How to Save Money When Buying Hexagonal Wire Mesh
The 4 Main Types of Wire Mesh Fencing Materials - Louis E. Page, Inc.
When researching the type of wire fence you want to purchase, there are many things you want to consider before making a decision. Have you thought about the following?
- Aesthetic considerations - how important is appearance?
- Function is a significant factor - what do you want to keep in or out?
- Cost is important - should you buy the least expensive product or invest in fencing material that will last a long time and save on the future expenses and labor of early replacement?
- Country of origin may be something you want to take into account - is there any connection between the quality of a fence and where it is made?
- The topography of the site should be considered - are there irregularities on the ground's surface where the fence will be located?
- Manufacturing method is important - is a welded product a better choice than a woven fence mesh?
Finishes for Your Fence
When making a decision about which wire fencing material to use, one of the most important aspects to take into account is the type of "finish" the wire has. There are four basic types:
- GBW - Galvanized Before Weld and Galvanized Before Weave
- GAW - Galvanized After Weld and Galvanized After Weave
- VC - Vinyl Coated welded and woven
- SS - Stainless Steel and other alloys.
GBW
Galvanized before weld wire fences can be either welded or woven. Galvanized wire is used to manufacture the mesh.
Welded products - the zinc coating is burnt off during the welding process. The welded points where the horizontal and vertical wires intersect are left unprotected and exposed to rust and corrosion. In wet weather, moisture tends to collect at the joint, hastening the process.
While it is true that zinc can "flow" from the areas adjacent to the burnt intersection, the weld spot never regains its full protection. These are the types you see in your local building supply store and garden center. Differences in gauge, mesh opening size and height are considerable. You can find a product that will meet your needs. It is important to keep in mind the fact that these items have a limited lifetime. Welded GBW fencing materials are relatively inexpensive and utilitarian.
Link to Shengfa
Woven products - these do not have any welded areas and therefore do not have the same vulnerability. These range from lightweight hex netting up to field fence and heavy gauge woven high tensile deer and wildlife fence. The heavier fences have an extended lifetime, especially those with Class 3 galvanizing.
GAW
Galvanized after weld fencing materials are galvanized after the welding or weaving process. The mesh is drawn through a bath of molten zinc which thoroughly seals the wire, including the welded and woven areas. These products are heavily protected from rust and corrosion and have an extended lifetime that far exceeds the lifetime of the same products with GBW finish. You can tell if a product is galvanized after by looking at the welded and woven areas. You can actually see how the zinc seals the areas. GAW items are initially more expensive. However, when you consider the extra material and labor cost of replacement, the higher initial cost of GAW meshes are easily justified.
GAW fencing is more specialized and therefore are not as easy to find at retail stores. The welded meshes are often used in making animal cages. They are ideal to use in areas where there is constant moisture or exposure to corrosion. There is an even wider range of choices in wire gauge, mesh size and widths due to the more specialized end uses of these items. The GAW hex netting meshes are often used in saltwater applications and in building game bird pens - areas where long life is sought and appreciated.
VC
Vinyl coated fencing materials are coated with either polyester or PVC after the welding or weaving process. The most common colors are black and green. The black color is the most unobtrusive. It blends with the background, becoming virtually invisible. As with GAW products, the vinyl coating thoroughly coats the entire mesh, sealing it against rust and corrosion. The additional cost is offset by longer life expectancy and more attractive appearance. Many different specifications are widely available in retail stores. The vinyl makes them aesthetically pleasing.
As with any products, there are different quality grades available. The least expensive products do not bond the vinyl securely to the wire. The vinyl is easily cut and can then be peeled off the wire with your fingers. The higher quality grades have a vinyl coating that is tightly bonded to the wire and resists scraping, even with a knife. And there are products available that have the double protection of GAW wire under the coating. These offer the longest lasting meshes available. As always, higher quality means higher cost. You get what you pay for. Higher initial cost can save you money over the life of the mesh.
In addition to the regular generic retail items, there is a wide range of gauge and mesh opening size specialty items not available in stores. There are welded meshes used in lobster traps, safety mesh in railings, animal cages and other unique applications. Woven hex meshes are used in such things as bird pens and deer fence.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Hexagonal Wire Mesh.
SS and other alloys
The Truth about Chicken Wire / Hex Netting... - BackYard Chickens
others seem to have used it successfully for years..
after my own investigation, I have discoverd that Lowes for instance sells only 1 size/guage (thickness of the wire) and it's 20g. Pretty flimsy, clearly.
Then I found this article here: Wire Guages Explained and it turns out, that there ARE some very hefty varieties of chicken wire. The caveat here is that this site is in the UK.. do we have the same choices here in the states?
Should we just be shopping around more to find the right one? Seems like 16guage would do the trick... if it'll keep IN birds of prey, and keep rabbits safe, doesn't that seem to be the right mix? The problem with chicken wire is that critters can reach in and grab the chicks, no matter how heavy the wire. Racoons and other critters will grab them and eat whatever they can get through the wire. Poor chickens are not smart enough to stay far enough in.....The tiny hardware cloth is really the safest. It is expensive, only in the short run. Losing birds and coming out to the run to find carnage is just more than I can risk, personally. That being said, others might have a very different perspective.
Good luck. If you can find a heavy guage chicken wire, it should help to keep out some predators. The problem with it is that many predators like coons and cats can reach into it and attempt to pull chickens through it, mutilating them. Weasels can fit right through chicken wire. I use hardware cloth and the gate on my chicken run is made from an extremely heavy guage chicken wire - to make sure it was heavy duty enough, I tried to squeeze the holes shut and I couldn't budge the wires. This chicken wire was old stuff we had lying around, it's easily 30 years old and the holes are much smaller than the stuff that's made today. I have three layers of fencing on my run....chicken wire, ranch fencing and hardware cloth on the outside. The ranch fencing is buried 6 inches deep and surrounded by railroad ties. Since the hardware cloth is very expensive, I only used it on the gate (which is a chainlink fence) and around the bottom of the run. Around the very top of the run I triple layered chicken wire in a pattern to make it smaller. It's still a gamble I know since there might be something that will find a way in, but they are going to have to really work for their supper! Chicken wire is fine except around the bottom, especially if they sleep on the ground. I run "dog wire" around the bottom with chicken wire over it. I bury them both about a foot to prevent digging and because over time the soil washes away also.
I put up plywood or other boards around areas they sleep near, also to give them protection from the elements. Quote:
but if you could get chicken hex in a low enough gauge, you could do the bulk of your run (including the roof) with that and the bottom three feet in hardware cloth and have a hen fort knox.
Yes, that is true and actually what we did. LOL. I am so spacey sometimes. {blush} You can purchase 1" hexagon 'stucco wire', which is essentially chicken wire. This is an 18 gauge; very tough stuff for a run. Most of the hardware cloth used is 19 gauge, so it's a little heavier than that.
If you protect the coop itself with smaller openings of hardware cloth, and lock the hens in each night, then you can use the stucco wire for the run. I'm putting roosts that have a vertical post, then some side horizontal boards for the hens. These will be far enough away from the sides of the run that I won't worry. Plus, we have no raccoons, skunks, etc. that come during the daytime. yet. : )
Carla