Fencing

[workinonit]

I am about to put up some 8' fixed knot field fence. I've done a lot of things and even a bit of fencing back when I was young and had horses but it's been a while. I have all of my gates, corners and H sections up and ready for the fencing. I will have to come back and install some 10' T posts in between after the fence is up. My question for those of you that do this frequently is: How do you determine the correct tension for the fencing when you are stretching it. I'm not overly worried about it, I think I can figure it out when I get started but any advice from you guys would be welcome.

 

[Carl_NH]

If it's flat land and straight lines, it's not difficult to stretch each section up to 330' at a time. If you have hills and valleys, and corners or radiuses that becomes more challenging to get the right tension without pulling up the posts - you may need more pull points and H braces in this case. Temperature also effects the stretch and tension - warmer is better to stretch the fence.

If it's standing up and not slumping though with 8' high fence getting it raised up is going to be challenging. I put spikes in the wood posts at the height needed then stretched and lifted onto the spikes.

Defintely get a fencing nailer - I bought a Freeman nailer - it can put in 2 1/2" staples - was a life saver!

 

[two_bit_score]

Defintely get a fencing nailer - I bought a Freeman nailer - it can put in 2 1/2" staples - was a life saver!

Milwaukee has a battery operated fencing nailer.

 

[workinonit]

It's dead flat land. Only 4 rolls of wire. I think the longest single pulls are 2 of about 270 feet. The wire will be here Monday. I have a way to unroll it upright I'm thinking about using some Tposts to sandwich the wire between it and the wood posts and hold it upright. I sure as heck hope I don't have to stretch this wire tight enough that there's a danger of pulling a post down while doing it. My end posts are 6"x6" in a 12" hole with a full 4' in the ground and at least 300# of concrete around each one of them. All the posts are braced. I'm not buying a $750 nail gun for 4 rolls of fence and to use this one time.

 

[workinonit]

The pneumatic wouldn't be too bad but I don't know if my little gen will run my little compressor.

 

[Carl_NH]

I've got the Freeman fence Nailer doing nothing in my barn and could ship it to you. I'll send you a PM if interested.

It doesn't take a lot of air - a small tank (3 Gal) of air gets about 6 posts nailed on 4' fence posts every 15' or about 100' of fence. I had it in the bucket of tractor then I would go back and plug in when I wasn't close enough.

 

[MTGreen]

My fence has these little guys for fine tension adjustment after the fence has been strung

 

[ponytug]

The pneumatic wouldn't be too bad but I don't know if my little gen will run my little compressor.

Well, how small is small?

It would be pretty easy to test; fire up the generator, let it warm up, and then see if it starts the compressor.

My little 4kW had no trouble running a small craftsman compressor for a couple thousand feet of three board fence.

All the best,

Peter

 

[workinonit]

Small is 2 kW. I bought it to run power tools for working remotely on the farm. I have a 25 kW PTO gen that I could use if I need to. The 2 kW should run it. It will run off of a 20 amp circuit just fine. I'm not at home to test run the compressor right now but that's obviously how that will go down. Thanks for the tip.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never done 8 foot fencing, but I would guess it's similar to 4 foot, just heavier. I use a metal stretcher bar from Kencove that cost me a little over a hundred bucks a few years ago. Before that, I was bolting two 2x6's together, but that didn't work as good as the metal stretcher bar. For just 4 rolls, you're probably fine with 2x6's.

To pull my fence, I park my backhoe where it lines up with the fence, then run chains from the backhoe to a Come Along at the bottom and another at the top of the fence. Then I just tighten it as tight as I can get it. From what I've read, you never want to straighten out the tension bends in the wire. I'm not strong enough to get it that tight, but I guess I could if I used the hydraulics on the backhoe. But there isn't any reason to get it tighter then I can with the Come Alongs. It's pretty tight!!!!!



For me, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to unroll the wire. It's only 200 feet, but it's still super heavy and awkward. I didn't want to spend the money on something from the store, so I used what I had. I put my hay spear at the tips of my pallet forks, then slid a pipe over the hay spear and cut a round disk from plywood for the wire to sit on. My first disk was too small, but now I have it big enough to keep the wire on there while I'm backing up.

 

[super55]

Whenever I have to install woven wire fence I always reinforce the starting post with something heavy. Typically a vehicle or tractor with a chain or tow strap. Unroll the length or til the next corner and then stretch it. Even a well anchored corner post can uproot and a little insurance is better then having to reset it.

I don't have a fence stretcher so I just sandwich the wire between (2) 2x4s and pull on in using the winch from my ATV or the hydro tractor since it's easier to finesse'.

 

[Jrasband]

You are not going to be able to overtighten a 8' woven fence, pull it as tight as you can. Also for pulling if you use boards for a stretcher cut vertical wire at the end so you can wrap the horizontal wires around the puller and twist around itself. With a fence that tall I would do what super55 is recommending above.

Also it seems like you should have at least double 8' h braces at each corner/end for this tall and heavy of a fence.

 

[two_bit_score]

Good videos on the StayTuff Website.

Blog Home - Stay Tuff Fence

staytuff.com

 

[Jrasband]

Here is another one, https://kencove.com/c/free-fence-guide-catalog

 

[Carl_NH]

So Workinonit how did your fence project go, or post some pics of how it's coming along.

 

[workinonit]

So Workinonit how did your fence project go, or post some pics of how it's coming along.

It went pretty well. That fence is heavy and cumbersome and is a real pain to put up but I think my project went as well as it could have. The one thing I would do differently if I did it over is just buy all 6x6 posts. I used some 4x4 to save money and though they are working fine they just aren't stout enough for 8' fence. I rigged up a swivel contraption that I suspended from my forks to unroll the wire upright. That worked really well. I used 2x4s drilled every foot and bolted together with the wire sandwiched in between as a puller. That worked really well. Come alongs anchored to the tractor grill guard was my puller. I got it all up and went back and put t-posts about every 25 feet. I'll post up some picks when I get a chance. I've been busy in my deer free garden lately.

 

[geteh]

I've never done 8 foot fencing, but I would guess it's similar to 4 foot, just heavier. I use a metal stretcher bar from Kencove that cost me a little over a hundred bucks a few years ago. Before that, I was bolting two 2x6's together, but that didn't work as good as the metal stretcher bar. For just 4 rolls, you're probably fine with 2x6's.

To pull my fence, I park my backhoe where it lines up with the fence, then run chains from the backhoe to a Come Along at the bottom and another at the top of the fence. Then I just tighten it as tight as I can get it. From what I've read, you never want to straighten out the tension bends in the wire. I'm not strong enough to get it that tight, but I guess I could if I used the hydraulics on the backhoe. But there isn't any reason to get it tighter then I can with the Come Alongs. It's pretty tight!!!!!

View attachment 852771 View attachment 852772

For me, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to unroll the wire. It's only 200 feet, but it's still super heavy and awkward. I didn't want to spend the money on something from the store, so I used what I had Huade Fence. I put my hay spear at the tips of my pallet forks, then slid a pipe over the hay spear and cut a round disk from plywood for the wire to sit on. My first disk was too small, but now I have it big enough to keep the wire on there while I'm backing up.

View attachment 852774 View attachment 852773

1. Use a come-along or fence stretcher tool to gradually pull the fence tight between corners and H sections.
2. Avoid over-tightening to prevent strain on the fence and posts.
3. Visually inspect and feel the fence wires to ensure they are uniformly taut without sagging.
4. Consider using a tension gauge to achieve consistent tension across the fence length.
5. Test the fence by gently pushing against it to ensure it feels firm and resilient.

Working methodically and adjusting as needed will help you install a properly tensioned fence that will be effective and durable.

 

[workinonit]

One thing I did find out is that until you actually put up an 8' fence you don't realize the hurdles. The first day was pretty slow and painful. I was working alone so that com[pounded things. I think the third day a couple of my buddies came to help and we got most of it put up that day.

 

[ponytug]

One thing I did find out is that until you actually put up an 8' fence you don't realize the hurdles. The first day was pretty slow and painful. I was working alone so that com[pounded things. I think the third day a couple of my buddies came to help and we got most of it put up that day.

Yes, singlehanded fencing is a lot harder than having help. Congratulations on getting it done.

All the best,

Peter