Make fence out of steel siding?

[Sledgie]

A local university didn't like the color of the siding on 4 new buildings, and made the builder replace it all. I bought 30,000 sq ft of 24 ga 6" rib siding, the majority of it 16' long (all 3'wide), white on the inside and light gray on the outside. A planned 50 x 100 building will use up about a third of it. I would like to build a garden fence 5 ft tall to enclose about 100' x 200' that would be fairly deer and rabbit proof, and also add some wind protection (in Kansas after all) Has anybody seen a good way of doing this without it looking like I'm trying to enclose a junkyard? I would like it to last for a lot of years, can get about any materials, can weld decent so any and all ideas are welcome.

 

[forgeblast]

What about using the solid sheets for about 3-4' on the bottom and wire fencing on top?

 

[RippySkippy]

It will look like a junk yard or cattle yard wind break...not matter how you slice it, metal fences in the open will not look natural. You can disguise their impact with plantings.

If your using it for a wind/snow break, it will work best to have slots between the panels, you cannot stop the wind, so can only slow it down. If you build a wall where all panels touch, in a few years it will lean away from the prevailing winds.

Here's some useful links for your consideration. Please don't be offended that they are written for the livestock producer...the information works for general windbreak designs.

Windbreaks for Livestock Operations
Windbreak Fences

 

[Iplayfarmer]

To RippySkippy's point (BTW great screen name) it will look a little junkyard no matter what you do. But, there are probably ways to make it look better than others.

I like forgeblast's idea of putting some kind of wire or pole at the top. Another option is to cut panels at an angle and put them in a V pattern along the length of the fence. I.e. put one set angling 20 degrees to the right, then the neighboring set angles to the left. etc. You can also do sections of tin fence alternating with field wire, hog pannels, or barbed wire. This would allow the fence to be less visually obstructive but still make use of the panels and provide some wind resistance.

There are other options, too, I'm sure. I just haven't thought of them yet.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I need to get a life, I know.

Here's my picture of what the fence might look like if you combined forgeblast's and my ideas...

 

[jinman]

They don't have wood to waste in Australia and use metal siding to build fences all the time. Here's one company. How you finish out the top of the fence can have a dramatic effect on its looks.

 

[bcp]

 

[flusher]

A local university didn't like the color of the siding on 4 new buildings, and made the builder replace it all. I bought 30,000 sq ft of 24 ga 6" rib siding, the majority of it 16' long (all 3'wide), white on the inside and light gray on the outside. A planned 50 x 100 building will use up about a third of it. I would like to build a garden fence 5 ft tall to enclose about 100' x 200' that would be fairly deer and rabbit proof, and also add some wind protection (in Kansas after all) Has anybody seen a good way of doing this without it looking like I'm trying to enclose a junkyard? I would like it to last for a lot of years, can get about any materials, can weld decent so any and all ideas are welcome.

I visit my son and his family in western OK all the time so I know about the fierce winds out there. 24 ga is still pretty lightweight siding so you'll need posts in the ground every 3 feet or so to keep your fence from buckling. Hope you have a good post hole digger for your tractor and the soil isn't too difficult to drill.

Good luck