What to do with old chain link fencing?

[ning]

I've got an old roll of chain link fence that's been lying on the ground for the last 25 years. What else can you use this stuff for besides making a fence? Can I use it to stabilize some fill by burying sections and dirt in layers?

 

[oosik]

Well - cut a chunk - put a header 2x4 across the top - attach a rope bridle to the 2x4 - makes a fine drag harrow. Lots of dust but does a fine job of breaking clods and final smoothing. That will use about six feet of the roll.

 

[bcp]

Well - cut a chunk - put a header 2x4 across the top - attach a rope bridle to the 2x4 - makes a fine drag harrow. Lots of dust but does a fine job of breaking clods and final smoothing. That will use about six feet of the roll.

Make a bunch of them. Sell or give them away.

Bruce

 

[QRTRHRS]

Maybe as you said, make a sort of box out of it and fill with stones like commercial rip rap. Not sure about chain link but around me, the scrap yards do not want wire fencing though some will accept it with no payout.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t know or really care if it would help fill, but that’s what would do with it. Plan B would be burn it to accelerate rusting. There’s nowhere here that will take it. The recycling center won’t. The landfill won’t. The scrapyard won’t unless you have enough to fill a semi trailer.

 

[sixdogs]

The only thing I've ever heard is a drag harrow but it doesn't make that good of one. After many years, my solution was to roll it up real tight, tie tight with rope and set down by the road. It was gone in a day and is now someone else's problem. Maybe there's a better idea but I haven't found one.

 

[Wagtail]

You could cut smaller sections of it for tomato/bean trellises or protective cones for young tree plantings (anti-deer/critter).

Thinking of Christmas (yes, it's coming!), a framed section would support a design made out of 'rope lights'.

 

[oosik]

No - I agree sixdogs but a real good drag harrow can run $450 to $700. You and I can drag a lot of chain link fence for less than that.

I've tried making a gabion to use on my fence line out of chain link. That did not work well, at all.

 

[skipperbrown]

Makes a fine drag for covering seed on food plots and the ham radio crowd likes them to make an electrical mat for vertical antennas. You could try advertising it in CL under radio equipment.

 

[stuckmotor]

Anyone ever tried to reinforce concrete with it?

 

[tallyho8]

Yes, I have used rolls of it to reinforce some concrete slabs I have poured. Saved me lots of money not having to buy the mesh.

 

[sixdogs]

If the cement cracked and started to move, wouldn't the concrete move more as the chain moved and not stay together?

 

[om21braz]

Well - cut a chunk - put a header 2x4 across the top - attach a rope bridle to the 2x4 - makes a fine drag harrow. Lots of dust but does a fine job of breaking clods and final smoothing. That will use about six feet of the roll.

+1 If you know folks that maintain baseball fields - you could fix them right up.

 

[Jstpssng]

If the cement cracked and started to move, wouldn't the concrete move more as the chain moved and not stay together?

If that's a concern youw can always wire in enough rebar to stabilize it. I had to use a little when I poured my slab to keep the mesh from sagging, otherwise it would have just laid on the ground under the concrete.
If he lived closer I would buy an 8 foot piece for a drag behind my 4-wheeler, to cover the seed as I plant my field.
I wouldn't burn galvanized fencing, it's a good way to get zinc poisoning.

 

[4570Man]

Yes, I have used rolls of it to reinforce some concrete slabs I have poured. Saved me lots of money not having to buy the mesh.

That seems like a terrible idea unless you’re just pouring a sidewalk or something and don’t care about the cracking.

 

[Creamer]

That seems like a terrible idea unless you’re just pouring a sidewalk or something and don’t care about the cracking.

Agreed! Mesh in concrete forms a good tensile layer. Chainlink fencing has no tensile strength until it is pulled tight which there is no way to stretch it and hold it that tight while the concrete is setting up. The bent links will pry the concrete apart quicker as it is stressed.

 

[smstonypoint]

After many years, my solution was to roll it up real tight, tie tight with rope and set down by the road. It was gone in a day and is now someone else's problem. Maybe there's a better idea but I haven't found one.

If that doesn't work fast enough, put up a "For Sale" sign with a price listed when setting the roll by the road. It will be sure to disappear overnight.

Steve

 

[oosik]

skipperbrown had a good idea. Local ham radio club should take that right off your hands. Good ground plane for all sorts of vertical antennas.

 

[/pine]

Actually the fencing will make decent reinforcing to concrete...maybe just not a lot of tensile strength...

Steel, glass and plastic fibers are quite common additives to add different strengths to concrete...

example: Official site of D & C Supply Co. Inc.

 

[ovrszd]

If that doesn't work fast enough, put up a "For Sale" sign with a price listed when setting the roll by the road. It will be sure to disappear overnight.

Steve

That's a study in human nature right there!!