Choosing a fence for a site is not an easy task - it needs to be reliable, durable, and beautiful. A fence made of metal picket fence (euro picket fence) meets all these requirements. Climbing on it is problematic - not the same rigidity. Breaking it is “boring” - usually, those who like to misbehave limit themselves to bending a couple of slats. Beauty, of course, is a subjective criterion, but such fences look better than the same solid fence made of corrugated sheets. In addition, they are not so susceptible to wind loads, which allows saving on support poles. An additional plus is that they are breathable. In general, a good option.
Advantages of a metal picket fence
A metal picket fence not only provides reliable protection and fencing off the boundaries of a personal garden, but is also an attractive accessory and decoration for the garden. Fences made from this material are made in a wide variety of colors, providing the opportunity to choose a shade that will harmoniously match the roof or facade of the house.
Colors that imitate wood are in great demand on the market. Externally, such a fence resembles a fence made of natural wood picket fence. The height of the European picket fence can be selected individually, perfectly fencing a residential or summer cottage area, as well as a recreation area.
In addition to their appearance, metal picket fences have a huge number of other positive qualities:
- Reliability and durability. The metal profile, made of galvanized steel, has a layer of protective coating that is not subject to fading in the sun. The material withstands temperature changes and exposure to various precipitation.
- Compact and easy to install. The fencing elements are lightweight and are compactly packaged, allowing for comfortable transportation. Simplicity of installation is achieved by the presence of an assembly diagram and a set of fasteners, with the help of which the elements are fixed to each other. When performing installation work, bolted connections are used. If one of the component parts fails, it can easily be replaced with a similar one.
- Easy to care for. The fence does not need cosmetic repairs. When caring for it, you can carry out ordinary washing.
- Affordable price. The price of a metal picket fence for a fence is 20-30% cheaper than structures made from corrugated sheets with similar technical parameters. The lack of costs during operation is justified in terms of savings, and the fence itself can provide not only reliable protection, but also perfectly improve the garden plot.
- Versatility. A metal picket fence can be used not only to separate the boundaries of personal territory, arranging gates and gates, but also to fence the perimeter of administrative institutions, as well as agricultural and manufacturing enterprises.
- High protective performance. A metal picket fence can reach a height of 5 m, and the sharp upper edges of the fence make it difficult to overcome.
- Variety of shapes. Fence sections can be straight or wavy. The fence can also have a “checkerboard” design. The picket fence itself can have one-sided or two-sided design. If necessary, the pitch of the elements can be adjusted by purchasing a translucent or closed type fence.
Cost of work and materials
You can also build a fence with posts and a base made of stone, concrete or brick. In this case, a fence made of metal picket fence, the installation price of which will be higher, will become much more attractive.
For comparison, it should be noted that 1 m2 of a brick fence costs 5,500 rubles, a concrete fence - from 3,500 rubles, and a metal fence - about 650 rubles. Wooden picket fencing is even more affordable, but is very inferior in durability and maintenance.
There is a second fence option, which is to use reinforcement. It is welded onto slats, treated with anti-corrosion compounds and you get a good metal picket fence for a fence, the price per piece of which depends on the cross-section of the rod. Typically, for these purposes, material with a cross-section from 12 mm to 16 mm is used: the thicker, the more beautiful and reliable.
The reinforcement picket fence is welded into sections, which are then attached to the posts. Such a fence can be decorated with various forged elements: animal figures, peaks, curls of plants, etc.
Required tools for installation
Before you start building a metal picket fence with your own hands, in addition to the components, fasteners and assembly diagrams that can be purchased along with the fencing components themselves, you should acquire a number of the following tools:
- A shovel, a hand-held or powered drill will be required when digging holes or trenches for a strip foundation.
- A welding machine that is needed to secure horizontal guides to support posts.
- A screwdriver or screwdriver used to fasten metal strips to the guides.
- Hammer, level, thread for marking, tape measure, sledgehammer and other tools that may be required during construction.
The following materials will be required during the construction process:
- Profile hollow pipes with cross-sectional dimensions of 6x6 cm, taking into account the fact that the picket fence is made of metal and has little weight, these cut sizes will be sufficient for vertical supports.
- Self-tapping screws with press washers - to fix the planks to the guides, you need to buy fasteners with a color corresponding to the shade of the euro picket fence.
- Steel profile pipe 2x4 cm - a profile with a smaller cross-section is used for horizontal type guides, to which the pickets will be fixed.
- Metal strips. The profile shape and thickness of the pickets, the number of which is purchased in accordance with the type and size of the fence being built. When creating a blind-type structure, you will need to buy 2 times more planks.
- A mixture for painting a metal frame that matches the color of the pickets and a primer.
- Sand, crushed stone and cement that will be required to install the support pillars.
Order process
First of all, you should decide on the services. By ordering a turnkey installation, the client completely gets rid of any difficulties. This service means that the customer must completely trust the professionals.
Depending on the chosen option, the amount of work and installation time increases. Together with a consultant, you go through all stages of placing an order. Selection of colors, materials and sizes.
Our specialists will begin fulfilling your order immediately after placing it. Preparation of all materials, testing for strength, all this will be done by our employees. They follow the order of all actions and complete the work in a short time. Special coloring of the structure comes in two types:
- Powder is a cheaper option. Its quality is inferior. Ready to serve for 10 years.
- Polymer - this coloring is more reliable and will last more than 15 years.
At a previously agreed date and time, a team of craftsmen leaves for the work site. Already on site you are given two contract options, an inspection is carried out and installation begins. Once completed, a 24 month warranty is provided.
For greater convenience, there is a website where you can familiarize yourself with detailed information, see examples of work, and even make a personal calculation. There is a special section for this - a calculator.
We have a free service - calling a surveyor. The specialist will come to the site and take measurements. After which production will begin.
Characteristic features of a metal picket fence
Euro picket fencing is mounted in a similar way to that used when constructing a wooden fence: posts for vertical installation, transverse horizontal guides and metal pickets. The fence can have 1 or 2 front sides. Basically, two different colors are used: a brighter shade is chosen from the street, and calm tones are preferred from the yard.
Support posts for fencing sections can be made of concrete, metal or wood. The foundation of the fence can be strip, pile or column type. When combining metal pickets with brick or stone masonry, you should make a reliable concrete or brick base that can fully support the significant weight of the structure, preventing it from warping and subsidence. You will need to spend quite a lot of money on such a fence, but its appearance will be much more solid.
To save money and significantly reduce the overall weight of the structure, you can purchase profiles with a square or rectangular cross-section or hollow metal pipes with a diameter of 0.6 mm for use as support posts. For reliability, they should be dug to a considerable depth into the ground and filled with concrete. For guides, you can use profile pipes with a smaller cross-section.
When assembling a European picket fence, it is advisable to use a level that will allow you to determine the even vertical and horizontal of the installed products, while ensuring the strength and attractiveness of the completed structure.
Note! Taking into account the general style of the garden plot, you can build a metal picket fence with rounded or pointed ends on top, and also hide all the vertically located elements of the fence under a horizontal decorative strip that looks like a ridge.
In order for a metal picket fence to have a more solid appearance, instead of digging in steel pipes, you can build brick pillars.
Installing a fence with your own hands
For construction you will need:
- support pillars;
- pickets;
- veins.
Before installation, it is necessary to clear the area, make markings and calculate the distance between the support pillars. Next, install the picket fence step by step.
Wood fence installation diagram
Installation steps
- In the cleared area, stretch the cord and mark places for the posts. The maximum distance between supports is 3 m. Dig holes, fix the pillars vertically in the ground and fill the recesses with concrete mortar.
- Install the veins between the supports. Fastening to wooden posts is carried out using self-tapping screws, bolts or nails. The veins are fixed to the metal posts using a specially welded metal corner for attaching the timber.
- Nail the panels to the cross members. The gap between the pickets can be different: from the very minimum to the width of the boards themselves.
- Treat the finished fence with sandpaper, an antiseptic, then cover it with stain, varnish or paint. Stain and varnish will not only protect the wood from moisture, but will also give it a beautiful shade.
It will be interesting to know that a picket fence can be matched to the design of a wooden children's house for a summer residence. A picket fence and a wooden house can be one whole.
Sectional picket fence
Installation of wooden sectional fencing is much easier. Here you don’t have to install load-bearing elements, align and secure each plank. It is enough just to level the sections and secure them between the support pillars. You will, of course, save time, but the cost of the fence will increase. But how many interesting options for wooden sections are offered on the market today!
Sectional picket fence
Metal picket fence: varieties
In contrast to its simple design, a metal picket fence can have one of the following forms:
- U-shaped. This profile has a convex side on the outside in the shape of the letter P.
- M-shaped. The profile is distinguished by the presence of a convex side from the inside and protruding edges. From the street, the products are shaped like the letter M.
- Fence with rolling. Its distinctive feature is the impressive width of the slats, giving solidity to the entire structure.
- Semicircular.
- Classic. Picket fences of this variety are universal.
What's the result?
A fence made from Euro picket fences is perfect for fencing areas near private houses, cottages and commercial real estate. These are elegant air fences that come in a variety of design options, allowing you to create a truly unique fence that will stand out from your neighbors fences. In this case, the euro picket fence can be either translucent when installing the planks in one row, or blind if the pickets are fixed in two rows in a checkerboard pattern.
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Calculation of the required amount of material
Most manufacturers produce products whose width varies from 78 to 115 mm. Usually the manufacturer himself indicates the required number of pickets per 1 linear meter. To calculate a specific amount of material, use the following formula: 100 cm – gap dimensions / 13.3 cm + gap size, after which the resulting number must be multiplied by the footage of the fence.
Note! If you need to install a double-sided fence, you should purchase the material in double size. In any case, a small reserve will not hurt, preventing the possibility of a shortage.
You can buy a metal picket fence that is fully processed, which is painted in a suitable color, or untreated steel profiles. In the second case, you will need to additionally purchase a primer and paint for further coating of the products. This option is much more profitable in terms of saving money, but choosing it will require you to spend more time and there is no guarantee that the picket fence will be painted as professionally as when opened at the factory.
Installing a frame for a metal picket fence
Before starting the installation of vertical supports, it is necessary to mark the area where the fence will be located in the future. Debris and obstructive vegetation should be removed from the site. It is necessary to hammer pegs around the perimeter, between which a construction cord or thread is stretched. After this, you need to mark the installation locations of the pillars. They should be placed at a distance of 1.5-2.5 m from each other.
In the marked areas, drilling or digging of a hole with a depth of at least 0.6 m, and preferably from 1 m, is carried out. Installation of metal pipes for fencing is carried out by immersing them in the holes made. After this, using a building level, you should check the presence of a vertical line, and then use a sledgehammer to drive the supports into the ground to an additional depth of 40-45 cm. Next, you need to fill the holes with installed pipes with concrete. At this stage, the vertical alignment of the pillars and their equal height are of great importance.
As soon as the poured concrete hardens, transverse metal beams must be welded to the pipes. The first guide is fixed at a distance of 0.3-0.4 m from the ground level. From above you need to make an indent of 20-30 cm. The completed frame of the fence should be coated with a primer and painted in the color of the metal picket fence, paying special attention to the areas of connections made using a welding machine.
Note! To prevent water from entering the vertical support pipes, each of the racks should be covered with a decorative cap of a similar color.
Securing metal pickets
In order for the fence to have an attractive appearance, each of the slats must be placed at an identical distance from each other. The distance between pickets of different widths reduces the overall prestige of the fence, so the places where all elements of the fence are fixed must be carefully marked and then secured.
If the fence does not have a foundation, then you need to take care of the distance from the ground to the bottom of the slats, which will be sufficient to avoid the interaction of soil and liquid with the metal of the picket fence, while eliminating the possibility of small animals entering underneath it.
To fix the planks, you should use only galvanized self-tapping screws, since in this case the fastening points will be protected from corrosion. You can buy fasteners in a similar color that will match the coating of the picket fence. All strips are attached at 4 points along its length. The distance between the plates is selected individually and can vary from 10 to 100 mm.
The most common is a distance of 3 cm. Pickets are attached using 2 methods: standard fixation - for translucent type fences and a staggered installation method, which allows you to achieve a solid structure.
From everything written above, you can understand how to make a fence from a metal picket fence with your own hands quickly and correctly, as well as what is important to pay attention to when purchasing and during the construction of a fence, so that it can serve for many years without losing its attractive appearance kind.
Video on how to make a fence from a metal picket fence with your own hands:
Tools and materials
To assemble a metal picket fence you will need the following things:
- a bayonet shovel or drill will be needed to dig holes for the posts;
- a screwdriver will be needed to fix the picket fence on the guides;
- a building level is useful for measuring the correct installation of the picket fence;
- a welding machine is needed for welding longitudinal joists;
- profiled pipes or profile with a cross section of 40*40 mm for pillars;
- profiled pipes or profile with a cross section of 20*40 mm for longitudinal joists;
- in the calculated quantity, metal picket fence for the fence; the price will be slightly higher if you take a curtain rod with plastic plugs (if necessary);
- ready-made mortar or cement with sand;
- crushed stone for drainage;
- stones for fixing pillars;
- pegs and rope for marking; fasteners in the form of galvanized self-tapping screws in the color of a picket fence.
