Installing fence sheets

Some people have asked me "How do you re-install sheets quickly and Easily?" I have watched people trying and the invariably try to place the rail over the sheets in one go. This is almost impossible. This will hopefully help you next time you try to put a panel back in that was taken out for access.

a. Leave the rail on top of the posts sitting over one side. This prevents the sheets blowing over, outwards.

b. Next place two of the three sheets at each end of the bay.

c. Next carefully place the middle sheet between the two sheets you previously placed there. The overlap must be correct or the sheets will not sit flush. You may need to refer to the panel near you.

d. This takes some practice and may seem difficult at first. I would recommend doing it on a calm day, no wind. Grab the rail around the center and place the end of the rail onto the corner over the edge of the sheet, push it into the c-channel, this may require some force and manipulation. Fastening it with the screw will make it easier. Once you have done this ease the rail down slowly easing each flute of the sheet into the rail as you lower it.

e. Some manipulation may be required as you get to the edge of each sheet. The sheets may need to be moved sideways each way to allow the rail to be lowered over the sheets. The last bit is the easiest, as long as the rail is not too long.

YOU DID IT!

Fence rakes

Fence rakes are not rakes left leaning against a fence. They are the intermediate panel dividing high parts of the fence from the low part. Low parts of the fence are very important to car and pedestrian safety on our roads and footpaths. Too often I see fences at full height going all the way to the front of a property. This creates problems. Picture a child too young to use the road riding along a footpath. You decide to pop out to the shop and you reverse out your drive way cant see anything coming up the path of course...the inevitable happens. However a fence that is only 900mm high you can view all the way up the footpath and the road.

They are not only for safety but in a community where neighbors like to talk to each other, a low fence keeps the street nice and open and less like a prison community.

Boxing around trees

Many homes in Melbourne are rented properties and so they are sometimes neglected. This means trees that come up as suckers or seedlings grow under or very close to fences, This can shorten fence life spans dramatically. So it is imperative that fence lines and boundaries are kept clear as much as possible. This fence line pictured has too much growth close to it and unless it is chopped back will push against the fence and damage it. In some cases the tree cannot be removed and the fence needs to be built around the offending tree.

The completed box can barely be seen at a glance.