Yo! My name is Bobby and I live on a large property in Sydney, Australia. When I moved out here, I realised I was going to need to have some new fences installed. The previous owners had let the existing fences fall into disrepair and I was worried that people would gain access to my land. I called in a fence contractor who assessed the land and explained the different fence options available to me. In the end, I decided to opt for a steel fence. I am really pleased with how the fence has performed. I hope this blog helps you to find the right fence for your property.
If your property needs a new fence, you might do well to leave this installation work to a professional, so you reduce the risk of the fence eventually sagging, leaning, or even outright collapsing. If you do want to try to manage this installation by yourself, note a few common mistakes you'll want to avoid, so that you know your new fencing stays upright, and that it won't need early repair or replacement because of a poor quality installation.
Post anchoring
Never assume that you can simply drive fence posts into the ground without anchoring them. If you do, the posts may seem stable and secure when you first install the fence, but soil can get moist and soft, and then shift and move out of place. When this happens, the fence may start to lean forward or backward, or it may outright collapse.
Not anchoring the posts as you should can also mean an increased risk of the fence collapsing in high winds, or when your children or pets jump on or kick at the fence. To avoid these risks, note that fence posts should have a small amount of concrete poured as footings that keep the posts in place.
Tightening mesh fences
Mesh or chain link fences aren't simply unrolled across posts and then bolted into place, but they need to be pulled and tightened before connected to the posts. This is to ensure the long lengths of fence stain upright and don't sag over time, as the material eventually begins to soften. If tightening lengths of fence is too difficult for you to manage on your own, you might invest in a panel or wood slat fence instead of mesh or chain link.
Property lines
Before you install a fence, you would do well to have a surveyor inspect your property and mark off your property lines. Don't assume you can follow the line of an old fence that you've had removed, as that fence may have been installed across your neighbour's property, or part of your yard may have been unnecessarily cut off from the fence. Certain landmarks and other items you use as visual markers, such as trees or large rocks, may not actually show your legal property boundaries, and these may have also shifted out of place over the years. Having a property line marked off by a surveyor before a fence is installed can mean avoiding accusations of encroachment on a neighbour's property, and ensure you're installing the fence on the legal boundary of your yard.