DEER FENCE INSTALLATION: MIDDLE STEPS 1
MIDDLE STEPS: JOINS, ADJUSTMENTS, AND SUPPORTS Joining the Deer Fence Sections
Polypropylene deer fence sections can be joined together with zip-lock ties or hog rings. Those using zip-lock ties should use the heavy-duty ties (items 17-04 thru 17-07), which have an expected life of 5 to 10 years, depending on their exposure to sun and stress. Attach these zip-lock ties by running them through the fence grids to be joined and then pulling them moderately tight. Attach enough of these ties to firmly join the two sections and also to resist the stresses likely to be encountered from wind, rain, snow, and deer. If you aren't using round metal posts you don’t need the hand-held mechanical puller/cutter sometimes sold with these zip-lock ties. Except when attaching fencing to round posts you want the ties a bit loose, as over-tightening can strain or break them; and you can remove the ends of the secured ties just as easily with small tin snips or wire cutters as you can with the puller/cutter.
Nine-sixteenth-inch "hog rings" (item 17-10) offer a good alternative to zip-lock ties when you are joining two fence sections (and also when you are attaching fencing to monofilament lines or a metal hexagrid skirt). Hog rings are metal staple-like clips that form a closed circle and are applied with a Stanley Hog-ringer gun (item 17-09). This is a good system, and will prove an especially worthwhile investment if you plan to give your deer fence a metal skirt. However, stay away from the slightly cheaper 11/16-inch hog-ring system–because these rings go on rather flat, do an inferior attachment job, and can occasionally damage the deer fence. Similarly, the very heavy black “hog rings” sold with a special manual applicator tool should be avoided–not because they don’t work but because they are extremely time-consuming to apply.
Happily, if you are putting up a metal hexagrid deer fence you need none of these fasteners to join the sections. That’s because the cut ends of the hexagons (like the cut ends of chicken-wire fencing) point outward. These ends, which may be very sharp, can be put through hexagrids on the deer fence section to which they are being joined, and the two sets of outward-pointing ends from both hexagrids can then be twisted back around one another. If done enough times along the seam, this produces a strong long-lasting bond joining the two sections. |
McGregor Fence Co. 508-888-8305