brad_oatley
Silver Member
I've got old chickenwire fastened to cedar fenceposts with "U" nails. There's gotta be 20 U nails per post. Any ideas on how to remove the wire quickly?
Removing chicken wire from fenceposts
- Thread starter brad_oatley
- Start date
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I had to do something like this and I used a coffee can, hammer, cats paw and large pair of channel locks. With the cats paw and hammer, went around the fence and pulled all the staples out a half inch or so. Then I went around with the channel locks and grabbed the staple and used the top of the channel locks as a fulcrum and rolled the staples out. Once I pulled them out, I tossed them in the coffee can. Once I got in a rythem, it went surprisingly fast. The hardest part will be picking up all the staples if you knock the coffee can over /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
I had some where the staples were really tight, driving the wire into the post. The only way I found to get those loose was to use a screwdriver and hammer - put the screwdriver against the staple at an angle and drive it into the wood behind the staple with the hammer, then "lever" them loose. Continue on from there with the coffee can method. I bought a little galvanized bucket (about 6"-8" in diameter) from Tractor Supply for a couple of bucks so I'd have a handle to carry the staples. Didn't help - they're still a bear to pick up when you kick the bucket. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
wroughtn_harv
Super Member
Sidecutter or end nipper pliers work great for this chore.
I have a pair of Klein electrician's side cutters with an angled head that work exceptionally well for pulling nails and staples too.
Best advice I can give you is to forget "quickly" and concentrate on "done".
I have a pair of Klein electrician's side cutters with an angled head that work exceptionally well for pulling nails and staples too.
Best advice I can give you is to forget "quickly" and concentrate on "done".
gordon
Veteran Member
When I used to do metal work on travel trailers I used a pair of Snap on cotter pin pliers, a craftsman cotter pin extractor and a Snap on straight awl.
The pliers are pretty much the same as Harv described but carry a little more weight. They double as my hammer as well, to pound the awl in to a buried staple.
The Craftsman cotter pin extractor is a screwdriver handle style awl bent on a 90 degree angle with small offset in the tip. Works great for those really buried staples. This tool will come in VERY handy for alot of jobs not just staples, cotter pins or seals. It's one of those tools that you wonder how you ever lived without it.
With the above three tools and a nail apron to carry the junk staples in the job goes along at a pretty good clip.
Good luck
Gordon
The pliers are pretty much the same as Harv described but carry a little more weight. They double as my hammer as well, to pound the awl in to a buried staple.
The Craftsman cotter pin extractor is a screwdriver handle style awl bent on a 90 degree angle with small offset in the tip. Works great for those really buried staples. This tool will come in VERY handy for alot of jobs not just staples, cotter pins or seals. It's one of those tools that you wonder how you ever lived without it.
With the above three tools and a nail apron to carry the junk staples in the job goes along at a pretty good clip.
Good luck
Gordon
Slamfire
Veteran Member
Fence post pliers have an pointed end made for the purpose of pulling staples. You may have to take a hammer to get under some of them. An old fanny pack of large size makes a great place to put the staples after you've pulled them. Just open the zipper enough to put them into the hole so they don't fall out when you bend down. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
bgott
Veteran Member
I have a Matco hose radiator hose remover that would work great for staples. It's a screwdriver handled tool that makes a curved 90 degree turn with a point. It looks like a bent awl. I broke the end off doing something else it wasn't designed to do and resharpened it. I also have a $135 roofer's magnet on wheels for the cleanup. The help will collect nails and trailer screws until I am out of sight and then let 'em fly so I needed something to get the junk up. Clean up will work best if you mow any grass or weeds before you start.
Bird
Rest in Peace
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I broke the end off doing something else it wasn't designed to do and resharpened it. )</font>
I'll bet if you hadn't done any grinding or sharpening on it, the distributor would have just given you a new one for it when you broke it.
I'll bet if you hadn't done any grinding or sharpening on it, the distributor would have just given you a new one for it when you broke it.
bgott
Veteran Member
I can't really remember why I did it, I keep thinking I was doing something late at night that had nothing to do with radiator hoses and needed it. We also had gaps in Matco coverage over the years so I might have just put it back in use rather than have it sit. I have a Snap- On remover that I use for it's intended purpose. My Snap- On man will warranty anything. I knew one guy who would break off his screwdriver tips in a vise on a regular basis just because he liked new tips. Snappy Jack always changed them out, no questions asked.
GSS
Gold Member
If you have a large or very strong magnet, stick it to the outside of the can so all staples stay in the can if/when it gets knocked over.
I also used the crowbar/hammer method. They were deep into the wooden posts and I had to pry and dig nearly everyone out. Sometimes, if you can't get a bite on the staples, you can put the crowbar behind the fence wire and use it to pry out the staples.
- Gerald
I also used the crowbar/hammer method. They were deep into the wooden posts and I had to pry and dig nearly everyone out. Sometimes, if you can't get a bite on the staples, you can put the crowbar behind the fence wire and use it to pry out the staples.
- Gerald
DetroitMike
Member
As far as holding the removed staples, I used one of these 20 or 32 oz. plastic pop bottles with the big mouth. It keeps most of the staples in if ya knock it over. I also bent up a coat hanger into a hook, duct taped it to the bottle and then hook it to my belt. Saves having to bend over and prevents a kick over.
Mike
Mike
SLOBuds
Gold Member
I'd just like to say that I have new respect for chicken wire and chain-link hurricane fences.
When Susie and I bought our farm last January, there were 3 projects of old abandoned structures that seemed to be glued together with chicken wire. There was 1 other project that was 'welded' together with hurricane fence. All 4 coups and kennels needed to go. 20 years is past the life expectancy of coups and kennels - at least ones depending on wires for structural integrity.
The chicken wire on these 'buildings' was crossed, intertwined, tangled, twisted, nailed, tied, wired-together, and planted into the ground.
We tried to get the structures down fast by pushing down wood frames and wrapping the result into big globs of wire and wood. It wasn't lent to a fast process. The wire doesn't want to come off easily. It can't be pulled off by simply yanking here and there. And it cuts the living bejeebers out of arms or whatever other fleshy parts get in the way.
The ending mess does not compact well. We didn't need to recycle any of the material because it was very old, rusted, and the wood was rotting. But getting it into the trash bin was difficult and the wood/wire blob used a lot of wasted space due to the overall strength of the wire. Chicken wire also makes it so that wood sections don't fold over into neat units which are easy to toss into a bin.
For the last structure we hired a helper to do the removal. He simply cut to the chase and snipped off wire from wood. Great idea! The wood stacks neatly and the wire is a little more able to be compacted. Lesson learned: either a) hire someone who knows what s/he is doing, or b) cut the wire off first and deal with the resulting wood.
Hurricane fence is another story. The previous owner buried the chain links about 12" into the ground - hoping to save bunnies from Foxes. Over time the yard trees grew roots through those chain links.
NOTHING but NOTHING is able to pull out chain link fencing that is rooted into the ground.
Susan and I ended up cutting a few roots (the less-difficult method) and cutting many links, link by link, to get that fence out of the ground. Several feet of hurrican fence is still planted in that sacred ground waiting for a rototiller to have its tiller mangled some time in the future.
After we got the chain link fence out of the ground, now that we were totally exhausted and wanted to sell every square inch of our new farm, we were faced with what to do with a 700 pound roll of old rusted wire fencing.
A tractor! ... if we had one! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Since we didn't have one, it came down to leverage or hiring someone 30 years younger and 30 years wiser. We went with the leverage idea because no 20-year-old-buff-farmhand was walking on our lonely country road at the moment, looking for fence demolition work. And if they would have been there at that precise moment, the part about 'wiser' would kick in pretty quick.
At the end of the day my advice is that Neosporin is good treatment for cut arms. Aspirin helps with backaches. Liberal application of alcohol is useful to rid those sore memories.
Good luck with your project.
Martin
When Susie and I bought our farm last January, there were 3 projects of old abandoned structures that seemed to be glued together with chicken wire. There was 1 other project that was 'welded' together with hurricane fence. All 4 coups and kennels needed to go. 20 years is past the life expectancy of coups and kennels - at least ones depending on wires for structural integrity.
The chicken wire on these 'buildings' was crossed, intertwined, tangled, twisted, nailed, tied, wired-together, and planted into the ground.
We tried to get the structures down fast by pushing down wood frames and wrapping the result into big globs of wire and wood. It wasn't lent to a fast process. The wire doesn't want to come off easily. It can't be pulled off by simply yanking here and there. And it cuts the living bejeebers out of arms or whatever other fleshy parts get in the way.
The ending mess does not compact well. We didn't need to recycle any of the material because it was very old, rusted, and the wood was rotting. But getting it into the trash bin was difficult and the wood/wire blob used a lot of wasted space due to the overall strength of the wire. Chicken wire also makes it so that wood sections don't fold over into neat units which are easy to toss into a bin.
For the last structure we hired a helper to do the removal. He simply cut to the chase and snipped off wire from wood. Great idea! The wood stacks neatly and the wire is a little more able to be compacted. Lesson learned: either a) hire someone who knows what s/he is doing, or b) cut the wire off first and deal with the resulting wood.
Hurricane fence is another story. The previous owner buried the chain links about 12" into the ground - hoping to save bunnies from Foxes. Over time the yard trees grew roots through those chain links.
NOTHING but NOTHING is able to pull out chain link fencing that is rooted into the ground.
Susan and I ended up cutting a few roots (the less-difficult method) and cutting many links, link by link, to get that fence out of the ground. Several feet of hurrican fence is still planted in that sacred ground waiting for a rototiller to have its tiller mangled some time in the future.
After we got the chain link fence out of the ground, now that we were totally exhausted and wanted to sell every square inch of our new farm, we were faced with what to do with a 700 pound roll of old rusted wire fencing.
A tractor! ... if we had one! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Since we didn't have one, it came down to leverage or hiring someone 30 years younger and 30 years wiser. We went with the leverage idea because no 20-year-old-buff-farmhand was walking on our lonely country road at the moment, looking for fence demolition work. And if they would have been there at that precise moment, the part about 'wiser' would kick in pretty quick.
At the end of the day my advice is that Neosporin is good treatment for cut arms. Aspirin helps with backaches. Liberal application of alcohol is useful to rid those sore memories.
Good luck with your project.
Martin
GSS
Gold Member
Great story! I had a similar situation but on a much smaller scale. Thank god no hurricane fence though!
Question: Why didn't you just push those blobs of wood and wire into a pile and throw some diesel on it followed by a match? At least in the end, you'd have a mass of metal to deal with and maybe some nails on the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
- Gerald
Question: Why didn't you just push those blobs of wood and wire into a pile and throw some diesel on it followed by a match? At least in the end, you'd have a mass of metal to deal with and maybe some nails on the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
- Gerald
SLOBuds
Gold Member
California Central Coast is dry. Being a new farm owner, I'd hate to destroy some of the relationships with my neighbors over one little match!
Actually I'm not sure what the burn regulations are out there. And I didn't want to take any chances.
Actually I'm not sure what the burn regulations are out there. And I didn't want to take any chances.
fractal
Gold Member
The best tool I have found for getting those poultry staples out of posts is a large set of dikes. Grab onto as much of the staple as you can and twist. That should pull it out far enough that you can grab onto them with a pair of lineman pliars. Couple of seconds per staple with dikes followed by a little longer with the pliars and you have the staple in the bucket. I usually do all the staples in one area with the dikes before switching to the pliars. You can pull them all the way out with the dikes but sometimes the pressure required breaks the staple and you are stuck with multiple parts. I found it easier just to pull them far enough with the dikes to get the pliars onto them.
