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Having bought a plot for the construction of a house or a summer house, we want to mark the boundaries – put up a fence. They do this, usually, even before the start of construction, and it is unreasonable to put up a monumental fence. More often they put up light fences from a chain-link mesh, a gitter mesh, a picket fence. But such fences are almost transparent and do not cover anything. A camouflage net for a fence will help to hide from prying eyes. This is not a special product. To reduce the “visibility” of the fence, any woven or woven nets and mats are used: military camouflage, construction for scaffolding, facades, shading, as well as improvised means. Just to make the fence less visible.
Mesh for fence opacity
To mark the boundaries of the site, it is unreasonable to put up an expensive fence. Many people decide to put up a light chain-link fence or gitter mesh. It’s really fast and relatively inexpensive. But there is a significant drawback – such a fence does not completely close from prying eyes. The question arises, how to make a mesh fence opaque?
There is a solution for the future – to plant plants along the fence that will close the site. But I want to reduce the “transparency” now. And the second solution is to use a camouflage net. Fortunately, they are very different – from military camouflage to construction and shading.
Types of nets for masking the fence
All the grids described below do not cover the view completely. Visibility through the fence is reduced, but the silhouettes and general outlines of the site are visible. If you want to close everything completely, try to find a banner mesh/fabric. On the one hand, these products are opaque, on the other hand, they only partially impair visibility. You can order a banner for the fence, you can just a grid, or you can with some kind of print. Specialists will supply you with eyelets and make them according to size.
If you want to get by with a low cost, you can talk to advertising organizations about buying from their decommissioned banners. You will most likely have to cut them into pieces. The edges will need to be tucked, sealed and eyelets installed. It is not so difficult to do it yourself and without special equipment.
Camouflage military nets
When talking about camouflage netting for a fence, the first thing that comes to mind is military camouflage nets. They are a nylon mesh on which strips of fabric are glued. Produced in standard pieces 3*3 or 3*6 meters. You can buy not only in the store, the Internet, but also at a flea market, where prices are several times lower.
Camouflage colors: green in different shades, khaki, brown (desert), and gray-white. For different seasons and regions. All of them have excellent features:
- wide temperature range of use (from -50°C to +50°C);
- can be cut, they do not bloom;
- designed for 2 years of continuous operation;
- do not react to water, gasoline, lubricants, detergents.
Someone thinks that the military camouflage net on the fence looks unattractive. But this is a matter of taste, and there is no dispute about tastes. There is a more significant drawback. Nets of this type are excellent at camouflaging from a distance, but if you stand close, they cover almost nothing. Suits you with this option – excellent. No, there are other solutions.
If you need a camouflage net for a fence in the country, you probably plan to remove it for the winter. If so, then it is better to store camouflage military nets rolled up, hanging somewhere in a dry, ventilated place.
Grids JAMAICA, COVERET, SOLEADO and analogues
What else are camouflage nets for the fence? Polymer, woven or more similar to fabric. The category of polymer meshes is difficult to define – they have a wide range of uses, in connection with this, the same mesh can be positioned in completely different ways.
For example, they are used for shading plantings, plants, greenhouses. In this case, they are positioned as shading grids. The same nets are used at construction sites for facade work: to separate the work site, shade it and mask an unsightly view. Then they are sold as facade construction, for scaffolding. How and where to look for them? In stores for gardeners / summer residents, in construction and even in goods for recreation, in supermarkets (there are definitely some in Leroy Merlin).
The same nets can be used with the same success for shading gazebos, terraces, open areas, car parking spaces. Including to reduce the visibility of the site, reducing the transparency of the fence. Such nets do an excellent job of masking.
There are they of greater or lesser density / transparency. It is not always easy to define it by characteristics. Some manufacturers mark the degree of light transmission, some normalize the weight of one meter. And nets from other manufacturers (cheaper ones, as a rule, Korean ones) are practically not standardized in any way. They can only be selected visually.
Think about how you will attach
When choosing a mesh, pay attention to the presence of eyelets – these are plastic or metal rings sewn into the edges of the canvas. There are usually on a grid for facades or scaffolding. With their help, the nets are attached to the base. In this case, the fence. This – in the presence of machined mounting holes – is the difference between shading and building grids. Well, also in the fact that building facades, for scaffolding, are sold in pieces, and shading – in meters.
Buy per square meter cheaper. But it will need to be fixed somehow. It is not possible to make holes arbitrarily in all grids. Many of them bloom in the presence of a hole. Or you will have to immediately melt the edges of the holes. Or sheathe the perimeter with a cloth, and put plastic or metal rings (grommets) into it. Basically, there are options. But we must not forget about the “dissolve”.
How to choose
It will not be easy to choose a masking mesh for a fence from the category of facade or shading – there are a lot of them in specialized stores. When choosing, pay attention to the following indicators:
- UV resistance. It is sunlight, not wind, that damages polymers. And all nets are made of them. It should be written in the characteristics that the material (polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.) is light-stabilized, tolerates UV rays.
- Dissolved or not. Some types of nets can be cut without fear. Others don’t. In the first case, take a roll of any height / width, as you can cut it. In the second, you will have to look for the size that suits you, since cutting will not work. And one more thing: the first type will not bloom if a hole appears. The second one will.
This is Jamaica mesh on a chain-link fence - Temperature mode of use. Not all polymers can withstand a “deep” minus or a significant plus. Since the camouflage net for the fence can be used all year round, you need to block temperature fluctuations.
If you plan to remove the disguise for the winter, carefully roll up. Facade/shading meshes do not carry breaking loads. They must be handled with care.
Reed mats, reeds, brushwood
There is another way to close the site from prying eyes: mats made of reeds, reeds, brushwood and even grass. It may be called “mats”, but it is also found as a “reed fence”, for example. They are dried stems stitched with wire or fishing line. There are reed and reed mats of different heights/lengths.
Mat width – from 1 to 2 meters, length – up to 6 meters. The price is quite acceptable. How durable are they? Enough for several seasons.
How to choose? See the quality of the firmware. The more firmware there is, the less likely it is that the stems will break and the mat will fall apart. Why is firmware better: wire or fishing line? Actually, it depends on the material. For more rigid ones – from brushwood – wire is better. It is more rigid and securely holds the material in one plane. For reeds, brushwood, grass, stitching with fishing line is better. It cuts through the stems less. And yet, mats stitched with fishing line are easier to work with – they are more flexible.
When considering the option of masking the fence with reed or reed mats, do not miss the fact that the windage of the fence will increase significantly. If there are strong winds, either your disguise will be torn off, or the fence will be knocked down (if the poles are not dug deep).
other methods
There are other ways to make a mesh fence less transparent. They require more time (or money) to implement, but the appearance is more “civilian”. The first way is to weave strips of plastic into the mesh cells. These can be lamellas, thick polyethylene cut into strips, an artificial “Christmas tree”, which is sold in the markets and is often used to make wreaths or New Year’s decorations.
In any case, the strip / lamella is passed either above the wire or below it. It is not necessary to “dive” into each cell, you can through one or two. Hundreds of meters in this way you will not close, but a couple of dozen is quite real. In this way, you can close the front part, and use nets in the backyards.
Another option for fences with sectional mesh. Together with the mesh, polycarbonate can be attached. He needs support, so when planning the fence, immediately weld the crossbars. Without crossbars, you can mount polycarbonate on a gitter mesh. Its rigidity is enough to bear the additional load. You can also attach chain-link mesh to sections if it is attached to a metal frame, and the sections themselves to poles or the same crossbars.
How to attach the mesh to the fence
The method of attaching the camouflage net to the fence can be any. The easiest, cheapest and fastest way is to use plastic ties. Why? They are easy to install and just as easy to remove. If you want to remove the net for the winter, just bite the ties with side cutters or cut them with scissors.
You can attach the mesh to the supporting structure or to the fence canvas. Under the supporting structure we mean pillars and lintels. Fastening preferably at the top and bottom. The installation step is about 50 cm. This is enough, but the canvas may sag a little. If you want to be more careful – put fasteners more often. The dense mesh has significant windage and will inflate strongly during the wind. In this case, you should additionally install ties in the middle of the height of the canvas.
How to hang securely so as not to be carried away
If there are fears that your “camouflage” may simply be carried away, more reliable fasteners are required. There are ways, but it will not work to remove the grid for the winter. So, “forever” you can hang a camouflage net on a chain-link fence. Do this at the installation stage. But it will take more people to get the job done. One should hold and gradually unfold the chain-link, the second should do the same with the mass network, the third should sew alternately one grid, then another. In this case, the masking mesh on the fence will be fixed as securely as the chain-link itself.
If you want to close a sectional fence made of gitter mesh, fasten the protective mesh with the same fasteners as the sections. Bars stick out at the top of the gitter sections. On them you can string the upper edge of the disguise, and fix the bottom to the pillars. Secure with clamps or ties, regular fasteners. It will be quite difficult to film all this. And you too, by the way. When you put the net on the rods, push the fibers apart, do not tear. Retreat at least a centimeter from the edge of the network – then it will stretch less. The lesson is long and dreary, but the mesh will last longer.