence post. Any ideas or experience?

 

[M5farms]

use 2 golden rods once tight on top and bottom strands , hook the puller on the post and wire then cut that wire and wrap it , do the bottom the same way . then just keep working toward the middle

 

[quicksandfarmer]

The way I do it is to wrap each horizontal wire around the post and then around itself 3-4 times. Depending on the wire type, often at the start of the roll there is a foot or so of extra on the horizontal wires, which makes it easy. If there isn't it's usually enough to cut along the edge of a vertical stay which gives you enough wire to work with. At the starting end it's important to be careful to keep it even, which means fastening at the top, then the bottom, then the middle, and working your way along keeping it even. I typically use 48" fence with 4" spacing so it has 13 horizontal wires, it's a pretty good job to do 13 ties. Once the wire is tied you want to keep it from sliding up and down on the pole, the only way I've found to do that is to drill a hole and run a short piece of wire through.

The other end is trickier. What I do is put the pulling point at least six feet past the post. Then one at a time I cut the horizontal wires and wrap them around the post onto themselves. In order to get them to go around the post I cut the vertical stays starting at where the wire first touches the post up to where the horizontal wire is cut. I cut the horizontal wire longer than I think I'll need and then cut it when I'm done. I used to untie the knots where the vertical stays join the horizontal wire for a neater look, but it's less work just to cut the stay and leave the knot, and I believe the knot creates friction which helps the wire stay on the post. The key at this point is maintaining tension, so I do one wire at a time and try to tie it as tight as it was before it was cut. I do one in the middle, then one near the top, then one near the bottom, then keep alternating and to the top and bottom last.

To get tight ties you need a wire twisting tool. I sometimes use this one: Amazon.com : Zareba HTTT Wire Twisting Tool : Outdoor Decorative Fences : Patio, Lawn & Garden but my favorite is the Fence Pro: Wrap t-post clips tightly without pliers - No hand strain or pain

If you aren't satisfied with the tightness of the fence after tying it there is a tool that looks like a pair of plyers for deepening the crimps which will tighten it up.

Wear eye protection when doing this. It's hard on the hands too, I often find myself icing my hands after a day of tying fence.

 

[summit151]

Ok thanks for the info. When you cut it are you wrapping that 6 feet of extra wire around the post or weaving it into the wire fence

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Ok thanks for the info. When you cut it are you wrapping that 6 feet of extra wire around the post or weaving it into the wire fence

I'm cutting the horizontal wire about a foot beyond the post. The exact distance depends on the post diameter, basically it's enough to go around the post and get tied off, plus a couple of inches so I have something to work on. When I'm done there is five feet of wire still attached to the pull bar on the post side.

 

[PaulWS]

Summit151 I use gripple T clips for both ends of the fence run, they are pricey but can be tightened later on to maintain your fence.
T-Clip | Gripple

Here is the web site for gripple products. They have excellent videos on fencing,these t clips require a tool to tighten.