One of the most inexpensive fences for a summer house or private home is made from corrugated sheets. Its design is simple - dug-in pillars to which transverse joists are attached. A corrugated sheet is attached to this grille using self-tapping screws or rivets. Everything is really simple, especially if you know how to use a welding machine. Although there is a technology without welding - on bolts or on wooden crossbars. In any case, you can build a fence from corrugated sheets with your own hands. If necessary, you can do all the work alone, but when installing sheets it is more convenient with an assistant.
Construction with metal posts
The simplest production is a fence with metal posts dug into the ground. You can use round or square pipes, but it is more convenient to work with square - profiled ones.
Construction of a fence made of corrugated sheets with posts
The length of the pillars is taken depending on the desired height of the fence, plus 1 to 1.5 meters are added for penetration into the ground. It is necessary to bury it in the ground below the freezing depth of the soil. For each region, the soil freezes to a different depth, but in central Russia it is about 1.2 m. When determining the depth to which you bury pipes, it is better to play it safe and make the holes deeper. Otherwise, the forces of winter heaving will simply push the posts out, and your fence will collapse (see photo).
Insufficient depth of the support posts led to the fence sagging
For pillars, a profiled pipe with a cross section of 60*60 mm and a wall thickness of 3 mm is usually used. The distance between the pillars is from 2 to 3 meters. The greater the thickness of the profiled sheet, the less often you can install pillars. If the soil is difficult to dig, it makes sense to make the distances larger, otherwise you can save on purchasing metal - the thinner, the cheaper and the difference in price is significant.
Logs for a fence made of corrugated sheets are made from a profile pipe 40*20 or 30*20 mm. The second option is wooden blocks 70*40 or so. When using wood, a significant amount is saved, but the wood disappears faster, and besides, it warps from moisture. Most likely in a few years you will have to change the logs, and they will already be metal. But it will work as an economical option for several years.
Fence made of corrugated board on wooden logs
When making a fence from corrugated sheets with your own hands with wooden logs, do not forget to thoroughly treat the wood with an antibacterial compound (for example, Senezh Ultra). It is better to do this in the bathroom - immerse the bars completely in the solution for 20 minutes. This way they will last longer.
The number of logs depends on the height of the fence. Up to 2 meters - two are enough, from 2.2 to 3.0 meters you need 3 guides, even higher - 4.
Read more about choosing and building a foundation for a fence here.
Stage 3. Installation of fence posts
Fence posts are starting to be dug into the corners. There are several installation technologies. The two most popular and inexpensive are driving and concreting.
Driving posts under a corrugated fence
Driving in pillars is the cheapest, but not too easy method due to its labor intensity. A metal pole is driven into the ground using a sledgehammer. You can make the work easier if you use a hammer drill or use special equipment. However, mechanizing the process will cost a considerable amount.
The driving technology is as follows: .
- Before driving in each post for the installation of a fence made of corrugated sheets, it is better to prepare pits. This is done with a drill whose diameter is not 5% smaller than the size of the pillar. The depth of the pit should be no more than half a meter and no more than 50% of the depth of the soil stand.
- To ensure that the pole fits in smoothly, it is recommended to involve 1-2 assistants in the work. They must guide the barrel and, after striking, control the verticality of its entry with a building level.
- It is recommended to weld or attach a metal plate to the top end of the pipe. It will reduce the risk of wall deformation from impacts.
- The support is driven into the soil “to failure”: until further impacts lead to the pipe sinking into the ground.
After installing all the pillars, they are marked by height and the excess parts are cut off with a grinder.
Concreting pillars for fencing made of corrugated sheets
When using the concreting method, you can make a fence from corrugated sheets yourself, even without the help of assistants. The method makes it possible to more reliably fix supports in the ground and prevent their distortion due to frost heaving or weakening of the soil.
Step by step, the work is performed as follows:
- A hole is drilled to a depth below the soil freezing level and below groundwater (if its line is high). The diameter of the hole for a corrugated fence post should be 2-2.5 times larger than the size of the pipe. It's faster to make wells with a motorized drill.
- A mound of sand is placed at the bottom of the hole in a 10 cm layer. It will allow water to be directed downwards and not linger at the base of the pipe.
- It is recommended to place a piece of plastic sewer pipe into the hole itself. It will improve the quality of concreting and also eliminate contact of hardened concrete with wet soil.
- A metal pipe is placed in the center of the well. A 10-15 cm layer of crushed stone is poured onto the bottom. The supports are aligned vertically. After this, the crushed stone is compacted.
- Gradually, concrete solution is poured into the cavity and crushed stone is filled. Stone material will reduce concrete consumption and strengthen the base. To prevent air pockets from forming, it is important to use a crowbar to force out the air when performing this process.
- To prevent the iron from corroding from the inside, the pipe cavity is filled with concrete mortar. This will also increase the strength of the structure and make it heavier. By concreting the shaft, increased structural reliability and the absence of distortion of the supports during operation are achieved.
Before installing a fence post in a well, it is recommended to apply bitumen varnish or paint to its underground part. This coating will protect the metal from corrosion and increase the durability of the structure.
Methods for attaching joists to poles
Metal logs are welded either between the pillars or in front. The first method is more labor-intensive, and produces more waste: you have to cut the pipes into pieces. But with this arrangement of the logs, the structure turns out to be more rigid: each post serves as a support for the sheet and it “walks” less; if desired, a couple of additional fasteners can be placed along it.
If you weld pipes in front of a pole (from the street side), there is less work, but you will still have to cut and there will be waste: it is necessary that the weld of two sections falls on the pole. Unless you adjust the distance so that they lie flat. Then you purchase materials in advance, and then calculate the installation step of the pillars.
There are two ways to weld metal logs to poles
To fasten wooden blocks, holders are welded in front or on the sides - metal corners or U-shaped guides. Holes are then drilled into them and fastened with bolts or self-tapping screws.
There is an option to assemble a fence from corrugated sheets without welding. For this there is a special fastening element called an X-bracket. This is a cross-shaped plate with curved edges, which is attached to self-tapping screws.
X-bracket for a fence made of corrugated sheets without welding
This is what everything looks like when installed
Estimate for the purchase of materials for self-construction of a fence
How to make a fence from corrugated sheets yourself and not make a mistake? To do this, you need to draw up an estimate of all costs and only after that, having assessed your capabilities, you can proceed directly to the construction of the fence. Let's return to our example, according to which we plan to install a fence on a plot of 6 acres - 100 linear meters of corrugated fence.
| Material name | Quantity (pcs.) | Unit price (RUB) | Amount (rub.) |
| Support pillars 60x60x2 L=3000mm | 38 | 400 | 15200 |
| Cross beams 40x20x2 L=3000mm | 67 | 200 | 12800 |
| Profiled sheet C8 | 87 | 650 | 56550 |
| Gate with one wicket | 1 | 14000 | 14000 |
| Delivery costs | 1 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Other costs (screws, paint, etc.) | 1 | 15000 | 15000 |
| Total for 100 linear meters of fence | 123 550 |
Corrugated sheeting for fences
For fences, corrugated sheets marked C are used - for fences and walls. There are also N and NS, but they are not suitable for fences - these are more roofing materials. It is rare to see A and R markings; A profiles can be used for fences.
In the marking, after the letter there is a number - from 8 to 35. It indicates the height of the rib in millimeters. So C8 means that the profiled sheet is intended for a fence, and the wave height is 8 mm. The higher the wave height, the more rigid the surface will be. In strong winds, take at least C10, or even C20.
Sheet thickness - from 0.4 to 0.8 mm. The best option is a thickness of 0.45 mm or 0.5 mm. They are suitable for fences up to 2.5 m in height. If you need a higher one, take at least 0.6 mm.
The height of the sheet is usually around 2 meters, you can find 2.5 m. The width can be very different - from 40 cm to 12 meters. Different factories produce corrugated sheets of different formats.
Standard color palette for painting profiled metal sheets
Corrugated sheeting can be galvanized or painted (painted ones are 15-25% more expensive than galvanized ones). There are two types of paint applied: powder and polymer coating. Powder coating is more durable, but also more expensive.
There are sheets painted on one side - on the second there is galvanization, covered with a gray primer, there are sheets on both sides. Double-sided coating is naturally more expensive than single-sided painting, but it looks better and has a longer service life.
This is a view from the yard to a fence with double-sided painting
Support pipes and fence logs are usually primed and then painted. And somehow it became customary to paint them with dark paint. By then attaching a corrugated sheet painted on one side to them, you get a clearly visible “skeleton” on a light gray background. In a small area this can be critical. Please note that when building a fence from corrugated sheets with your own hands, paint the supporting frame light gray. The result will please you: it looks much better from the yard.
Support installation technique
The preparatory stage is completed. Now we can proceed directly to installing the fence frame with our own hands. At this stage, do not forget that the surface of the earth has large differences. And right now, the result of all the work will depend on how attentive and competent our actions are.
Correct installation of support posts along the perimeter of the site will ensure reliability, durability and a pleasant appearance of the future fence. For the outer pillars and pillars under the gate we take a profile of 80*80mm, for intermediate ones - 60*60mm. Cut to the height we need. The posts for the frame of our fence need to be installed vertically in the dug holes. It wouldn’t hurt to use a building level here.
The height of the supports for a corrugated fence is proportional to the height of the fence itself. We check compliance using a stretched rope. Sometimes it may be necessary to make adjustments and then you will have to finish the pillars to a certain size according to the height level with a sledgehammer or cut them from above. If the installation of the support pillars was carried out correctly and leveled, then you can proceed to the next stage - concreting.
We prepare the concrete mixture ourselves, observing the proportions. The most acceptable solution ratio is 1:3. In some container, mix the components, alternately pouring sand, then cement, sand again and cement again. This method of alternation makes the mixing process easier.
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly and only then add water. Leave the mixture to soak in the liquid. After a while, mix. The cement-sand composition is ready. Crushed stone is first poured into the bottom of the hole. Next, it is mixed with the solution, compacting it. The concrete solution should be freed from the air remaining in it. For these purposes, you can use improvised means and pierce it. In between backfilling and pouring the concrete mixture, it is recommended to check the pillars with a level, if necessary, directing them vertically. And so, layer by layer, mixing and compacting the solution, we fill each hole to the top, just above ground level. We do similar work with the remaining pillars. The installation of the pillars is complete.
How to attach a corrugated sheet to a frame
The sheet is secured with self-tapping screws or rivets. Self-tapping screws for corrugated sheets are galvanized and painted. They are selected to match the color of the fence. Tighten with a screwdriver using an attachment.
The installation step depends on the wavelength and height of the fence. The higher the fence, the more often you need to install fasteners. It holds normally if you fasten it through a wave, to increase strength, with two lags you can fasten it in a checkerboard pattern, and not one above the other.
When installing, it is important to align the first sheet vertically. Then everything else will install without problems. When laying sheets, the next one goes onto the one already installed on wave 1. Attach to the bottom of the wave. The self-tapping screw must be installed strictly perpendicularly. Then the hole is blocked with a washer and precipitation will not cause the paint to peel off.
To see how one can attach a corrugated sheet to a fence, watch the video.
What should be the length of the pillar
The length of the pillar is equal to the sum of the above-ground and underground parts.
The overhead part depends on the span design. There are three options:
- the pillar rises above the span;
- the pillar ends at the level of the upper border of the corrugated sheet;
- the post is 10-30 cm lower than the height of the fence.
The size of the underground part is determined by the properties of the soil:
- for heaving - the depth of the heel of the pillar should be 20 cm below the frost line;
- for loose – at least ½ the height of the fence;
- for dense – at least 1/3 of the height of the fence.
DIY corrugated fence: photo report
A fence from neighbors and a front fence were being built. The total length is 50 meters, height 2.5 m. Brown corrugated sheet is used on the front, galvanized sheet is used on the border, thickness 0.5 mm, grade C8.
In addition, the following materials were sent:
- for poles profiled pipe 60*60 mm, wall thickness 2 mm, pipes 3 m long;
- 80*80 mm with a 3 mm wall were installed on gate posts and gates;
- logs 30*30 mm;
- gate and wicket frame 40*40 mm;
One person built the finished fence from corrugated sheets with his own hands.
The fence is installed on metal posts, between which the base is then poured. The owners need it because they plan to plant a flower garden in front of the fence (you can see the fence made for it). It is also needed to prevent water from flooding the yard during heavy rainfalls. Metal sheets are not attached immediately from the ground, but slightly retreating. This gap is closed with a die-cut tape that remains in some industries. This was done on purpose so as not to block the access of air, so that the earth dries out faster.
Inside view of the finished fence
Metal preparation
The first stage is preparing the pipes. A rusty pipe arrives from a warehouse; in order for it to serve for a long time, you have to clean off the rust, then treat it with Anti-Rust and then paint it. It is more convenient to first prepare all the pipes, prime and paint, and then just start installation. The rust was removed with a metal brush mounted on an angle grinder.
Pipes need to be cleaned of rust.
There were only 6-meter pipes in the warehouse. Since the height of the fence is 2.5 meters, another 1.3 meters need to be buried, the total length of the post should be 3.8 meters. To save money, they cut it in half into 3-meter pieces, and the missing parts were welded with various scrap metal available on the farm: cuttings of corners, fittings, pieces of various pipes. Then everything was cleaned, primed and painted.
Installation of pillars
The two corner posts were installed first. The holes were drilled with a drill purchased from a store. The soil was normal; it took about 20 minutes to complete one hole 1.3 meters deep.
Post hole drill
The first pillar was placed horizontally and so that it rose above the ground to a height of 2.5 meters. To set the second one, it was necessary to recapture the height. A water level was used. You need to fill it in such a way that there are no bubbles - from a bucket, not from a tap, otherwise it will lie.
They placed the second post along the marked mark (they put it on a plank that was placed next to the hole) and concreted it. When the cement set, twine was pulled between the pillars, along which all the others were aligned.
The filling technology was standard: a double-folded roofing material was installed in the hole. A pipe was placed inside, filled with concrete (M250) and placed vertically. The level was controlled by a plumb line. It is very important to position the posts correctly, otherwise the entire fence will warp.
During the work, several times it turned out that the concrete was poured not inside the rolled up roofing material, but between it and the walls of the pit. It was a little pleasure to scoop it out from there, so the protruding part was cut into petals and nailed to the ground with large nails. Problem solved.
This is how the roofing material was fixed
After the concrete had set, we made portable formwork from boards covered with thick film. With their help, the basement was filled. To make it stronger, reinforcement bars are welded along the bottom to the pillars on both sides. Formwork was placed around them.
Formwork for plinth
Installing jumpers
Cleaned, primed and painted pipes for the crossbars were cut and welded. They cooked between the pillars. They also need to be leveled to make it easier to attach.
We cook jumpers
After the welding is completed, all welding areas are cleaned with a wire brush, treated with Anti-Rust and then painted.
Installation of corrugated sheets
Since the top lintel runs along the very top of the fence, and it is welded exactly level, there were no problems with leveling and installing the sheets. First they fastened along the edges, then installed intermediate screws. To make it easier to place them evenly, a thread was pulled between the outer ones.
Evenly installed fasteners are also beautiful
Afterwards the gates were welded and attached. As a final touch, additional elements were installed on top - a U-shaped profile covering the top of the fence and plugs for the pipes.
The final view of a fence made from corrugated sheets, made independently
As you understand, there is nothing particularly complicated. It is important to align the posts evenly and weld the frame. This is the main task. A lot of time - about 60% - is spent preparing pipes - cleaning, priming, painting.
Advantages and disadvantages of such a fence
Profiled sheets, like any building material, have their positive aspects, as well as disadvantages unique to this material. In some situations, when the desire to build a fence with your own hands takes precedence over rationality, miscalculations and design errors gradually begin to appear. This gives reason to remember once again the pros and cons of this material.
Sheet options and sizes
pros
The building materials offered on the market for the construction of fences and barriers today largely act not only as a separate type of component materials, but also as engineering systems developed and brought to perfection. It is precisely this approach in evaluating iron profiled sheets that makes sense to talk about when assessing the positive aspects of the material.
beautiful hedge
The positive aspects include:
- The possibility of using corrugated sheets as a separate building material for construction, or as part of a special system for erecting fences.
- Quick installation of the frame and canvas either by welding or using a special installation system using bolted connections and self-tapping screws.
- Creation of a blind fence up to 6 meters high.
- Low cost of maintenance: profiled sheets with PVC coating and conventional paint coating do not require annual painting.
- Gates and gates can have additional decoration and decoration, while properly done decoration only improves the aesthetic qualities of the estate.
- The building can have either a massive stone or brick foundation or a lightweight, prefabricated frame on screw piles.
- With the right choice of base design and construction method, such a fence can be built on almost any type of soil without restrictions.
Fence made of corrugated sheets with brick pillars
The corrugated sheet in combination with brick pillars looks solid.
Of course, a fence with brick pillars looks more decorative. If you wish, you can do it, but it will take more time. There are two options:
- Make a full-fledged strip foundation. But it is long and expensive. On well-drained soils, you can make a shallow foundation; on heaving soils, you will have to dig below the freezing depth of the soil. And although the tape will not be wide, there is a lot of work - digging a trench along the entire length of the fence, installing formwork, tying reinforcement, pouring it and then finishing it. Place brick pillars on top. Durable, reliable, but expensive.
- Make according to the scheme described above: load-bearing pillars with a base. Bricks are laid around the pillars. This method is less expensive. Read about how to lay brick pillars here.
Schematic representation of the structure of a fence with brick pillars.
The whole technology is the same, only more rigid reinforcement will be required - two belts of two rods with a diameter of 10-12 mm. It will be necessary to install embedded elements in the pillars to which the guides will be attached. They (mortgages) can be welded to the pipe after it has been exposed and the solution has set.
Installation stages
Installation of an iron fence from a profile differs only in the way the supports are installed.
If the pillars are installed without concreting, then first you need to drill holes in the ground for them with a diameter smaller than the cross-section of the pipe or the underground part of the support when it is collapsible. Then, maintaining a vertical level, pillars are driven or screwed into these holes.
Installing screw piles using technology significantly speeds up the installation of the fence Source moyaograda.ru
If the pillars are installed with partial or complete concreting, then dig a hole or drill holes with a cross-sectional area larger than that of the pipe. The size depends on the load-bearing properties of the soil and the loads that the fence puts on it. For loose soils, formwork is made (for example, from an asbestos-cement pipe), for dense soils, concrete is poured directly into the hole.
The arrangement of a combined type of foundation takes place in several stages:
- dig a trench;
- drill or dig holes for posts;
- install formwork and reinforcing frame;
- install poles;
- concrete is poured.
After installing the pillars (and the concrete has matured), the crossbars are mounted using welding or fastening with self-tapping screws.
Then the entire supporting structure is cleaned of dirt, primed and painted. After which they begin to install the corrugated sheet.
Photos of the design of fences made of corrugated sheets
Often a profiled sheet is combined with forging, sometimes a frame is made from a profile pipe, a profiled sheet is mounted into it and the whole thing is decorated with metal patterns - forged or welded. Another option to make the fence non-standard is to install the wave not vertically, but horizontally. It would seem like a small change, but the appearance is different. Some ideas in the photo gallery below.
Horizontal fence made of corrugated sheets
Beautiful combination of stone, forging and red-brown sheet
Pillars made of a round metal pipe, strips are welded to them on the back side, to which the sheet is attached
Forged and polycarbonate inserts
More variations on the theme of forging
Color may not be uniform
You need to tinker with the non-linear top
Materials
You need to decide on the height of the fence - a low one is not functional enough, a high fence will cost more. In addition, it will have a larger windage - it will require more powerful posts and a foundation.
The height of the profiled sheet must be chosen so that the sheets do not have to be cut to length - this saves labor costs and protects them from corrosion at the cut site. When calculating the amount of material, the depth of penetration of the columns into the foundation is taken into account.
For supports, steel profile pipes of square or rectangular cross-section with a side of at least 80 mm are used. You can weld two U-shaped channels together.
It is important not to use thin-walled profiles and pipes - the wall thickness should be at least 3 mm. Near the gates, supports of a larger cross-section are used - 100x100 mm or more. For crossbars, a profile pipe with a cross-section of 60x60 mm is used.
Mounting horizontal joists
The support pillars are installed, the concrete mixture is finally fixed and dried (it is necessary to allow time for the concrete mixture to harden according to the instructions, this will ensure that the fence will not move). Now you can mount the horizontal logs to the frame.
Transverse logs are placed parallel to each other, usually in two tiers. If the fence height is planned to be more than two meters, then you will need to install a third guide, which is attached exactly in the center. The boundaries of the upper and lower tier vary within 25-30 cm from the expected edge of the corrugated sheet.
The strength of the structure directly depends on the chosen method of fastening. The ideal option is to weld the logs to metal poles using a welding machine. This is a fairly reliable method, but it will require certain welding skills.
There is another way - you can attach the logs using bolts and nuts. Perhaps less reliable, but easier to implement. You need to start fastening from the top tier. The most commonly used profile is with a cross section of 25*50 mm. It is worth noting that if the upper veins are aligned evenly, then the process of aligning the lower rows will proceed easily along the entire perimeter of our fence.
It is recommended to clean all surfaces of metal structural elements, prime them well, and then paint them to match the profiled sheet with two layers of enamel.
