Fence Questions

[ampsucker]

couple of points i didn't see covered...

if you have good support on your mid runs, all tension is transferred to corner posts unless you have a lot of grade changes. i wouldn't waste much money on h or n supports in mid-run unless you really find you need it.

if you're having a welder come out to weld up your pipe, make sure he fabs a cover for the top. maybe you know this already, but keeping rain out of the inside makes them rust from the outside in only and not from both sides plus standing water inside a post is a breeding ground for skeeters. on wood posts, i've seen everything from tin bent over the top to old hubcaps used to keep water from rotting them. metal pipes are the same. they need to be sealed.

electric fences don't do much for goats. also, depending on the moisture in your ground, you'll need multiple ground rod locations most likely on 80 acres.

a lot of states (most) still have fence laws in place. technically, any neighbor who benefits most likely is responsible for their share of half the cost of the part that borders their property. of course, this doesn't come into play if you own all the land bounding your fence on both sides, they don't have livestock, or you don't want to deal with them....

80 acres isn't all that much to fence. get to it and have fun

 

[capi75rs]

One thing that I'd recommend is to also go with the thicker wire. Red Brand is made in central Illinois by Keystone steel and wire which is just down the road from me. They offer your fience in different gauges and I'd go with the thicker gauge wire. You'll be greatful you did if you want it to last longer. Also for your end posts and corner braces I'd put them at least 6' in the ground. When I built mine I went to the local electric company and purchased some of the telephone posts that had been broken. Stay away from the old rotten ones and see if they have some that were broke for some reason. Mine were $5.00 each and came in various lengths most were @ 12'. Just another option.

 

[briancreed]

CTW:

Thanks for the link. I've been on their website, but I hadn't come across the videos. I appreciate the info.

Around here, there are a lot of farmers who use the field fence, especially with calves. The highway department also uses a lot of it. It seems to hold up pretty well. I think having the hot wire on it will also help its longevity since the cows wont use it as a scratching post.

AMPSUCKER:

I am just going to put up the single post with double deadman braces every 330', since that's the length of the roll. I'd rather stretch them off of a post than splice them.

The steel supplier sells caps for the pipe I'll be using. I'll purchase them and have them welded on. I definitely won't be leaving them open.

I'm not real knowledgeable on the electric fences, as I have only used them on 10 acre pastures before, nothing this big. I will definitely be doing some reseearch before I purchase the charger and install it.

I will be putting the fence up without any financial help from the neighbors. I want to do it my way, and if I ask for half the money I only have half the input into how its done.

CAPI75RS

I will be going with the 9 guage top and bottom strands.

All corner and brace posts will be sunk 6' deep in 12" wide holes, filled with concrete.

 

[SuperDuty335]

When building with wood posts, we set two posts in the ground with a cross post nailed or bolted between the two at the top. Then we take high tensile wire and form an "X" between the posts. We then add a tightener to each diagonal and tighten very tight. This forms a brace that will never move or give. The same design can be used for end braces, gate braces, etc.

 

[capi75rs]

CAPI75RS

I will be going with the 9 guage top and bottom strands.

All corner and brace posts will be sunk 6' deep in 12" wide holes, filled with concrete.[/QUOTE]


Great!! that is what I went with as well. Just an FYI you'll probley need to restreach it in a few years. But with the heavy wire it will last a lot longer than the smaller gauge. Best of luck to you.

 

[briancreed]

Thank you very much! I'm excited to get underway, but I dont think I'll start until the weather clears. I don't mind restretching the wire every few years, but I definitely don't want to have to replace h-braces (ever!), or have to replace inadequate wire or t-posts.

Thanks for all the advice! If anybody else has any pointers, lemme know.

 

[Kfbeal]

When building with wood posts, we set two posts in the ground with a cross post nailed or bolted between the two at the top. Then we take high tensile wire and form an "X" between the posts. We then add a tightener to each diagonal and tighten very tight. This forms a brace that will never move or give. The same design can be used for end braces, gate braces, etc.

We do the same thing around here. I built fence around 5 acres with 8 corners for some animals for our kids. I set old utility poles (the good parts) 4-5' deep and back-filled with river sand. I used 4x6 braces and used bare barbed-wire if that makes any sense as my cross brace wires. Tighten that up with a 24" pipe or whatever and you're good to go.

I work for a utility company and we've changed out poles from the early 1940's that were still fairly solid.

The river sand works very well and instantly packs. Others around here use the pea gravel for back fill but it tends to get expensive if you have a lot of fence.

 

[SuperDuty335]

We have found through years of farming and fencing that high tensile (electric) is the best option for us. There aren't a lot of people who know how to install high tensile the proper way. It installs incredibly fast and easy. I favor old telephone/power poles for posts as well.

 

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

In my opinion...

Is this a boundary fence or an interior fence? I think the standards vary depending... Good fences make good neighbors and so boundary fences should be well and solidly constructed. Interior fences - well - that is a different story. I like the idea of hog (or sheep) wire in combination with a couple strands of barb as a boundary fence if you run multiple kinds of livestock - especially with an offset strand of hot (electric - new zealand style) wire on the inside. Interior fences I like portable electric.

I disagree with the idea you can't use barb wire on a boundary fence if horses are involved. How many years have we had barbwire fences? How many years have we had horses within barbwire fences? Can and do horses learn to respect barbwire? Yes they can and do. Are horses more susceptible to damage from barbwire? Yes - their skin attachment is different than for example cattle. In my opinion is a horse so nervous and flighty that it would challenge a barbwire fence even worth having on your property? NO absolutely not. If you want that kind of horse build wood fences - I'll send it to the auction or glue factory.

You can use all high tensile smooth wire if you like but be aware of what can happen. I know a wealthy rancher who put up all high tensile smooth wire - electrified - for cattle. The electricity failed cows pushed through the fence car hit one and after he got over the loss of an expensive registered cow and paid for the car he understood what kind of fence to build. Some people learn the hard way.

Unless you have very sandy soils one good post in a corner is enough - if you know how to install it - meaning brace the top against the bottom both directions of the fence run.

As for post pounding I've seen everything from Ph.D.s to hand jobs to one guy who's system I really liked - he worked for a construction company - brought home a big cat 966 with a loader bucket and simply pushed posts down into the ground with the bucket - no fuss no bother - awesome.

You can never build a fence that is maintenance free - forget the concept.

We have over 100 years experience building fences - it ain't rocket science.

-Ed-

 

[briancreed]

I've run horses in barbed wire for years...without major incident.

I am running the field fence to keep in goats, cows, horses, and dogs. It will hold in multiple types of livestock, and I think the additional cost of the field fence over 6 strands of barbed wire will definitely be worth it.

I have used wood posts all my life, never put in a pipe post. I have used everything from 4"x8' posts to 12"x12' telephone poles. Set from single posts to double h-braces.

I am not a rookie to building fences.

I am going with the pipe for the additional strength, asthetics, and longevity.

Does anyone have a good website or tutorial that shows how to properly build a deadman brace for my inline braces? I know the pressure from the deadman goes into the ground, but I don't know if the angled post terminates slightly below the ground on/in a concrete footing, or if there is another pipe welded to it that goes down in the ground like the rest of the posts.

Anybody know what I should pay a welder to weld up these h-braces?

 

[briancreed]

Also, in the field fence installation video on the Red Brand website, they are using a tool to terminate the fabric that I have never seen before. They use it to twist the ends of the wire around, not sure what it is or where to find it. Any ideas?

 

[capi75rs]

Also, in the field fence installation video on the Red Brand website, they are using a tool to terminate the fabric that I have never seen before. They use it to twist the ends of the wire around, not sure what it is or where to find it. Any ideas?

I checked the site and couldn't find it either, I used a pair of fencing pliers and regular pliers to twist the ends, the main goal is a tight wrap. Here is a link to the main company. If all else fails you could call them and see where they got the tool.
Keystone Steel & Wire Co.

 

[weldingisfun]

Saw a quick, easy and inexpensive way to cap a pipe post. You stuff newspaper into the top 4 or 5 inches then put mortar mix on top of that and form a nice round top to allow water to run off. Messy but cheap.

 

[Kfbeal]

Also, in the field fence installation video on the Red Brand website, they are using a tool to terminate the fabric that I have never seen before. They use it to twist the ends of the wire around, not sure what it is or where to find it. Any ideas?

We used a similar tool to splice barbed wire together. We split the 2-3 strands of barbed wire and used the tool to wrap the strands around each other. I think our local Farmer's Coop sells a tool similar to that.

It wasn't exactly like that tool but similar. Tractor Supply may carry something like that also.

 

[exiled]

Brian, we have 2 "deadmen" around here. Say you had a narrow ditch running under your fence, but its fairly deep 3' or so. You can tie a tee post to it after the fence has been pulled tight. Then drive a short tee post at an angle in the the ditch then pull the fence tee post down and tie it off the the tee post drove in the ground.
The second one would be in a catch pin or very short run of fence maybe 100'. Maybe if you where runnng by a short drive way or round or some obstruction. It is a corner post built out of a power pole or railroad tie. Something fairly large. You put it 5' or so in the ground. At its base right below the surface of the ground you bury a 4' post running horizontal on the pulled side. The post laying in the ground is the "deadman". This can also be used for posts which headgates are bolted too. They dont seem to be to effective on long runs where the weight of the wire is great. The work real good to use a single post to change direction.
I have'nt found anything stronger than the old relible H brace. I would'nt think about using anything else.
For your question on how much to pay a welder to do your work. I guess you pay him/her what they ask for. You have to decide what you can pay. If I was taking this approach I would just go to a couble welding/fab shops and get some prices on me dropping off the materials and drawings and be did with it. Unless you have that welds that you trust. Do all the fabbing your self have it ready for him and let him weld. Although I would suggest suppling the beer after the work is threw.

 

[exiled]

I had a friend over today to weld some stack pockets on one of my trailers. He has a welding busness. He has a shop plus makes farm calls. I asked him about pricing on welding fabbed up corners and H braces. He said he charges $25 for corners and $15 for H braces. He ask the customers to have all pipe cut to length and angles. He'll take care of the grinding his self. He would prefer to do the work in his shop as opposed to on the farm.

 

[KennethBrown]

You mentioned that you were going to 330 spacing because thats what length the rolls are. I have found this figure to be off. In addition you will need wire to wrap with. I would back it up to 320 or so to be on the safe side. I am curious as to how you attatch/wrap to steel as you need to keep tension but also need the end free to wrap.

 

[KennethBrown]

I forgot to add- You will be very pleased with the Redbrand. Tractor Supply has quit carrying it in the 39 and 47 inch sizes and use a cheaper Keystone brand. Its odd since Keystone owns Redbrand that the Keystone is so chitty while Redbrand is so good. I buy mine from a hardware store now since TSC thinks they are doing us a favor buy selling junk for $10 less a roll.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I am surprised at how few people use old telephone poles. I don't see the need for all the bracing myself, I guess it might just be my conditions though.

 

[two_bit_score]

Have you looked at Stay-Tuff fencing? High tensile wire needs fewer posts. great stuff that stay-tuff.