Tell me about fencing!

[spookypony]

Let's say that there are 2 roughly half-acre paddocks, and possibly 4 gates.

What happens, how long does it take, and how much might it cost, for, say, either post/rail or post/wire?

Does anyone have fancy synthetic fencing (such as "horserail") instead, and what are its advantages or problems (from the point of view of the user, rather than the website-designing salesperson)?

If a tractor + post driver could be sourced, is this a feasible DIY project, assuming competent helpers and plenteous pizzas? Is it possible to hire post drivers?

Would it be smarter simply to shut one's eyes and hire a fencing contractor?

What other sorts of things need to be considered?

Eep?

 

[jrp204]

OH used to do alot of fencing but has given it up so i don't know about prices now. He did horsey stuff with 'horse' netting with a strand of wire on top, the horse netting is narrower at the bottom. It is possible to DIY it but its the little things like having big posts in the corners that are braced properly, having big enough gate posts, getting wire tight enough etc. If you plan to be there for a long time i would get some recommendations and some prices, if you skimp on it it will show and will not last, it should be looked on as an investment in a way.

 

[lottiepony]

I became a bit of a fencing DIY whizz when we had the yard at home. We went with post and tape as easy to change and when done well looks lovely and smart also one of the cheaper options! We put in all the post by hand with a post knocker - knackering but good for fitness a little idea that's works incredibly well is putting gates either in the middle of the fence line or if possible away from the yard end of the fields as horses will stand as close as possible to the yard when they want to come in so by having our gates in the opposite corner, as it were, we never had poached gateways might mean a slightly longer walk to catch in but well worth it!

Post and rail always looks gorgeous but is very expensive and I recently had a real problem of my horse chewing the wood at my uncles to say he was unimpressed would be an understatement! Ended up having to put up electric tape on the top and bottom rails!

 

[exquisitus]

Hiring a tractor and post driver is perfectly possible.

Generally they will always want to supply an operator, due to the damage that could easily be done.

I do quite a bit of contract post driving; Depending on the post driver expect to pay between £30-45/hour.

At the top end of that you can expect an all singing and dancing machine that will drives posts perfectly accurately with no damage.
To get maximum work rates its important you have pre cleared the fence line and marked both the line of the fence and where the posts are to be put.

Post and rail the materials alone for 3 rails would be £6/m for a contractor to put up your looking at least £12/hr+Vat.

Wire fencing probably around half that.

With my post driver I can drive in the posts for around 200m of Post and rail fencing per day. This works out at £1.75m, leaving the customer to simply hammer the rails on.

 

[Maesfen]

With my post driver I can drive in the posts for around 200m of Post and rail fencing per day. This works out at £1.75m, leaving the customer to simply hammer the rails on.

Around here it's only fencing contractors that actually have post knockers (unless you count the hand held ones which are very hit and miss - literally! ) and I think I'm right in saying that they wouldn't be very happy to knock the posts in then let the client 'hammer on the rails' as you put it unless they're not concerned about their reputation at all.
It's not that physically hard a job to do but it can make the difference between a job done well which will last or a job half finished and looking like a pig's ear which will only do harm to their reputation. Without realizing it, your fencing is their advertisement and if it looks 'wrong' it's not going to give the right impression of the quality of their work which will affect future business. Without a word of a lie, all of our business (fencing, naturally!) comes either from word of mouth recommendation or someone has seen and liked our work which wouldn't happen if it didn't look right.

If you're going to use electric fencing of some sort then use wooden posts because proper posts are so much better than the plastic ones; a more professional look as well as being far more secure. If you go with post and rail then run an electric rope/wire along the top to deter chewing and leaning over, you only need insulators on every other post so not a great addition to costs. The horse netting is very expensive and takes a lot longer to put up than normal wire stock fencing which would add to your costs.

Do you need to fence the boundaries or just the divisions? If it's just the divisions, I'd go for P & R myself but if it's boundaries as well then perhaps if money's an issue, then use posts and electric rope but I'd make sure you used posts that could also be used with rails so if at a later time you were flush, you'd be able to change over easily (you'd need them to be spaced as if for P & R when fitting them for the first time to save extra costs). Depending on where you are, then to fit and hang gates would range between £80 - 150 each plus the cost of the gates of course. If you ask for supply & fit then the fencing firm will also add a bit on to the cost of the materials so it might be cheaper if you asked them to measure up, tell you exactly what is needed and you order the materials yourself or get them to order but pay the timber firm direct yourself; that 'might' save you as much as 20% depending on the fencing firm mark-up.
Tip: try not to have the gates next to each other or in the corners, aim for middle fence line, makes life so much easier. Make sure you know where any mains fittings go (water/electric/gas) so they can be avoided too and know where you want your water supply (especially if you have to carry it to the field)

 

[exquisitus]

Around here it's only fencing contractors that actually have post knockers (unless you count the hand held ones which are very hit and miss - literally! ) and I think I'm right in saying that they wouldn't be very happy to knock the posts in then let the client 'hammer on the rails' as you put it unless they're not concerned about their reputation at all.
It's not that physically hard a job to do but it can make the difference between a job done well which will last or a job half finished and looking like a pig's ear which will only do harm to their reputation. Without realizing it, your fencing is their advertisement and if it looks 'wrong' it's not going to give the right impression of the quality of their work which will affect future business. Without a word of a lie, all of our business (fencing, naturally!) comes either from word of mouth recommendation or someone has seen and liked our work which wouldn't happen if it didn't look right.

Apart from a neighbour or passing local who see's you do it, who's to know?

Putting the posts in straight and level is the art, I use a Bryce Suma with a hydraulic post cap and can pretty much get them all spot on. If the posts are put in higgidly piggidly then yes it would be a challenge to look good.

Of course I much prefer to do the whole job, but am also happy to help those on a budget.

For my own land I use Post and Rail for undulating ground, either side of field gates and for short runs. For external boundaries equi-net topped with electric rope. I find this keeps the horses in and almost as importantly being very difficult to climb, tresspassers out.

Fencing put up right with good materials should be viewed as an investment, Cutting corners is almost always a false economy.

 

[spookypony]

Wow, thanks for some good advice already! For one of the paddocks, I would have to put the gate near the corner; the other one; I could put it wherever. One paddock would need to be fenced completely; the other has a drystane dyke along one long side. Both areas are edged by trees, but are quite flat. Does the type of soil make a big difference?

 

[Cocorules]

We put up post and rail ourselves. It was really hard work. We did it with a tractor and auger. A post knocker is much quicker but you need full round posts for that. We hired a digger minus driver to do the outer fencing which was sheep netting and wire. I would say getting a driver is worth it though for a pair of experienced hands. We found the post and rail was not that expensive but we did shop around and bought direct from a timber mill. What was more expensive was what went with it i.e. hire a lorry to get timber etc. Also OH was also easier to persuade to do the work with toys like a nail gun.

I have not used the tape and posts route but my boss at work who is not horsey but runs a livery yard as a side line swears by it as it is so fast to put up. I strongly prefer post and rail though.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Spookypony we recently had some fencing done which involved 3 x12 foot gates, 4 foot horsemesh with a plain wire above. It was a T shape : one long length across a large fenced field and one shorter length vertically from the md point to the boundary fence. This made the fence into one half and two quarters. Overall length probably 200m ish but will try to dig out invoice.

We had massive tree trunk like posts for the gates. We have sandy soil with granite rocks so def NOT a DIY job if you want it to last. The whole job took 2 men 2-3 days and they had all the kit.

Its very hard to tension mesh fencing enough without the proper kit I think.

Overall cost (for everything) was about £2200 incl VAT.

Last year we had 3 sides of a 2 acre field fenced with sheep mesh and one plain wire, 3 12 foot gates and some post & rail to make a sheep pen: again this was between £2-2.5K incl VAT.

Bear in mind fencers can get the materials cheaper than you and I, and the job if done properly by them should last a LOT longer.

I would do some fencing jobs myself for odd awkward bits where i just need to keep the sheep in to eat down the ground, but hungry ponies? nah, professionals every time. Mind you, it does mean we are poor as church mice....

 

[chrissie1]

To make a good impression on short drive to the stables we had Stud Rail, three 'rails'. It was expensive, but it looks as good now as it did in 1991 when we did it. It has seen a fully grown horse bullied through it, breaking three stout posts at ground level, with barely a scratch, and I have seen a foal that forgot the fence was there gallop full tilt and slither through unscathed. To avoid that I'd use 4 rails these days but the sheer cost of doing a large area would be frightening!

Totally maint. free, totally.

 

[spookypony]

Cool, thank you! Lachlandandmarcus, thanks for those figures---they are roughly in line with what I was thinking, so that's reassuring.

 

[amandaco2]

Post and electric. Knock in yourself, a rammer is 35, posts 2 each, tape various....

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Post and electric. Knock in yourself, a rammer is 35, posts 2 each, tape various....

I think Spookypony is on the same kind of ground as us, sandy soil (thats fine) with massive granite boulders in it - all of it (that's not fine!). You can get a tree stake maybe 3 inch square in using a hand rammer but a proper round or half round post down to a proper depth- nah, you might get every fourth one in within 2 m of where you need it! Even the fencer with all the gear tractor rammers etc has to concrete in the occasional one.

We use electric fencing some fields but prob is (and again I suspect similar issues) those of us with good doer coblets struggle to keep our ponies respecting even quite strong electric cos up here (NE Scot), the grass doesnt get going until late and then it just goes mad and is shoulder height and the pony in starvation paddock doesnt care how big a zap they get. I got tired of retrieving limbo pony from 3 fields away and resorted to the horsemesh and posts.....

The only thing you can get in a fair way by hand is to sledgehammer in angle irons used to stake down stuff to stop it flying away in our wild winds....)). But not for horse paddock.