Winter Weather Fencing
It was late in the fall one
year and I had just finished measuring and giving an estimate on a fence and
the customer says to me, “Well, when you start back up in the spring, we’ll
have you do this fence for us.” Since then I have made a point to educate our
customers that we work year round. As one of our motto says, “If we can find
the ground, we can build your fence!”
A couple of the most common
concerns are ‘Frozen Ground” and ‘Pouring Concrete in the Winter’.
Frozen ground can be good
and bad. We like it in one aspect because there is no mud, but it does get hard
as well. We combat the hardness with hydraulic, motorized augers and carbide
tips. With ‘down pressure’ and the carbide tips we can actually dig thru asphalt
along with frozen ground, so no problem when it freezes!
But, what about pouring
concrete when the temperatures dip below freezing? Well, that is a major
concern… when you’re pouring sidewalks, for sure! But, when you are setting
fence posts, it is actually a benefit when the weather cools off. If cement freezes,
it will weaken it, but when it is poured into a post hole, the ground actually
insulates the ‘mud’ from freezing. Kick a little dirt (or snow, as the case may
be) and the cool temperatures slow down the curing process, making the cement
harder than it is when pouring in the heat of the summer. We generally like to
allow an extra day when letting post set before building on the posts.
Additionally, we serve two
purposes when we work year round; 1) Customers have needs year round, with wind
damage, new puppies for Christmas and people moving into new homes. 2) Our
installers still have house payments and groceries to buy, even in the winter…
go figure! :)
So, just like mail carriers, "Neither
Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor gloom of night" or even frozen ground will keep us
from our appointed task!
Have a great winter!
This is a great winter weather fencing photo.it looks very nice.
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