Suitable stockproof boundary fencing

selfbuild17

Hello,

I need to get some fencing done and I figured here would be the best place to ask. I'm not a farmer so please bear with me.

I need to fence off a house plot from surrounding land. The fencing needs to be fairly permanent in case either side is sold off on the future.

It also needs to be stockproof ideally for cattle and sheep and possibly horses.

There's about 250m / 850 ft to do.

I'm thinking concrete post and chain link fencing with one strand of barbed wire. Would 4 feet high be enough? Could I get away without electric fence as I don't want the trouble of maintaining it. Should I allow for one strand plain wire just in case? How much are you talking for supply and installation.

Are there cheaper alternatives I should consider? I'd like to have the boundaries permanently marked so if I put in concrete posts at corners only infilled the rest with good quality timber fencing, how long could I expect the timber fencing to last? Would sheep wire and a strand of barbed wire on top be sufficient in that case?

Thanks!

Crow Pigeon and Pheasant

selfbuild17 wrote:

Are there cheaper alternatives I should consider? I'd like to have the boundaries permanently marked so if I put in concrete posts at corners only infilled the rest with good quality timber fencing, how long could I expect the timber fencing to last? Would sheep wire and a strand of barbed wire on top be sufficient in that case?

selfbuild17 wrote:

I'm thinking concrete post and chain link fencing with one strand of barbed wire. Would 4 feet high be enough? Could I get away without electric fence as I don't want the trouble of maintaining it. Should I allow for one strand plain wire just in case? How much are you talking for supply and installation.

selfbuild17 wrote:

It also needs to be stockproof ideally for cattle and sheep and possibly horses.

selfbuild17 wrote:

There's about 250m / 850 ft to do.

selfbuild17 wrote:

I need to fence off a house plot from surrounding land. The fencing needs to be fairly permanent in case either side is sold off on the future.

selfbuild17 wrote:

I need to get some fencing done and I figured here would be the best place to ask. I'm not a farmer so please bear with me.

selfbuild17 wrote:

Hello,

A good hawthorn hedge is a good stock fence!

Genghis Cant

Crow Pigeon and Pheasant wrote: »

A good hawthorn hedge is a good stock fence!

It is indeed, however, it takes a number of years to establish and become stockproof and realistically needs the assistance of a fence to keep it stock proof!

I'd be inclined to get a contract fencer, good king posts and pdm posts 4m apart fenced with sheep wire and two runs of barb wire or ideally one barb one plain electrified.

patsy_mccabe

Be careful with barbed wire with kids. They'll eventually climb over it some time. Nasty stuff. Know someone who has the scar from childhood to prove it.

Nekarsulm

As Genghis Cant recommends, and to give yourself a bit of privacy and take the prison yard look off it, would you consider planting a holly hedge inside the wire fence? They are green all year round, and when kept pruned down to 3 or 4 foot become a seriously good hedge. You can mix in a golden coloured holly strain as well for variety.

selfbuild17

Yea, I'll definitely be planting with some native species it to soften it up a bit - maybe a mix of holly, hawthorn and fuscia.

I'm more worried for now about the fencing. Would concrete post, sheep wire fence cost a fortune? How high would it need to be? Could I put a couple of lines of barbed wire on the farm/land side so that kids can't get at if from the house

larthehar

selfbuild17 wrote: »

Yea, I'll definitely be planting with some native species it to soften it up a bit - maybe a mix of holly, hawthorn and fuscia.

I'm more worried for now about the fencing. Would concrete post, sheep wire fence cost a fortune? How high would it need to be? Could I put a couple of lines of barbed wire on the farm/land side so that kids can't get at if from the house

Are you doing it yourself or employing someone?
If planning to do yourself have you a digger or some machine?

I.d go timber and sheep wire tbh.. with concrete stakes cattle tend to crack them scratching off them unless you have electric fence inside it..

selfbuild17

larthehar wrote: »

Are you doing it yourself or employing someone?
If planning to do yourself have you a digger or some machine?

I.d go timber and sheep wire tbh.. with concrete stakes cattle tend to crack them scratching off them unless you have electric fence inside it..

I'd be getting a fencing contractor in. I suppose if I got good quality timber, it should long enough until the hedging is well established

Nekarsulm

Good quality creosote treasted posts, six foot long, are about 8euro each. Two foot in the ground leaves four foot height. Sheep wire comes in 50 or 100 meter rolls, 1meter high. Only get high tensile wire. 100 meter roll is approx 100 euro. You need a post every four meters, to have a good job. No more than five meters apart certainly.
Prices are approx, plus you will need much heavier posts at the ends and corners. And perhaps one in the middle of a longer lenght of run. Plus probably two rolls of high tensile barbed wire (35 to 40 euro each, I think) and staples to nail it all up. Plus contractors costs.

Never thought of fuscia, with holly and hawthorn you know kids won't be crawling through it!
Don't get blackthorn, its a nightmare for sending out new shoots from its roots. Whitethorn is good, but it will be bare in winter.

Whistlejacket

If you ever want to put a horse in the field stay away from barbed wire. It works well with cattle but is the cause of many a horrific wound on horses if they get spooked and end up on/in the fence, especially if it's only 4 foot high.

Plain wire or timber is a lot safer. Sheep wire tends to works fine with horses as long as it's the high tensile stuff and securely hung.

selfbuild17

Yea, to be honest it's unlikely that there would be horses in but I suppose if there was, an electric fence could always be put up inside the fence.

Has anyone got a price recently for supply and installation of timber post and sheep wire fencing?

Nekarsulm

Google "Farm Relief Services". The office local to you will be able to get a quote, so at least you have a ball park figure to compare to other fencing contractors.

stantheman1979

If its around a house i would put up a post and rail fence with creosote pdm rails. It would keep out stock and look better than wire around the house. if u wanted just put a strand of plain wire down low to make sure.

Limestone Cowboy

stantheman1979 wrote: »

If its around a house i would put up a post and rail fence with creosote pdm rails. It would keep out stock and look better than wire around the house. if u wanted just put a strand of plain wire down low to make sure.

It'll cost €20+/meter for that I would say. Lovely looking job alright though when done well.

Bass Reeves

Any timber fence had a 30 year life span at most. If you use timber fencing you will need to plant a stock proof hedge on the inside. Whitethorn maybe but it can get gappy at the bottom. Berberis would a good choice.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=berberis+hedge&oq=berberis+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l3.9917j0j4&client=tablet-android-acer&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=IAH_HDSqnZd3IM:

Concrete posts with chain link with the ckainlink properly knitted in to the top and bottom row of wire. A row of barb wire on top . I do not think I would put a hedge inside it but rather some climbing shrubsand ivy on the posts

I think no matter what you chose you will need to put an electric fence on the field side to make it completely stock proof

Genghis Cant

stantheman1979 wrote: »

If its around a house i would put up a post and rail fence with creosote pdm rails. It would keep out stock and look better than wire around the house. if u wanted just put a strand of plain wire down low to make sure.

I priced it up last spring, pdm stuff all round.
15'9" 4"X2" rail around E15 each. 6" X 3" rectangular posts €13 each.

Nekarsulm

Actually, at those prices, you would buy "Three rail" concrete post and rail. Of course, it's a lot slower/more expensive putting it up, and if you get a post even an inch off your level/slope it looks horrendous, but it's going to outlast any timber job.

Muckit

Concrete posts and chain link as you said OP. You'll never have to worry about it in your lifetime. Chainlink now, not sheep wire.

I'm sick of timber posts. Quality is dubious and if you go for dear timber post, you might as well go concrete. Every post (especially strainers) are replaced with concrete ones.