Fence Installation Instructions · 2011. 2. 22. · We are confident that Benner’s Fencing will...

1 866 914 DEER (3337) Online store www.deerfencecanada.caInformation web sites www.bestfriendfence.ca and www.canadiandeerfencing.ca

Fence Installation Instructions

Deer Fence Canada Inc. 2470 Dunrobin Road,Ottawa, On, K0A1T0

1

http://www.canadiandeerfencing.ca/

http://www.bestfriendfence.ca/

http://www.deerfencecanada.ca/


Dear Valued Customer,

We would like to take this time to thank you for your purchase. We are confident that Benner’s Fencing will meet or exceed all your expectations.

Be sure to take a moment to browse through this instruction guide, as it will give you the knowledge needed to install and properly utilize your Benner’s system. You may also find other great hints and tips that will help you to decrease the time spent on your installation.

We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to hearing from you again soon with pictures of your completed installation.

Best Regards,

David DavidsonPresidentDeer Fence Canada Inc. Canadian distributor forBenner’s Gardens and Best Friend Fence.


2





Introduction.

This section is designed to introduce you to our products and gives a brief description from the smallest bed protector to the large estate perimeter.

During harsh winters, wild food reserves become scarce and often times all but non-existent in areas with high deer populations. This in turn puts many evergreen shrubs and other deciduous plants with tasty buds (like azaleas) on the menu. A group of deer can literally strip an entire landscape of its buds and evergreen foliage in just one or two visits (each deer can eat up to 7 lbs. of foliage per day!). Once heavily browsed, many plants have a hard time regenerating foliage and become weakened. A second browse in the spring or the following winter is usually a death sentence for any plants that do survive their initial encounter with deer.

Benner's Deer Fencing systems have been the product of choice for deer protection for over fifteen years. Flimsy “deer netting” products available at home and garden centers are not designed to provide long-term protection and are all but impossible to re-use for more than one season because they break down from UV light very quickly and are subject to deer pushing through them and tangling. We have been continually replacing this type of material with our high standard fencing fabric.

Best Friend Fence uses the same installation instructions as deer fencing with the exception that the fence fabric is on the outside of post or trees for deer exclusion and on the inside of the posts or trees for pet containment.

Following these instructions and you will have a reliable lasting installation keeping deer out and/or keeping your pet in.

Please use appropriate safety equipment when clearing the fence line and installing the fence.Safety first. Wear protective footwear, protective glasses, protective gloves, hard hats when trimming branches and bright reflective vests when working along roadside.


3





Specimen tree protectionFor those who do not mind the deer roaming around the property but do want to

protect the apple, pear or peach tree then we have a solution using a few posts and a remnant of heavy duty mesh. These solutions we tailor to the individual needs.

Seasonal Bed Protector and Best Friend Dog fenceRemovable and reusable Deer Protection Ideal to create a small vegetable garden,

raised beds or protect a new row of cedar hedge. Deer will not jump into a confined space hence for this application 6 foot high fence is all that is required. This is an incredibly easy system to install due to the post inserts sleeves. Our dog fence kits use the same system.

Enclosures using Garden Posts (Benner’s U-posts, Angle Posts and T-Posts) & Standard Fence

These areas are typically small gardens and vegetable gardens. These systems are cost effective for small perimeter lengths. These systems use Benner’s Standard fencing fabric with an installed height of 7 foot.

Enclosures using Medium duty Post and sleeve systemAgain used in small gardens but with the advantage that the post and sleeve

system is remarkably easy to install than a conventional garden post, slightly more expensive but extremely popular due to the ease of installation. This system is also used extensively with our dog and cat fence enclosures.

Enclosures using Benner’s Heavy Duty Posts & Heavy Duty Perimeter FenceThese systems are designed for more high-traffic areas such as a garden bordering

on open country, crown land or hydro easements. Hydro easements are truly deer highways and many clients are surprised to see deer in the backyard in the centre of a city. For these high traffic areas , these enclosures come with Benner’s Heavy Duty Fence, for added strength. Benner’s Heavy Duty Posts offer strong and easy to install post and sleeve system designed to match the fence’s low visibility.

Enclosures using treesThese types of enclosures are by far the cheapest to install using suitable trees to

support the fence fabric. It is advisable for anyone contemplating deer fencing to compare the option of using an enclosure using posts to a larger enclosure using existing trees. In many cases it is usually cheaper to buy more fence fabric and attach to trees than it is to invest in a smaller enclosure using posts. The simple rule of thumb is that a treed enclosure is 50% less per linear foot (meter) than an enclosure using posts.

Enclosure using existing farm fence or ministry of transport roadside fence.

These types of fence can readily be converted into a deer exclusion fence.


4





Planning your Fence

It is essential that you take some time to plan your fence. Draw a diagram of where the fence should go (see example below).Next clear 3 foot either side of the fence perimeter to give you sufficient space to work. If installing in a wooded area walk the fence line with a bow saw or chain saw and an 8 foot pole. Make sure in addition to the ground clearance that you have height clearance as well. Trim off any over hanging branches etc before you start.Decide if you are going to use tensioning cable on the fence and plan to support the tension that will be applied. (see section on reinforcing the fence)If you are planning an installation with posts then tensioning cable can help you economize on posts but the corners do need to be braced.It is wise to walk the fence line and check the soil type. If you encounter rock where you want to install posts then you will require to drill the rock unless you have suitable trees.If you have this problem then you only need to drill down approx 12 inches to secure the post. If your soil is very loose sand then plan to have your posts quite close together and ensure that the corners have a good H and it is worth considering a brace every 200 feet in loose soil. If you have a gully on the fence line the best approach is to insert posts either side of the gully (or use the trees) and continue the fence over the gully. The gap at the bottom can easily be filled with a piece of material cut to size and either hog ringed or tied to the main part of the fence. For changes on incline allow approximately 2 feet for folding the material at the point the slope changes.On very steep slopes you may need to extend our heavy duty posts to get a satisfactory fence line. We can easily extend our posts by 1-2 feet.If you have a four to five foot high farm fence then you need to check the condition of the posts and count how many will require a post extension to take the additional height of fence. In this type of fence you only need to use our 5 foot material on the post extensions and fix the bottom of the deer fence to the existing farm fence.Check with our local utilities that you know where water, gas, electricity, cable TV and phone lines are before starting to drive posts into the ground.


5





Seasonal Bed Protector and Best Friend Dog Fence

This is an incredibly easy system to install due to the post inserts .This is also a re-usable system. Once the deer damage season passes, simply slide the posts out of the sleeves with the fence still attached and roll up the fence and posts together. Just mark one end so the posts can be easily slipped right back into the sleeves in the same position the next season (the sleeves are left in the ground and covered with protective black caps (included) to keep rain & debris out).

Required Tools: Medium sized hammer, sledgehammer.

Step 1 – simply drive the 24” sleeves into the ground with a sledge hammer and the driving cap (#1)

Step 2 Then slip the posts in (#2 & #3)

Step 3 Fix the fence fabric to the posts with ties (#4).

Step 4 Fix the fence to ground with the ground stakes(#5), the fabric points out to keep deer out and inwards to keep pets in.

Step 5 For deer exclusion fix the white ribbons to the fence (#6).


6





Enclosure Instructions Using Garden Posts (U-Posts, Angle Posts, T-Posts, C Posts)

Required Tools: Medium sized hammer, crowbar, sledgehammer or two handed post driver, wire snips or pruning shears, tape measure, string, Protective Eyewear, small wood stakes and a stepladder (for 6’ or 8’ installations).

Step 1- Determine where you are going to install the fence. Clear the ground along the fence line. Mark the corners and run a line between the corners. (If you need a gate, mark were the gate posts go and study gate installation instructions)Step 2- Space your posts at even intervals. Please note that posts need to be placed anywhere an angle change in your fence line occurs. Posts should never be more than 15’ apart. Use small wooden stakes to mark placement of each post.Use a crowbar to start the hole in the ground for the postStep 3- Install your posts by hammering the top of the post with the sledgehammer or use a two handed post driver. Use stepladder if needed. 9’ posts should be hammered approximately 24” into the ground, while 6’ and 7’ posts should be hammered approximately 18” into the ground. You may wish to consider using our tubular posts and sleeves after looking at the pictures trying to get a 9 foot post driven into the ground.

Step 4-Find the top of the fence roll it is smooth, the bottom has the cut edge. For aesthetic reasons, the smooth trimmed side should be on top however having the cut edge at the bottom also presents a spiked edge to the animal when it tries to nose under the fence.Fasten your fence to the first post with five to seven ties, attaching the ties to the post. For a pet fence, your fence will be on the inside of the posts and for the deer fence it will be on the outside of the posts. About 4- 6” of the fence should be left on the bottom (to be staked to the ground later). The simplest way to achieve this is to stand on the bottom two squares of the fence keeping it flat on the ground and then fix the fence fabric to the post.

Step 5- Unroll the fence counter clockwise if moving to the right, clockwise if moving to the left. Always position the roll 20’ ahead of the post that you are attaching the fence to and it is helpful to loosely tie the fence to the furthest way post to hold the roll upright. Pull the fence tight by


7





hand as you attach it to the post, making sure to attach one tie as close to the ground as possible. This part of the installation is easier with two people one pulling the fence tight and the other fixing the fabric with the tie.

Step 6- Use ground stakes to attach the 4- 6” of extra fence on the bottom to the ground. Stakes should be spaced every 5’ to 6’ between posts.

Step 6- Your fence will come with a roll of white plastic tape. Cut off a 10” to 12” piece of white tape and tie it to the fence about 3’ off of the ground approximately every 10 feet.This is an essential step. We provide the tape free so please us it. Deer will come up to your new fence and start to nose the fence, they will look up and because they have poor depth vision they cannot see the top of the black fence. However they will see the white flag moving and think another white tailed deer has raised an alarm and will go off to investigate. What you are actually doing is training the deer to walk around the perimeter of your fence.


8





Enclosure Instructions Using Posts with sleeves.This set of instructions apply to our medium duty posts with sleeves and our heavy duty posts with sleeves. The medium duty posts are used for pet enclosures and small garden enclosures.The heavy duty posts and sleeves are used for perimeter fencing.

Required Tools: Medium hammer, crowbar, sledgehammer or two handed post driver, driving cap, wire snips or pruning shears, tape measure, string, protective eyewear, small wood stakes

Step 1- Determine where you are going to install the fence. Clear the ground along the fence line. Mark the corners and run a line between the corners. (If you need a gate , mark were the gate posts go and study gate installation instructions)It is very important to clear your fence line before you start to put up your fence. The cleared area should be 8’ high and 3’ wide in order to manoeuvre the rolls of fence and other supplies during the installation. Trim the “fence side” of the trees (the side away from the protected area) to 8’ and clear all low growing vines and brush from the fence line.Step 2- Space your posts at even intervals. Please note that posts need to be placed anywhere an angle change in your fence line occurs. Use small wooden stakes to mark placement of each post. Posts should be spaced 15’ to 20’ apart.

Use a crowbar to start the hole in the ground for the postInsert the driving cap into the sleeve. Using the Driving Cap and a sledgehammer, drive the sleeve into the ground. You can use a sledge hammer a two handed post driver or for large installations an air compressor post driver.


9





Start Hole Sledgehammer Two handed driver Pneumatic driver

When the sleeve is about halfway in the ground, insert the post and check vertical alignment. If necessary move the post until plumb using the leverage of the 9 foot post to adjust the sleeve.

Remove post and reinsert the Driving Cap, continuing to strike the sleeve until only 1” of the sleeve is above ground. Do not attempt to lever the post after the sleeve has been driven fully into the ground or you will weaken the post.Slide the post into the sleeve. Repeat until all posts are installed.

**Please note, the sleeves will not go through stone or rock. If you hit stone, remove sleeve and reposition. Attempting to drive sleeve through stone will render sleeve useless

Step 3- Install all Access and Driveway Gates. See Gate Instructions..

Step 4- Find the top of the fence roll, it is smooth the bottom has the cut edge. For aesthetic reasons, the smooth trimmed side should be on top however having the cut edge at the bottom also presents a spiked edge to the animal when it tries to nose under the fence.Unroll the fence, spinning it counter clockwise while walking. This is easiest with two people.


10





IMPORTANT- Leave 4-6” of fence on the ground (this will later be staked to the ground) When installing the fence for pet containment, the bottom 6” should be flared INWARD, while for deer exclusion the bottom 6” should be flared OUTWARD. The simplest way to ensure that sufficient material is available at the base for the ground stakes is to put your foot on the bottom two squares while fixing the material to the posts or trees.

When securing the fence to the posts, it is best to secure the fence from the top to the bottom using the ties, making sure you smooth and tighten the fence as you go along. Make the ties as tight as possible to prevent the fence from sliding down with time. Use a tie tightening tool to ensure the ties are really tight and hold the mesh.If you have gully on the fence line the best approach is to insert posts either side of the gully and continue the fence over the gully. The gap at the bottom can easily be filled with a piece of material cut to size and either hog ringed or zip tied to the main part of the fence and off course staked to the ground.

Step 5- Using the ground stakes, secure the fence to the ground every 5’ to 6’. There are a few things to remember when using the ground stakes. First, the fence should be gently pulled before positioning and setting the stake. Second, Stakes should be held at a 45 degree angle TOWARDS

the inside of the fence. Finally, make sure the hooked end of the stake catches the fence in order to hold it securely in place. See Diagram.



11





Enclosure using Trees or wooden posts.

Treed type of enclosure is the simplest, quickest and cheapest installation.Posts need to be installed between trees that are over 25’ apart. Select the trees that you are going to use with care. Stout maple or oak are ideal, thin birch are not really suitable as they get bent in the wind and with heavy snow load get bent to the ground.The fence line will not be straight but as the fence blends in with nature the fence will be virtually invisible.Use these instructions if you have designed your enclosure to use wooden posts and have already installed the wooden posts.

Required Tools: Medium hammer, bow saw, pruning shears, protective eyewear.

Step 1- Determine where you are going to install the fence. Clear the ground along the fence line. Mark the corners and run a line between the corners. (If you need a gate , mark were the gate posts go and study gate installation instructions)It is very important to clear your fence line before you start to put up your fence. The cleared area should be 8’ high and 3’ wide in order to manoeuvre the rolls of fence and other supplies during the installation. Trim the “fence side” of the trees (the side away from the protected area) to 5- 8’ and clear all low growing vines and brush from the fence line.

Step 2- Find the top of the fence roll, it is smooth the bottom has the cut edge. For aesthetic reasons, the smooth trimmed side should be on top however having the cut edge at the bottom also presents a spiked edge to the animal when it tries to nose under the fence.Unroll the fence, spinning it counter clockwise while walking. This is easiest with two people. IMPORTANT- Leave 4-6” of fence on the ground (this will later be staked to the ground) When installing the fence for pet containment, the bottom 6” should be flared INWARD, while for deer exclusion the bottom 6” should be flared OUTWARD. The simplest way to ensure that sufficient material is available at the base for the ground stakes is to put your foot on the bottom two squares while fixing the material to the posts or trees.


12





Step 3- Secure the fence to trees with large staples (U nails) 2” or 3” in length depending on the bark. (alternatively 3” galvanized nails bent over) (approx. 5 per tree). Place the staple at the height of the tree where you want the fence to hang .Use 3-5 more staples from the top down to the ground to secure the fence to the trees. Ensure that one nail is right at the bottom of the fence. When nailing the fence to the trees it is important to position the nail where the strands join then drive the nail in. Do not hammer nail in so that it damages the fabric. The fabric can be loose under the staple. See Diagram.

Step 5- Using the ground stakes, secure the fence to the ground every 5’ to 6’. There are a few things to remember when using the ground stakes. First, the fence should be gently pulled before positioning and setting the stake. Second, Stakes should be held at a 45 degree angle TOWARDS

the inside of the fence. Finally, make sure the hooked end of the stake catches the fence in order to hold it securely in place. See Diagram.



13





Converting Farm fence to deer fenceTypical farm fence has wooden end posts and can have intermediate wooden or T posts as shown below. Electric farm fence can also be retrofitted with Benner’s Deer Fence.The existing fence posts need to be checked to see that they are secure and capable of taking extra fence material.

Typical farm FencePost extensions need to be fitted to increase the height of the fence from the nominal 4 foot height to 7 foot high. Extensions can be either wooden or steel. It is recommended that fixing to the existing posts should be at a minimum of three points. Into the wooden posts we recommend rag bolts through the extension and for steel posts we recommended nut and bolt through the existing post and the post extension. Once the extensions are in place 5 foot Deer Fence should be attached to the posts with either fence ties or staples(U nails) as described in the previous sections.

T Post farm fence with wooden extensions.


14





Fence Reinforcement and Corner BracingRequired Tools: Wrench , bull nose pliers, wire snips, Gripple Tensioning tool.

Fence reinforcement along the top is recommended when using trees to support the fence or in heavy snow load areas. Benner's Gardens recommends reinforcing our fencing at deer impact level (3 foot up from the ground) in high deer traffic areas. Our specially formulated UV stable black nylon monofilament 11 gauge tension cable is strongly recommended for this purpose.Engineered to be extremely strong and environmentally stable, Benner’s Nylon Tension Cable is more resistant to deer impact and falling branches than most metallic tension wire, yet has the memory to remain taught during all seasons.

The tension cable should be install section-by-section, with each section being no more than 300’. Sections should not contain any sharp angles. The end of each section, normally a corner, should be well braced or be a stout tree.

Step 1 Corner bracing.

Diagonal bracing or H bracing can be used. H bracing is recommended for light sandy soil.Step 2 If you are using steel posts in heavy snow load areas it is recommended that either a self tapping screw be added 1 inch down from the top of the posts or fit an eye bolt and band to support the cable.Step 3 To install the cable start at a well braced post or stout tree, form a loop with cable and slide the gripple onto the cable, put the loop around the tree or end post and slide the end of the cable into the other gripple aperture.


15





If the end is a tree ensure that the loop is large enough to permit growth of the tree. Secure the cable to the top of the post with a heavy duty zip tie or to the tree with a 2” barbed staple. At each tree or post secure the cable with a 2” barbed staple or a heavy duty zip tie.If using staples make sure that the cable is free to slide between the tree and the staple.Step 4 Run out the cable to the other end of the section i.e. to the corner or point where the cable will be secured ,take up the slack in the cable and repeat the above step 2.Step 5 The cable will now be loose. Go to the middle of the cable and cut the cable. Cut the cable at an angle as this makes the job of feeding the cable into the gripple a lot easier. Insert a third gripple at this point. This is the tensioning gripple.Pull the cable through the gripple until the cable is hand tight.Step 6 Now you need to tension the cable.If you use the Gripple Tensioning Tool this will tension the cable to the absolute maximum.Alternatively if you have not invested in a tensioning tool then use bull nose pliers and pull the cable through the gripple. You will be able to tension the cable this way but will be unlikely to get the same tension as can be achieved with the Gripple Tensioning Tool.Step 7Hog ring the top strand of the mesh to the cable at least every foot.If you are only doing a short section you may just want to feed the cable through the fabric or if you are making use of our trellis kit you can use our garden ties to attach the fabric to the cable.

Chew guard

Benner’s Rodent Barrier products are intended to protect the bottom portion of the deer fence from being damaged by gnawing animals. It is a 1” aperture galvanized steel hex wire that has been black PVC dipped to match the fence. Rabbits, groundhogs, or other rodents can damage the bottom of your deer fence. It may be prudent to add our Rodent Barrier if you have these animals nearby. Typically, 2’ will prevent rabbit damage; 3’ is recommended for groundhog protection. A 1’ flair of material on the ground will help prevent animals from burrowing under the fence. Should chewing become a problem, Benner’s Rodent Barrier can be added to an existing fence at any time in the future.The chew guard is attached to the fence with hog rings.

Caribina GateThis is the simplest gate possible for occasional use to get beyond the fence into the bush or on a weekend cottage vegetable garden enclosure.

Step 1 Fix the mesh to a post or tree on one side of where you want the gate.Step 2 Over lap the mesh by about 12 to 18 inches over the post or tree that you have

fixed the mesh to. Roll out the mesh to the next post or tree and fix it.Step3 You now have a flap , take the three caribinas (D Clips), fix the flap top ,bottom

and middle.You now have a simple deer proof gate.


16





Installation Tools

Driving Caps:These are essential tools for driving the sleeves into the ground.We include these driving caps free with the 1st kit purchased to ensure that you have the tools to install our products. Two sizes are available one for the 1 3/8” post sleeves and the other for the 1 5/8” heavy duty post sleeves.

Elongated driving cap for use with double handed post driver.

Hog Ringers:These tools are ideal for attaching mesh to reinforcing cable, attaching chew guard and repairing damaged fence fabric.Two models are available.

Stanley Hog Ringer Hog ring pliers

Fence Tie tools:These tools are ideal for getting the ties tight on the posts and make a professional job of installing the fence.

Zip Tie puller cutter Wire tie twisting tool


17





MAINTENANCEBenner’s Fencing Systems have been engineered to give you years of service with minimal maintenance. Benner’s recommends that a few simple steps be taken in order to maintain the integrity of the system. Walk the entire fence line at least twice a year, carefully checking for the following:

1. Tears, rips, or chew holes at the bottom of the fence. If present, repair with Rodent Wire. 2. Survey for damage from falling limbs and debris. If present, smaller tears can be repaired using Fence Ties or Hogrings. In some cases, the damaged section should be replaced between the posts in which the damage occurred.3. Broken Zip Ties add new as needed or replace with our new PVC coated wire ties. 4. Remove all vines and other vegetation that may have grown on the fence.This is critically important. The vines themselves do not hurt the fence, but rather make the fence visible to deer, allowing them to see the top of the fence and be able to jump it.5. Make appropriate adjustments to tension cable if needed.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSQuestion: “I am having trouble getting my sleeves driven into the ground. My soil is full of rocks and roots. What can I do?”Answer: A way to test your soil for rocks and roots is to take a 2’-3’ metal rod and hammer it into the ground part of the way, remove it and repeat until you have a reasonably deep pilot hole. Then drive the sleeve in.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “I am installing multiple kits and during the process of installing, one roll of fence has run out halfway between two posts. Should I use zip ties to attach the new roll of fence to the end of the first roll?”

Answer: “No. When you are doing an installation with more than one roll of fence, you want to end the first roll at the last post. If the fence is halfway between posts, roll it back and secure it to the post, cutting off the extra fence. When planning your installation, you should add about 10% to your total length of fence to compensate for grade changes in the ground. Connecting the new roll between posts using zip ties potentially creates a weak spot in the entire fencing system.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “My fence appears to have ripples in the fence material. What should I do?”

Answer: As you unroll the fence and attach it to the posts or tree, it is important to pull it tight as you do so. This will smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles in the fence.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “I am buying an enclosure for my dog. Will he be able to chew a hole through my fence?”


18





Answer: Our fence is made of plastic. It is meant as a barrier, not as an unsupervised enclosure. If dogs are left unattended they will get bored and start to dig under or chew the fence. However, when installed and used properly, Benner’s fencing will give you years of trouble-free service.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “How long will my fence last?”

Answer: It depends on the various weather conditions and general upkeep of your fence. In our experience, our customers have had their fence last more than 10 years, when maintained properly. This maintenance includes annual checks of the fence and ties, as well as inspections for any possible limb damage.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “I have one of your Best Friend kits for my small dog. I am concerned about Coyotes, as there are many in the area. Should I be worried that they will be able to get into the fence?”Answer: In our experience, we have found that Coyotes are opportunistic hunters and would most likely not go to the trouble to get into the fence. Our fences have proven to be an extremely effective barrier against coyotes. However, we do not recommend leaving your pets unsupervised for any extended length of time.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: Will a weed whacker damage my fence? Answer: Yes, it will tear through the fence. If you use a weed whacker, you may want to consider Benner’s Rodent Barrier (page 16) for the bottom of your fence. The Rodent Barrier is made of galvanized steel and will allow you to weed whack without damaging your fence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Question: “How tight should I tighten my fence during installation?”

Answer: Your fence should be tight enough to remove any sag, but do not over tighten.


19




Fence Installation Instructions · 2011. 2. 22. · We are confident that Benner’s Fencing will...

Documents

Transcript of Fence Installation Instructions · 2011. 2. 22. · We are confident that Benner’s Fencing will...