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We make the first impression of the house and the dacha even before we entered the territory, sometimes before we saw the house itself. The first thing that catches your eye is the fence. Everything else is after, and the first impression is from the fence. On some, albeit inexpensive, but attractive, you want to stop and look: original ideas always attract the eye. One of the most interesting is a wicker fence or wattle fence. Moreover, they are woven not only from vines or branches: there are wickerwork from boards, and there are from PVC rods. They all look different, but interesting and unusual.
What is a wicker fence made of?
Let’s make a reservation right away that there are two types of wicker fence – “wattle” – from branches and “wicker” – from boards. The manufacturing technique is very similar, therefore both of them belong to wicker fences.
What is braid made of?
Now about what you can make such fences from. A board fence – an Austrian braid – is most often made from a pine board 20-25 mm thick, about 100 mm wide. Material – most often – pine. It is more affordable, contains a large amount of resins, and therefore has a longer service life. But to extend its “life” it would be useful to paint with antifungal compounds.
The poles for such a fence are made from a bar of at least 80 * 80 mm, but are more durable from a profiled pipe. Size 60 * 80 mm or 40 * 80 mm, you can take square ones. Depends on how you mount the board. The span between the supports is 2,5-3 meters, and between them they put an intermediate one – from a bar of 40 * 40 mm or so. The exact span is determined locally and often depends on the flexibility of the board.
To prevent metal poles from spoiling the picture, they are covered with boards, which are fixed through with studs with washers. You can make a plinth and pillars of brick, and between them – a braid – vertical or horizontal – depends on your wishes.
What to use for wattle
Captivity is made from young one-year-old shoots of several types of wood:
- willows (concrete);
- hazel (hazel);
- willows (krasnotal);
- aspen trees;
- birch;
- PVC rod.
The best are willow and hazel. Their core is dense, which is why the lines of operation are solid. Other breeds quickly lose their appearance and strength.
PVC wattle rod appeared only a few years ago. And although it is not natural, it is in good demand: wood, even processed, loses its attractiveness after a few years. Plastic, on the other hand, is not afraid of either the sun or frost, and does not change its appearance for a long time. Its minus is that you need to buy it, while the vine can be cut.
Rod preparation
Shoots are harvested in early spring or late autumn, their thickness is from 1 cm to 3 cm. On small fences – up to 1-1,2 m high – go tonic rods – 1-2 cm, on higher ones – those that are thicker.
It is better to clean the bark on the rods, and cover them with stain or wood oil. Brown color can be obtained by soaking the rods in potassium permanganate, gray – in blue vitriol.
You can also use unrooted shoots, but then the bark will begin to peel off, the view will be unattractive. It is more convenient to clean the bark with a split thick branch or “cleaner” (see photo). It is easy to make from a suitable size piece of branch.
If you plan to make a fence later, bundles of branches are placed in the basement. Before use, the rods are placed in a container with water for a week, periodically topping it up. The rods swell, elasticity returns to them, and it is easier to clean the bark. If the process is too hard, you can soak the branches for another week. Should go easier. To really make it easier, you can stand over the steam. Then the bark is removed like a banana peel, but the process of “soaring” itself causes difficulties.
Pillars
The basis of any fence – pillars. They can be made from thick, even branches or trunks of young trees. Diameter – about 5 cm and more if you plan a high fence. They are buried or driven into a depth of at least 50 cm, the installation step is about 50 cm, it can be more or less, depending on the degree of flexibility of the prepared vine.
To make the poles last longer, they are treated with bactericidal impregnations, the ends are burned at the stake (the old-fashioned method), dipped in hot bitumen, and soaked for a couple of days in a solution of copper sulphate.
If you put a wicker fence for the external fencing of the site, it is better to use timber or metal pipes as poles. If the weave is horizontal, the section of the tube does not matter – in the sense that both round and square will do. Even with a round one it will be easier to work. And with vertical weaving it is more convenient to put poles from a profile pipe. Crossbars are attached to them, and it is easier to do this to a flat edge.
Types of weaving
In general, it is recommended to master the manufacture of wattle from the simplest scheme – through a pole. Almost everyone does it, and it looks good.
Then, having made a couple of fences, you can move on to more complex drawings. There are several diagrams in the photo.
How to make a wicker fence yourself
We will consider the simplest option – the usual braided line. To begin with, you can practice on a small piece – master the technique, then you can start serious construction. For example, for training, you can make a fence for a garden or flower garden.
horizontal weaving
We drive six more or less thick pegs into the ground with a distance of 30-40 cm. We take the first vine, lay it with a “snake” intertwining between the posts. The vine alternately bends around the posts either in front or behind.
The second rod is laid in a mirror image to the bottom. If it starts at the back, then the next one is laid in front.
If there is a need to connect two vines, this is done on the nearest pillar. The next one is simply laid as a continuation of the previous one. And the protruding ends are cut off after everything is assembled.
The third, and all odd rows, fit like the first, the fourth and even – like the second. In general, we alternate the beginning in front of the pillar, then behind. Periodically, at the intersection of the vines and near the pillars, they knock with a mallet – a wooden mallet, compacting the rows.
This is the horizontal wedge. It can be continuous, or it can be shield. With continuous weaving, the pillars are installed around the entire perimeter, between them, one by one, vines are intertwined. It turns out an almost solid wall – the ends are brought out in one direction and there they are cut obliquely so that it is not visible.
If there is no thick vine, you can put a whole bunch of thin twigs at a time. It is unlikely that anyone will remove the bark from them, and a solid fence will not work either, but a small fence is easy. Such a fence made of rods looks decorative, it is perhaps even easier to make it yourself.
In panel manufacturing, sections of a certain length are made. Set the required number of stakes – 4-6 pieces, vines are woven between them. After reaching the required height, the ends sticking out on the sides are cut off.
If necessary, the edges of the rods are nailed to the stakes. It turns out such shields as in the photo. Sizes can be different – more or less depends on the desire and type of fence.
When the required number of shields has been collected, they are put in place, hammering the pointed ends into the ground. Nearby poles can be connected – for greater stability. It turns out a shield wicker fence. See the video for an example of assembling wattle shields.
The installation of a shield wattle fence can also be done using metal poles. No special technology
- we drill holes below the freezing depth,
- throw a bucket of rubble, tamp,
- we put a pole, set it in height and align the vertical;
- we concrete;
- we attach ready-made shields to the pole.
One of the options for such an installation in the video.
Using the same technology, a braided fence is made from boards. They only braid the boards, and the span between the pillars is made larger.
vertical weaving
The bars in a wicker fence can also be located vertically. In this case, three to five crossbars are nailed to the posts. The first crossbar is about 10 cm from the ground level, and then with the required step.
Weave like this: one end of the rod rests on the ground, for example, from the side closest to you. Then they bend, alternately stretching between the bars. The next escape is placed on the other side. It turns out it is in mirror image with the previous one. So they alternate – in front / behind.
Since the vine has a noticeable difference in size at the top and near the root, they are turned in pairs either up with a thick edge, then down. Then it turns out the same density at the top and bottom. If this is not done, it will turn out thick at the bottom, rarely at the top. How to weave a vertical fence, watch the video – a master class from a person who has made more than one wicker fence with his own hands.
They make a vertical and wicker fence from boards. Just to make it look organic, and to extend the life of the boards, the tops are covered with a board stuffed from above. Ends are nailed to it. This also allows you to fix the boards, which is useful in this version – sometimes loose ones fall out.
You can also fasten the boards to the lower crossbar. Only either from above or below: so that the wood does not lead when the humidity changes. Another point: if you make it from a raw board, it is worth considering that having first assembled everything without gaps, after drying you will have 1 cm gaps between the boards. This applies to both horizontal and vertical models.
The upper and lower crossbars can be made from a profile pipe. This is a more reliable material, which also guarantees greater stability.
Photo Ideas
It seems to many that a fence made of woven rods and branches is only a decorative fence that cannot fully protect the site. If you look at the next photo, this can be doubted. Wow such a fence, and almost opaque.
The main thing in this business is a thorough approach. Put the pillars, between which we braid everything very tightly. The service life may be short, but the costs are minimal. And both material and temporary.
If ordinary weaving is already easy, you can try and do something extraordinary. For example, a wicker fence made of branches arranged diagonally. And you can’t call it a frivolous structure either.
There is another interesting way of weaving – a pigtail. Having practiced in small areas, it will be possible to do something larger.
If you need a decorative fence in the yard, in the garden, in the garden, a fence made of branches can be made rare. They even use rather thick branches, but you need to work with them immediately, until they have time to dry, or then bend them.
By the way, if you use freshly cut willow twigs and stick them into the ground, after a while you can get a hedge: the willow takes root perfectly. You might get something like the following.
When planting hedges, use the same technique of weaving. Only form it from rooted shoots. After they become stiff, a very reliable fence will turn out. It’s not easy to get through it.
Next – two photos of wicker board fences. You can see the difference in using narrower and wider boards. In the first case, it is 100 mm, in the second – 150 mm.
Not only the fence can be made wicker. A lot of interesting things, it turns out: gazebos, huts, elements of garden decor.