Industrial Fence Replacement: A New Perimeter Without a Night Left Open

A perimeter fence that has been patched for years reaches a point where it is a fence in name only. The fabric sags, the posts lean at the bank, the barbed wire arms are bent flat, and the gate needs two people to move. Replacing it restores the security the site is supposed to have.

QC Fence Contractors replaces industrial fence across the Charlotte metro. The work is sequenced so that tear-out never gets far ahead of the rebuild.

• Posts are rusted through or loose at the ground line. Galvanized pipe corrodes fastest right where it enters the concrete.
• Fabric has lost tension and can be lifted at the bottom or pushed in at the middle.
• Fabric is a patchwork of repairs and tie wire from past breaches.
• Top rail is bent along long stretches from fallen limbs or climbing.
• Barbed wire arms are broken or the strands are slack.
• Slats were added later and the fence has leaned under the wind load.
• Gates sag, drag, or have been chained shut because they no longer latch.
• A security audit, insurer or customer requirement calls for a height or topping the old fence does not have.

1. 1. Perimeter survey. We walk the full line and record post condition, gate sizes, grades, and anything mounted on the fence.
2. 2. Sequence plan. With the site contact we set the order of sections, staging, and how each open stretch is closed overnight.
3. 3. Remove. Old fabric, wire, rail and posts come down. Footings are pulled or cut off below grade where they would interfere with new posts.
4. 4. New posts and framework. New posts are set in new concrete, usually offset from the old holes, and braced at corners and gates.
5. 5. Fabric and toppings. New chain link is stretched and tied, bottom wire secured, and barbed wire or coils installed where specified and permitted.
6. 6. Gates. Gate work is timed around shipping. The old gate stays in service until the new one is ready to hang.
7. 7. Haul off. Scrap and debris leave the site. Nothing from the old fence is left behind.

A replacement costs most of what a new fence costs, so it is the time to correct the original. If the old fence was a foot too short for the current security requirement, build the new one to the right height. If slats are wanted, size the posts for them. If the bottom of the old fence could be lifted, add bottom rail or tension wire and tighten the gap to grade.

Gates deserve the hardest look. A double swing gate across a wide entrance is slow to open and easy to damage. A cantilever sliding gate with an operator moves faster, cannot be blown open, and can be tied into keypads, readers or an intercom.

Check zoning before changing the height or adding barbed or razor wire. What was permitted when the original fence was built may not be what the district allows today, and the rules differ between jurisdictions.