Chain Link Fencing Installation up to 1.8 m

Fencing up to 1.4 m is common around gardens, allotments and holiday plots, and between neighbouring properties. It keeps in a dog and keeps out most animals. It looks light and leaves the view open. A reasonably handy homeowner can build it.

Fencing up to 1.8 m is the usual choice around family houses. An adult cannot easily climb over it, and it still lets light and air through. The larger surface catches more wind, so the corner and end posts need extra care.

Fencing over 3 m belongs around industrial sites, depots, sports pitches, farms and game enclosures. At this height the fence is no longer a garden fence. Wind pushes on it like a sail. These fences need heavier posts, deeper footings, more rows of line wire and often extension arms on top for barbed or razor wire. A specialist should design and build them.

Before you build any fence, especially a tall one, one next to a road or one on the boundary, check with your local building authority. Many places limit fence height without permission, and the rules near roads are often stricter. If you live in a development with shared grounds, ask the management company or owners' association as well. Check before you order materials.

• Galvanised mesh is the simpler option. It suits places where the fence only has to work and looks matter less. In damp conditions it can start to rust over time.
• Plastic-coated mesh has a PVC layer, usually green, over galvanised wire. It handles damp and knocks better and blends into a garden more naturally. Most people choose it for a permanent fence around a house.
• Welded or heavier-gauge mesh is used on tall fences, where the mesh has to take more tension.

Besides the mesh, you need intermediate posts, stronger corner and end posts, struts, line wire, wire tensioners, tie wire or clips, and concrete to set the posts. Don't skimp on the small fixings. They are usually the first part of a fence to work loose.

Start by finding out exactly where the boundary runs. If you are unsure, have it set out by a surveyor so the fence does not end up on your neighbour's land. Then mark the line with pegs and string, and mark the gate and the corners.

Posts usually go every 2 to 2.5 m. On a windy site or for a taller fence, set them closer. For a normal fence the holes are usually about 60 to 80 cm deep, ideally below the depth the ground freezes to in your area. Fences over 3 m need deeper, heavier footings, often 80 to 120 cm depending on the soil and the design.

Concrete the corner and end posts and their struts first, because the whole fence is tensioned against them. Stretch a string line between them and set the intermediate posts to it, checking each one with a spirit level. Then let the concrete cure. Manufacturers usually say this takes several days. Only then can the posts take the pull of tensioning.

On a normal fence the line wire runs in three rows: at the bottom, in the middle and at the top. Taller fences need more rows. Unroll the mesh along the fence and fix it to an end post. Then tension it towards the other end gradually, not in sudden pulls. Finally, tie the mesh to every post and to the line wires.

The job goes fastest on flat ground with soft soil, good access and no old fence in the way. These things make it slower and more expensive:

• Stony or clay soil, where the holes are hard to dig
• A slope, where the fence has to be stepped or the mesh shaped to the ground
• Taking down an old fence and breaking out old concrete footings
• Many corners, gates and short runs, because every end needs a strut
• Extras such as gravel boards, barbed wire or extension arms
• Heights over 3 m, which mean working from scaffolding or a lift

• Shallow footings. After the first winter or a strong wind the post starts to rock and pulls the whole panel with it.
• No struts at the corners. Tensioned mesh slowly drags the corner post inwards.
• Tensioning before the concrete has cured. The post leans and won't come back straight.
• Posts too far apart. The mesh sags between them.
• Uneven or excessive tension. Slack mesh ripples, and overtightened mesh bends the posts.
• A crooked line. On a long fence, a small error at the start becomes very visible further along.

You can build a fence up to 1.4 m or 1.8 m yourself if you have a helper and a few days to spare. Leave fences over 3 m to a contractor. They involve working at height and need a structural design.

1. Check the boundary and mark the line with pegs and string.
2. Mark the post positions roughly every 2 to 2.5 m, plus the corners and the gate.
3. Dig all holes to the same depth, usually 60 to 80 cm.
4. Concrete the corner and end posts with their struts and check them with a spirit level.
5. Stretch a string line between the end posts and concrete the intermediate posts to it.
6. Let the concrete cure as the manufacturer recommends.
7. Run and tension three rows of line wire.
8. Unroll the mesh, fix it to an end post and tension it gradually.
9. Tie the mesh to every post and to the wires at regular intervals.
10. Check the line and the tension, and bend back any sharp wire ends.

• Posts are vertical and in line, and none moves when you push it
• Corner and end posts have struts
• Concrete footings are solid, with no voids, and water does not pool around them
• Line wires are taut and firmly held in the tensioners
• Mesh is straight, with no ripples or sagging, and the same height along the whole length
• Mesh is tied to every post and to the wires
• Coating on the mesh and posts is undamaged
• Sharp wire ends are bent back and the area around the fence is cleared