On 24/01/2018 14:16, wrote:
On 23/01/2018 20:18, newshound wrote:
On 23/01/2018 19:34, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:34:26 +0000, wrote:

I need to fence a 70m boundary, mainly to stop a dog from straying but
also as a security deterrent. The land is reasonably flat for about 80%
of the distance and then slopes down at about 20 degrees. The fence
will
run through trees so won't be visible. I haven't erected a fence before
so I'd appreciate some guidance.
My plan is to use 6ft galvanized stakes, with 2ft in postcrete and 4ft
above ground, and with suitable braces at the ends and changes of
direction or slope. The fencing will be 4ft (1220) galvanized welded
mesh, supported by 3 or 4 lengths of HT wire woven through the mesh and
tensioned between the stakes.

Is this sensible? Is there a better (i.e. easier, cheaper, or more
effective) way of doing it?

I'm no expert on fencing, but all that sounds a bit OTT to me just for
a dog. Why not use standard pig netting or similar stock fencing
http://bit.ly/2rzbHVl , strung between proper pressure-treated wooden
posts, driven in with manual post driver/thumper http://bit.ly/2n6AeMZ
or hire a portable mechanical driver like this http://bit.ly/2F5ByWS

That's exactly what I would have said. The magic name is stock
fencing. If it's a small dog, you can get "horse netting" where the
verticals are about half the distance apart of the generic sheep
netting (so that a horse can't get a hoof through the holes). And no
need for high tensile wire, the horizontals in this sort of fencing
are already high tensile. It is worth trying to tension the net
properly, though, it will be more robust and will look better. You can
get a tool for this, it is (if I recall) a bit of galvanised angle
iron with hooks to engage the net. After stapling one end of the wire
to a post with a diagonal brace, you tension the other end with a quad
or 4x4. Normally done with two men, but I've done it single handed by
using a static vehicle as the second anchor, and using a manual winch
to tension lengths prior to stapling.

Get your stakes from a farm supplies place rather than a "shed", they
will be cheaper and almost certainly better. You can get "nice
looking" ones which are machined round, but "as grown" ones with just
the bark stripped off are half the price. At our local place these are
described as "2 to 3 inch" and "3 to 4 inch", the latter are quite
substantial.

With the money saved, you could probably get a couple of farm
contractors to do it, they will use a JCB or similar (either with a
power thumper, or for a 3-series just using the bucket plus the 8
tons), and probably make a much neater job of it in a fraction of the
time. Unless the ground is very rocky they would do it in a day.


I've been reminded that it's to keep (future) grandchildren in as well
as the (future) dog, which will be a Border Collie, so electrification
is not an option!


?Effective training. Dog and kids.