News | America's Fence Store

Every day, we go through dozens of doors without giving it a second thought.  We just don’t realize the precision that goes into a door and jamb.  Isn’t it amazing how the strike hits the strike plate each and every time? Ok, not that amazing.

The cold reality is that your gates are not doors.  Gates get out of adjustment and will not properly close.  Why?  A door is set into a jamb that completely surrounds the door.  When the jamb moves the door moves in unison.  Gates are set with two independent gate posts on opposite sides of your gate opening.  Gate posts are subject to settling of unsettled soil, frost, extreme change in temperatures and exposure to the sun.  All of these conditions will cause the gate posts to change or move.  Even the slightest change in vertical or horizontal position of the hinge post will result in an exponential movement of the latch hasp on the gate.  Bottom line, your gate won’t latch because the latch hasp does not align with the latch receiver on the gate post.

What can you do? A standard drop fork latch will not be impacted by movement in your gate posts.  These are the latches that look like two prong pitch forks that move up and down.  These are common on chain link and ornamental fencing.  If you have this type of latch; you should be fine.  Latches that use a horizontal rod that strikes or falls into a receiver when the gate is closed; these latches will require adjustment.  Latches that look like a standard door lock assembly; these will require adjustment.  If you have either of these type of latching /locking mechanisms; you should request four way adjustable hinges.  These are hinges that adjust up and down and in and out.  With these hinges, you will be able to adjust your gate to changing conditions.

If that sounds like too much to figure-out; you should ask your salesman “What do I do if my gate does not shut?”  This should prompt your fence salesman to provide you with some guarantees and options.

Best to you in 2012.  May your fence be everything you hoped for in the new year.

Why the confusion?  It all stems from the gauge.  Is it finished gauge or core wire gauge?  According to ASTM  668, vinyl coated chain link is specified and ordered by the metallic core wire.  However, according to various suppliers, they may interpret your request to mean a finished gauge ( metallic core wire plus vinyl coating).  For example, a 9ga. finished extruded and bonded wire has only an 11 ga. core wire.

The second issue is the type of coating.  Your residential chain link is typically “non-spec class 1 extruded” wire, meaning the vinyl coating is simply pulled over the wire like a sock over your foot.  This wire generally is miss represented because it is thicker than the higher grade materials.  Of course the reason it is thicker is because it is not bonded to the chain link and can easily tear or peel.

The second grade of wire is the “class 2A extruded and bonded” wire.  This wire may appear in some specifications and is generally used in commercial applications.  The vinyl coating is thinner than the “class 1 extruded” wire.  However, the extruded and bonded wire is bonded to the wire by means of an intense glue, thus less likely to peel or tear from the core wire.

The third grade of wire is “class 2b thermally fused and bonded.”  This class of wire is most predominately specified with architects, engineers, city, state and federal jobs.  It has the thinnest coating yet has the greatest strength in resisting cracking, peeling and tearing.  The vinyl coating is literally fused and bonded to the steel like welding two pieces of steel together.  This is the superior product.

Bottom line, how do you interpret the specifications you are given?  If the gauge of material is indicated, yet it does not indicate finished or core wire; it should be interpreted to mean the core wire per the ASTM.

How do you order your materials?  Always indicate the core wire size with the gauge and the words “core wire” behind the gauge.  For example if you want a 9 ga.  core wire, indicate on your request “ 9ga. core wire”.  After the gauge, then indicate the type of coating.  Select one of the three listed above.  Never list the finished gage and never leave off the words “core wire”.

When I was a boy I use to work summers at my father’s fence company.  Back then, cedar fence boards were rich with dark red, brown and orange hues.  The boards had a strong cedar smell that was so pungent that you might have thought you were locked in your grandmother’s cedar closet.  Back then, cedar fencing came from old growth cedar trees.  When the trees were harvested; the trunks were as big around as Volkswagen’s, mostly comprised of heart wood with a few outer sapwood rings.

These outer, lighter colored rings, sapwood, is the “working” part of the tree, as water and sap will flow through the sapwood much like blood through your arteries, veins and capillaries. While this part of the trunk is vital to the tree when it is living, it doesn’t make for very good stock for fencing and exterior applications. Sapwood contains a lot of moisture, will shrink considerably when dried, and is much more susceptible to fungus.

The inner, darker section of the trunk is the heartwood. Heartwood is formed from old, “retired” sapwood, and becomes the strong spine of the tree. Heartwood is preferred for fencing, as it is far less susceptible to fungus and doesn’t contain nearly as much moisture as sapwood, which means it will shrink less when dried. Many mills that specialize in cedar decorative exterior cedar posts and beams will actually remove the sapwood and use only heartwood.

Once the tree has “promoted” some of it’s sapwood to heartwood status, the sap will stop flowing through that part of the wood and the converting material essentially dies. As part of the conversion process, the pores will begin to plug up with organic matter which causes the cell walls to change color due to the presence of chemicals called extractives. The extractives are responsible for the rich character, odor and colors found in heartwoods.

Due to the limited amount of old growth cedar trees and tight restrictions on forestry throughout the United States and Canada, most of today’s cedar is new growth.  This new growth is from a species of cedar that grows quickly and establishes very little heartwood.  Furthermore, the trees are much smaller when harvested only compounding the lack of the dark inner rings.  Today’s cedar fencing is almost entirely harvested from sapwood.

Today’s Cedar fencing from sapwood cannot hold-up to its reputation as the preferred choice for longevity in exterior applications as its lifespan is considerably shorter compared to yesterday’s heartwood cedar fencing.  However, there are options.  With the restrictions and limitations on harvesting old growth cedar, the wood industry has moved on to less popular but abundant species such as Douglas Fir, White Fir and Incense Cedar.

These species are in great abundance in older growth trees, providing more options for fencing boards.  Because these species like Douglas Fir are being harvested from heartwood; these are proving to outperform the cedar in exterior above ground applications such as fencing.  Though you may not enjoy that rich cedar smell; you will get several years of longevity from these species.  Besides, after a while, the smell of cedar is just too much to handle.

Welcome to America Fence Store’s blog.  Our blog will be an educational tool.  We will provide everything from the most basic fence installation instructions to earth shattering fence news.  Like any product industry, fencing has it’s share of misnomers, disclaimers, overkills and overstatements.  We look forward to sharing with you the behind the scenes look into our what otherwise appears to be a transparent industry.  If you use this information to purchase from us, thank you.  Regardless, we look forward to you reading our blogs.

Next blog, the death of real cedar fencing.