There may be a point when you get tired of blog posts about fencing, but right now I’m just so excited about it. Plus, yesterday I made quite a bit of progress on the exterior fencing along the woods and I’m getting pretty close to fencing in some cows. There are three sections of fence along the woods and I was able to get all three wires up on the shortest section and even have them clipped in before dark. But, that was only part of my night.
After work I loaded up a trailer full of Powerflex posts and other supplies and took off. In just a little over one hour I was able to pound in 71 sixty inch Powerflex posts 18 inches into the ground. After I had all those in it took about another hour to go through and drill three holes in each post for the cotter pins. Then with the sun still up (or at least it was still light enough even though it was cloudly) I decided to put up a couple more wires! I feel like I’m getting the hang of it now, even though I still can’t break the wire like Gary Duncan did.
I guess I don’t have a lot of other fence building experience to draw on, but I feel like working with the smooth hi-tensile wire is fairly easy once you get the hang of it. And I know that attaching the wire to the Powerflex posts is extremely easy, plus I love the fact that I don’t have to worry about shorts on the posts like I would with steel.
All in all, I think I’m just a few evenings of work away from getting everything up and running except for a bit of fence around the yard. That will be a day of celebration!
What is the thinking behind having 7 wires on the perimeter fence and 3 wires on the fence along the woods?
Isn’t the fence along the woods also a perimeter fence at this point in time (and a weak link in the fence system with only 3 wires)?
Are all three wires going to be hot?
I can understand why you are excited about your fences, it always amazes me how different a pasture can look after the fences are completely removed, rebuilt, or replaced.
Rich –
I think the best explanation is that I consider the fence along the woods to be semi-permanent. Meaning that is probably not where that fence will live forever because I would rather fence around the entire property, but that is something that will happen over time as trees are taken out along the old fence line.
Also, the main reason for the 7 strands along the road was because we wanted that part to be “future proof”. Meaning we don’t need that much for our cattle (although it is nice for the pigs), but if in the future we add sheep or goats we will be at least partially ready along the road.