Barbed Wire Fencing
We have overcome the main shortcomings of traditional barbed wire fencing.
The function of a fence is fulfilled not primarily by its posts, but its wire and end braces. A post’s only job is to suspend a wire. An end stay’s only job is to “tell” a tight wire where to turn or stop. Wire which has been installed on our second-generation, freestanding pounded steel end-braces will stay tight for decades longer than traditional short wood end braces. This way we’re able to use fewer posts further apart, making installation faster and more affordable.
Austech wire fences are built right and stay tight. How? Through a set of improvements that work together as an integrated system. Here are the key innovations:
This is critical to tensioning the wire. Soft barb stretches permanently, then sags. It’s that simple. Read more about our use of wire on the Medium-Tensile Barb sub-page.
Well-tensioned wire doesn’t need a post every 10’ or 12’. We go with 16 ½’ and sometimes even 20’ post spacing. It works great, if you use the right posts. And we do: 4 1/4 x 7’ treated posts (8’ or 10’ lengths for very soft or wet ground).
Traditional end-braces and ad hoc turnbuckles with sticks are time-consuming to build and only partly effective. For years, we offered a unique design of wooden end-brace with a 12’ diagonal on a 6”x8’ post with a floating foot. Wood is ubiquitous and inexpensive but, being a natural product, is inconsistent and subject to shrinkage and swelling. This results in the slow loosening of your brace, which is especially frustrating for your gate posts.
Today we’ve gone one better: steel red band oilfield casing. They are stand-alone 10’, ¼” wall, 4” or 4 ½” diameter black steel (also available in galvanized finish). They’re pounded up to 3’ deeper than wooden posts, and reinforced by an 18”x24” “deadman’s” plate.
Our metal end-braces are even stronger and longer-lasting than our earlier design, and save so much installation time that they virtually pay for themselves. They also allow the wire to “float” around corners for maximum elasticity and rebound. If you want to upgrade your fencing, we can even install these steel end braces in mid-winter, getting a jump on next season.
We use Gripples and wire vices to tension and maintain our wire fences. Having the proper tools makes for easy installs and low maintenance for years. This means our work is customer-serviceable so that you don’t need to rely on anyone for a reliable boundary.
Most barbed-wire is joined through poor knots or wraps. This approach is time-consuming and still often fails. We use Gripples for both barb and smooth wire. These little devices provide a fast, reliable way to join wires, and allows the fence to be quickly and easily re-tensioned.