Woven Wire and No-Climb Fence Installation: Knotted Mesh That Holds Its Shape

Field Fence, No-Climb and Fixed-Knot

Woven wire comes in several patterns, and the pattern should match the job.

• Field fence uses a hinge-joint knot and graduated spacing: small openings near the ground, larger ones toward the top. It is the economical general purpose pasture wire for cattle, sheep and mixed stock.
• No-climb mesh has uniform 2 inch by 4 inch openings from top to bottom. A hoof cannot go through and there is no toehold, which is where the name comes from. It is the standard for horses and works well for dogs, goats and poultry.
• Fixed-knot fence locks each crossing with a separate piece of wire. It is the stiffest of the three, resists being pushed down or spread apart, and can run on wider post spacing. It is common for deer exclusion and high-pressure livestock areas.

Wire Gauge and Galvanizing: What Decides How Long It Lasts

Two rolls can look identical on the truck and age very differently. The first variable is gauge, where a lower number means thicker wire. Heavier top and bottom wires carry the tension, and heavier filler wires resist bending.

The second is the zinc coating. Galvanizing is sold in classes, and Class 3 carries considerably more zinc than Class 1. In the humid Carolina Piedmont, where a fence stays wet with dew most mornings from spring through fall, the heavier coating is worth paying for. Lightly coated wire starts showing rust years earlier, usually first along the bottom where grass holds moisture against it. We specify the coating on the estimate so you can compare quotes on equal terms.

Stretching the Wire: How We Install It

Woven wire is installed under tension, and the tension has to be resisted by something. That something is the brace assembly at each end of the pull. We set corner and end posts deep and build H-braces before any wire comes off the truck. On long straight runs we add a brace partway along so no single pull is longer than the wire can be stretched evenly.

The roll is stood up at one end, tied off to the end post, and unrolled along the line. At the far end a stretcher bar clamps the full height of the mesh, and we pull with chain or cable pullers until the wire is tight but still has some spring in it. Then it is stapled or clipped to each line post. Staples are driven so the wire can slide slightly, since steel shortens in winter and a fence pinned rigid will pull its own posts over. If a top board is going on, as with most horse fence, it is installed after the wire is tight.

Replacing Rusted or Sagging Mesh

Woven wire reaches the end in one of two ways. Either it rusts until wires break when flexed, or it gets stretched out of shape by fallen limbs, animals and years of being climbed, and it will not pull tight again. Mesh that bows between posts or has been pushed down along the top is past restretching.

If the posts and braces are still solid, new wire can go on the existing line, and that saves a good share of the job. We check each brace before recommending it, because hanging new wire on a loose corner wastes the wire. Otherwise we remove everything, clear the vines and saplings that have grown through the old mesh, and rebuild. Pulling old woven wire out of an overgrown fence row is slow work, and we account for it in the estimate up front.

Mesh Fence on Piedmont Clay and Uneven Ground

Flat ground is rare around Charlotte. Woven wire can follow a gentle grade, but a sharp dip or rise in the line has to be handled deliberately. In a dip, the stretched wire wants to rise and pull the low post out of the ground, so that post is anchored. Over a rise, the wire bears down on the high post. Where the grade changes sharply we end the pull, brace, and start a new one.

Red clay holds a driven post tightly, which suits this kind of fence. Rock ledges show up without warning in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Gaston counties, and when they do, the post location may shift a foot or two. Zoning rules on agricultural fence vary by county and town, so confirm what applies before ordering material.