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One of the most inexpensive fences for a summer residence or a private house is made of corrugated board. Its design is simple – dug-in poles to which transverse logs are attached. A profiled sheet is attached to this lattice with self-tapping screws or rivets. Everything is really simple, especially if you know how to use a welding machine. Although there is a technology without welding – on bolts or on wooden crossbars. In any case, you can build a fence from corrugated board with your own hands. You can do all the work, if necessary, alone, but when installing sheets it is more convenient with an assistant.
Construction with metal poles
The simplest production is a fence with metal poles dug into the ground. You can use round or square pipes, but it is more convenient to work with square – profiled ones.
The length of the posts is taken depending on the desired height of the fence, plus from 1 to 1,5 meters is added for penetration into the ground. It is necessary to dig into the ground below the freezing depth of the soil. For each region, the soil freezes to a different depth, but in Central Russia it is about 1,2 m. When determining the depth to which you bury pipes, it is better to play it safe and make the holes deeper. Otherwise, the forces of winter heaving of the rack will simply be pushed out, and your fence will fall down (see photo).
For pillars, they usually take a profiled pipe with a section of 60 * 60 mm with a wall thickness of 3 mm. The distance between the posts is from 2 to 3 meters. The greater the thickness of the profiled sheet, the less often you can put poles. If the soil is hard to dig, it makes sense to make the distances larger, otherwise you can save on the purchase of metal – the thinner, the cheaper and the price difference is significant.
Logs for a fence from a professional sheet are made from a profile pipe 40 * 20 or 30 * 20 mm. The second option is wooden bars 70 * 40 or so. When using wood, a significant amount is saved, but the tree disappears faster, and besides, it warps from moisture. Most likely in a few years you will have to change the lags, and they will already be metal. But as an economy option for several years will go.
When making a do-it-yourself fence from corrugated board with wooden logs, do not forget to carefully treat the wood with an antibacterial compound (for example, Senezh Ultra). It is better to do this in the bathroom – immerse the bars for 20 minutes in the solution completely. So they will last longer.
The number of lags depends on the height of the fence. Up to 2 meters – two are enough, from 2,2 to 3,0 meters you need 3 guides, even higher – 4.
Read more about choosing and building a foundation for a fence here.
Ways of fastening the lag to the poles
Metal logs are welded either between the pillars or in front. The first method is more laborious, and more waste is obtained: you have to cut the pipes into pieces. But with this arrangement of the lag, the structure turns out to be more rigid: each pillar serves as a support for the sheet and it “walks” less, if desired, a couple of additional fasteners can be placed along it.
If you weld pipes in front of the pole (from the side of the street), there is less work, but you still have to cut and there will be waste: it is necessary that the weld of the two sections falls on the pole. Unless you guess the distance so that they lie flat. Then you buy materials in advance, and then calculate the installation step of the pillars.
For fastening wooden bars, holders are welded in front or on the sides – metal corners or U-shaped guides. Holes are then drilled into them and fastened with bolts or self-tapping screws.
There is an option to assemble a fence from corrugated board without welding. There is a special fastener for this, which is called the X-bracket. This is a cross-shaped plate with curved edges, which is mounted on self-tapping screws.
Decking for fences
For fences, a profiled sheet marked C is used – for fences and walls. There are also H and HC, but they are not suitable for fences – these are more roofing materials. It is rare to find markings A and R, profiles A can be used for fences.
In the marking after the letter there is a number – from 8 to 35. It indicates the height of the rib in millimeters. So C8 means that the profiled sheet is intended for a fence, and the wave height is 8 mm. The higher the wave height, the more rigid the surface will be. In strong winds, take at least C10, and even C20.
Sheet thickness – from 0,4 to 0,8 mm. The most optimal option is a thickness of 0,45 mm or 0,5 mm. They are suitable for fences up to 2,5 m in height. If you need a higher one, take at least 0,6 mm.
The height of the sheet is usually around 2 meters, you can find 2,5 m. The width is very different – from 40 cm to 12 meters. Different factories produce corrugated board of various formats.
Decking can be galvanized or painted (painted is 15-25% more expensive than galvanized). Paint is applied in two types: powder and polymer coating. Powder coating is more durable, but also more expensive.
There are sheets painted on one side – on the second there is galvanization coated with gray primer, there are – on two. Double-sided coating is naturally more expensive than single-sided painting, but the view is better, and the service life is longer.
Support pipes and logs for the fence are usually primed, then painted. And it somehow happened that they were painted with dark paint. Having then attached a profiled sheet painted on one side to them, they get a clearly visible “skeleton” on a light gray background. In a small area, this can be critical. Pay attention, and when building a fence from corrugated board with your own hands, paint the supporting frame in light gray. The result will please you: it looks much better from the yard.
How to fasten the profiled sheet to the frame
Fasten the sheet with screws or rivets. Self-tapping screws for profiled sheet are galvanized, there are painted. Pick them up to match the color of the fence. Tighten with a screwdriver using a nozzle.
The installation step depends on the wavelength and the height of the fence. The higher the fence, the more often you need to install fasteners. It holds normally if fastened through a wave to increase strength, with two lags it can be fastened in a checkerboard pattern, and not one above the other.
During installation, it is important to set the first sheet vertically. Then all the rest will be installed without problems. When laying sheets, the next one enters the one already installed on the 1st wave. Attached to the bottom of the wave. It is necessary to install the self-tapping screw strictly perpendicularly. Then the hole is covered with a washer and precipitation will not cause peeling of the paint.
For information on how one can attach a profiled sheet to a fence, see the video.
Do-it-yourself fence from corrugated board: photo report
A fence was built from the neighbors and frontal. The total length is 50 meters, the height is 2,5 m. A brown profiled sheet is used on the front, and galvanized on the boundary, thickness 0,5 mm, grade C8.
In addition, the following materials went:
- profiled pipe 60 * 60 mm, wall thickness 2 mm, pipes 3 m long for poles;
- 80 * 80 mm with a wall of 3 mm were placed on the gate posts and gates;
- logs 30 * 30 mm;
- gate frame and gates 40*40 mm;
The fence is mounted on metal poles, between which the plinth is then poured. The owners need it, since it is planned to set up a flower garden in front of the fence (you can see the fence made under it). It is also needed so that water does not flood the yard during heavy rains. Metal sheets are not fastened immediately from the ground, but slightly retreated. This gap is closed with a die-cut – a tape that remains in some industries. This is done on purpose so as not to block the access of air, so that the earth dries out faster.
Metal preparation
The first stage is the preparation of pipes. From the warehouse, the pipe comes rusty, so that it serves for a long time, you have to clean off the rust, then treat it with Antirust and then paint it. It is more convenient to first prepare all the pipes, prime and paint, then just start the installation. Rust was cleaned with a metal brush mounted on a grinder.
The pipes in the warehouse were only 6 meters long. Since the height of the fence is 2,5 meters, you need to bury another 1,3 meters, the total length of the post should be 3,8 meters. To save money, they cut it in half into 3-meter pieces, and the missing pieces were added with various scrap metal available on the farm: trimming corners, fittings, pieces of various pipes. Then everything was cleaned, primed and painted.
Pole installation
The first two corner posts were placed. Pits were drilled with a drill bought in a store. The soil is normal, one hole 1,3 meters deep took about 20 minutes.
The first pillar was set horizontally and so that it rose above the ground to a height of 2,5 meters. To set the second one, it was necessary to beat off the height. Used a water level. It must be filled in so that there are no bubbles – from a bucket, and not from the tap, otherwise it will lie.
They put up the second pillar at the broken mark (applied to the bar, which was placed next to the hole) and concreted. When the cement had set, a twine was pulled between the posts, along which all the rest were aligned.
The filling technology was standard: a double-folded roofing felt was installed in the hole. A pipe was placed inside, poured with concrete (M250) and set up vertically. The level was controlled by a plumb line. It is very important to set the posts correctly, otherwise the entire fence will warp.
In the process of work, it turned out several times that concrete was poured not inside the rolled roofing material, but between it and the walls of the pit. Raking it out of there is a small pleasure, because the protruding part was cut into petals, nailed to the ground with large nails. Problem solved.
After the concrete had set, they made a portable formwork from boards covered with a dense film. With their help, the basement was filled. To make it stronger, reinforcing bars are welded to the posts on both sides from the bottom. Formwork was placed around them.
Jumper setting
Cleaned, primed and painted pipes for the crossbars were cut and welded. Cooked between the pillars. They are also tedious to put in a level to make it easier to mount.
After the welding is completed, all welding points are cleaned with a wire brush, treated with “Anti-rust” and then painted.
Mounting of the profiled sheet
Since the top jumper runs along the very top of the fence, and it is welded exactly to the level, there were no problems with leveling and installing the sheets. Fastened first along the edges, then installed intermediate screws. To make it easier to put them evenly, a thread was pulled between the extreme ones.
After the gates were welded and attached. As a finishing touch, additional elements are installed on top – a U-shaped profile that covers the top of the fence and plugs for pipes.
As you understand, there is nothing particularly complicated. It is important to set the posts evenly and weld the frame. This is the main task. A lot of time – about 60% is spent on preparing pipes – cleaning, priming, painting.
Fence made of profiled sheet with brick pillars
Of course, a fence with brick pillars looks more decorative. You can do it if you want, but it will take more time. There are two options:
- To make a full-fledged strip foundation. But it is long and expensive. On well-drained soils, you can make a shallow foundation, on heaving soils you will have to dig in below the freezing depth of the soil. And although the tape will not be wide, there is a lot of work – dig a trench for the entire length of the fence, put up formwork, knit reinforcement, fill it and then finish it. Put brick pillars on top. Strong, reliable, but expensive.
- Make according to the scheme described above: bearing pillars with a base. Bricks are laid around the pillars. This method is less costly. Read about how to lay brick pillars here.
The whole technology is the same, only the reinforcement will be required more rigid – two belts of two bars with a diameter of 10-12 mm. It will be necessary to install embedded elements in the pillars, to which the guides will be attached. They (mortgages) can be welded to the pipe after it has been exposed and the mortar has set.
Photo of the design of the fences from the profiled sheet
Often a profiled sheet is combined with forging, sometimes a frame is welded from a profile pipe, a profiled sheet is mounted in it and all this is decorated with metal patterns – forged or welded. Another option to make the fence non-standard is to install the wave not vertically, but horizontally. A small, seemingly change, but the view is different. Some ideas in the photo gallery below.