Plastic white fence
hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa |
2007-08-09 144562
Have any of you used the common plastic white rail fence you see all over now as a snow fence? I've been using the orange plastic stuff. It is next to worthless, the first wind it seems to strech no matter how close you drive the posts then just sag down and become a nothing. I've seen two, three, and four rail, I wondered if the four rail would provide enough surface to start a drift? anyone have any thoughts? Cost? Frank.
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Plastic white fence
candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota Pics |
2007-08-09 144564
Frank,
You're right about that orange junk. Don't even bother.
The best snow fence is still the wood lath strips, running vertically, twisted in wire, with about a 1/2 inch gap between them.
I've never seen any white plastic snow fences.
Joel ....
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Plastic white fence
hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa |
2007-08-10 144571
Joel; I didn't mean white plastic snow fence, I never heard of that either. I meant the white plastic rail fence that is real popular now. You see it almost anywhere like around horse farms etc. Yes, I used to use the old wood lath type too, I don't know if it is still abvailable, but it would have to be high dollar by now. My concern is to have the white fence, probably the four rail for more snowfence effect to be decorative in most times, space it back from the driveway on the north and west sides far enough to serve as a snowfence, but never take it down. The Mrs. is concerned about trimming around the posts all summer, but my response is called "Roundup", the best string trimer ever invented. Frank. ....
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Plastic white fence
kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas |
2007-08-10 144572
Back home, years ago in the real South Park, Colorado, these were everywhere. Rule of thumb from the ranchers: the older the wooden fence, better it worked. (More drag was effective in starting the drift.) Plastic is pretty smooth, not as much drag as wood. I picked up all that info and more sitting on a barstool, so take it for what its worth. ....
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Plastic white fence
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada Pics |
2007-08-10 144576
Frank, for what it's worth, most of our clients up here in the north country have gone to 'living' snow fences.
Usually a white (swamp) cedar hedge planted in the appropriate location. By the linear foot it's hard to beat it on a cost basis and it looks good all year.
It's different for a homeowner, but in our case time is money, labour is often the most expensive part of anything. You plant a hedge once and it's set for quite a while, annual pruning is way faster than maintenance on a traditional fence usually is and a hedge offers both birds and animals shelter in harsh weather.
BTW, the only way we've had any luck with plastic snow fence is by running a few strands of that blue & white nylon twine along behind it at various heights. It takes the load instead of the fence itself.
Best of luck. ....
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Plastic white fence
bvance
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 280 The Great Pacific NorthWet, Olympia, WA Pics |
2007-08-10 144578
In areas with lots of snow and wind combined, you will the State Dept. put fencing along a highway that is angled away from the wind so as the wind blows over the angled fence it creates more drag as mentioned earlier, to cause more effective drifting. The fence is about 7 feet high (in an upright position) with flat boards about 6-8 inches wide and then it is laid over about 30 degrees ending up about 5 feet high.
For a residential area, an angled fence may look a bit goofy, but effective.
Brian ....
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