I put a similar vinyl fence in and am really happy with it. It will also never need any maintenance, painting, or staining, and it will never rust.
I think your plan, in reality, will be much more work than it seems like on paper. That said, I don’t know how thick corrugated steel is, but I cut a bunch of aluminum soffits. A plywood blade (many small teeth) turned backwards worked just fine. Please wear safety glasses when doing this - little flecks of jagged metal go flying everywhere.
I’ve seen the vinyl fences around and I’m not sure I like them. They look great when they go in and everything is new but then they never soften and age like wood does. I know that’s what people like about them but it looks so jarring to have such a bright white next to an older house.
That sounds amazingly cool but I think that’d be more work to pound in all those tubes. And pricey unless I had a good cheap source for pipes.
Hmmm, I could use structural fiberglass angles to make it stiffer at the bottom. I could run an angle along the top of one 1x4 like in this detail. No bottom plate, no drainage issues. I wonder how expensive that stuff is; I’ve only ever used it in industrial applications.
I’m gonna sketch up the other connections in detail (slow day at work, might as well practice my CAD skills) and post them for critism.
OK, here are the details of the fence connection for the top part. I found these galvanized fence brackets which will be perfect for connecting the middle 2x4 and 1x4s to the post. I can also use an angle every couple of feet to connect the middle 1x4 to the middle 2x4. I can also use the fence brackets for the bottom 1x4s and also periodically screw through the panel and connect the two lower 1x4s for some stiffness. Still thinking about the fiberglass angle tho’.
What do ya’ll think? See anywhere I could improve the connections?
Very much industrial looking, to my taste. Before you get too far along, check out your city ordinances regarding fences. I don’t think this would be allowed in a residential area here in Minneapolis, for example. And the inspectors are very hard-nosed about this: but you’ve already bought all the parts? Too bad! But you’ve already built it? Too bad, tear it down! And within 15 days!
Find out if this will be a problem beforehand!
If I was your neighbor, I would be upset at such a fence being built next door. I might not be able to do anything about it legally. But it could certainly mess up relationships with your neighbors. Are you asking them to critique this design, too?
My neighbors behind are a rental house with rotten siding and a feral cat colony. To my left is one of those yards with an upside-down shed, a chicken coop (with chickens), a buzzard they rescued from the highway, and a pack of maybe eight chihuahuas. Across the street, one yard has been subdivided into three, each house having been added upon over the years until there is no yard left other than a concrete patch filled with faded Easter decorations and Christmas tree lights. Opting not to build my fence out of old window bars and shopping carts is a step up.
This is corrugated metal. How about attaching it the way it’s attached to a barn? Put a 2X on end and use roofing screws with neoprene washers, like this. Montopolis has the screws, as does every building store in town. Just build the corrugated section like you were putting siding on a barn. Put a 1X4 trim strip on the other side if you want (as shown in the cross section.)
By the way, I’d watch out when running screws into 3/4" wide wood, like you show in the fence detail. The bugle heads on decking screws tend to split the wood if they’re that close to an edge.
Oh, and use 16-foot boards for the top rails if they aren’t too expensive. They will help tie the fence together, and half of the posts will be completely covered at the top.
I sounds like our neighbor’s, but definitely worse. The owners that lived nearby all died off and the new owners all have let the houses fall apart and moved in junk or 25 people. The 25 people place finally got cleaned out of extras a couple years ago. The one next to us is the garbage collector, his crap had to start going in the front yard last year. I had to get the fire department on his ass two years ago because he’d burn plastics and tires when fog surrounded the houses and it’s not legal to burn trash in town either. He hasn’t trimmed the apple tree or removed large downed limbs for over five years. What is his job? He maintains his sister’s properties, and I’m sure their worth less every year.
I’m exaggerating slightly. On the other side of the chicken house is a new, $600k modern glass and concrete thing. My nieghborhood is weird. For years it was the poor Mexican neighborhood but it’s right in the middle of gentrification because of its exellent location. But it’s cool because you can pretty much do what you want and no one worries about it.
But if they were burning illegal stuff, I’d totally be complaining. That guy sounds really obnoxious.
Huh, I think that’ll work perfectly and I won’t even have to shift the panel off-center. Great idea, thanks.
Yeah, I was worried about the narrowness of the blocks but I can’t think of a good other way to attach the top slats. I think a 2x2 would look bulky and obnoxious.
Hey, cornflakes, where do you get your lumber? I try to buy local and avoid the big box stores when I can.
BTW, if any one is interested, this fnece was kinda my jumping off point for the design. This guy used roofing panels horizontally and I think old chain link fence poles for the posts but I liked the basic idea.
Have you considered corrugated fiberglass instead? Won’t retain heat, much less weight, won’t rust. It used to only come in ugly yellow or hideous green, but I’ve seen some cool architectural corrugated fiberglass lately that is in cool colors and semi transparents.
It’s been a while since I bought any lumber, but I usually ended up buying lumber from either McCoy’s or BMC West (they bought Stripling-Blake, at Steck and Shoal Creek, just off Mo-Pac. They usually had the best wood and the best price. The McCoy’s at Montopolis and Burleson has plenty of guys in the yard to help load, and everyone knows the inventory so you don’t spend a lot of time waiting on the phone for the one employee who can answer your question. The store in Manchaca used to have almost as good of service and had a better selection in the yard (Interstore transfers are no problem though.) McCoy’s is also locally owned, with corporate headquarters in San Marcos.
I’m not a fan of buying lumber from the box stores. The lumber usually isn’t as good, it costs at least a little more and you have to load it onto a cart and then onto your truck or trailer. Besides, Lowes and Home Depot use boutique grading for their lumber, so you never quite know what matches to, say, #2 Spruce-Pine-Fir.
What I don’t like about fiberglass is how it ages (or doesn’t age). Wood and metal get a nice patina and softening as they age; fiberglass just looks grubby.
Hey, thank everyone for replying to my very selfish and narrowly focused thread. Especially cornflakes for the local advice. I appreciate the replies and opinions and I’ve been able to nail down some details I was fuzzy on.
Fiberglass ages and all the fibers are exposed. It’s not pretty, collects dirt, and breaks off in your skin if you touch it. Without fastenings and support in the middle it will likely break in a high wind.
