How To Make A Slate Fence With Your Own Hands - Step By Step Instructions, Construction Options And Decorations With Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to build a slate fence with your own hands

It is easy to build a fence from an inexpensive and reliable material. It is enough to deal with fasteners, markings and a plan for future construction. For example, a slate fence will last longer than an untreated board. And in private households they even try to use old roofing material - from it you can make a fence for the back of the site. It turns out that both new and already used slate are suitable for work.

Content

• 1 Features of using slate for the construction of a fence

  • 1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of using slate for a fence
  • 1.2 Types of slate used for fences

• 2 Do-it-yourself installation of a slate fence

  • 2.1 Preparing for construction: marking the territory

  • 2.2 Material selection and dimensions

    2.2.1 Video: flexible polycarbonate slate

  • 2.3 Calculation of the required amount of material

    2.3.1 An example of calculating the number of sheets of wave slate

  • 2.4 Necessary tools for building a fence

  • 2.5 Step-by-step guide to making a slate fence

    2.5.1 Video: how to paint fence posts correctly

  • 2.6 Finishing and decorating a slate fence
  • 2.7 Video: installing a slate fence

Features of using slate for the construction of a fence

Slate is one of the simplest and most inexpensive materials for making a fence. Moreover, any side of the fence will look neat. Modern slate is suitable for both rural areas and houses within the city.

The slate is made of asbestos cement, so there is no need to wait for maximum strength. It is easy to guess that even the thinnest iron is more stable. However, there are developments in the use of slate. It is advisable to place the front part of the fence away from the road so that random debris from under the wheels does not damage the sheets. And ordinary barriers between neighboring sites are easiest to make of slate, even one person can handle such work.

This material has been known for a long time. It is obtained by mixing Portland cement, asbestos and water. Evenly distributed asbestos fibers form a strong mesh that increases the impact strength and tensile strength of the material.

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Advantages and disadvantages of using slate for a fence

Benefits:

• low cost;
• medium fire resistance;
• the possibility of decorative processing with any paint;
• simple installation.

Disadvantages:

• asbestos in the composition is not an environmentally friendly material;
• explodes when heated;
• the service life depends on the specific location. And the lower the temperature in winter, the faster the cracks will appear. If protected with acrylic (paint), then the service life will increase;
• when working with slate, protection is required. Construction respirators should be worn to prevent dust from entering the respiratory tract.

Types of slate used for fences

Wave sheets made of asbestos cement have a curly shape. The material has the following advantages:

1. Does not burn.
2. Does not deform due to weather conditions.
3. Withstands any significant loads.
4. Not subject to corrosion.
5. Does not deteriorate due to moisture or dampness.
6. Does not overheat in the sun.
7. Inexpensive.

8. Sold in any hardware store.

   

   Corrugated slate does not burn or deform from moisture and cold

Flat slate sheets have the same composition, the only difference is in the form.

Flat slate is made from the same materials as corrugated and has the same advantages

Both types of slate have drawbacks that can be ironed out. The appearance of the material deteriorates over the years, fades, fades. However, if you cover it with special substances, this can be prevented.

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Flat or wave slate for a fence is a weak, more precisely, brittle material for bending. Do not forget about the weight of such a building unit, it is quite large in comparison with the same metal sheet.

If you decide to buy slate, and not use the old one from the roof of a house or an outbuilding, then you should keep in mind that it is easier to mount and load flat sheets.

DIY slate fence installation

Making a slate fence is not difficult. On a small area, such work can be done in a few days.

Preparation for construction: marking the territory

There is no important feature in the marking of the slate fence. This working moment is the same as the layout for any type of fence. To begin with, it is worth clearing that part of the territory where construction will be carried out. Next, you need to pull the thread and set it in such a way that it repeats the line of the future fence along its entire length. The markings are usually fixed to pegs, posts, steel reinforcement or any other remnant of building material. Accuracy in dimensions and location of the thread along the entire length of the future slate fence is the main requirement for marking.

When calculating the building material, the required number of posts for the entire fence is found out. In the process of marking, it is necessary to accurately put a landmark in their place. A specific distance is maintained between each pillar; with a careless attitude to this stage, further work will only become more complicated. After all, all slate sheets are the same size. It is for him that they plan to mark the pillars.

The choice of material and its dimensions

A good construction market or supermarket can offer:

• euro slate, aka ondulin;

  

  Ondulin is produced in different colors.

• asbestos cement slate;

  

  Regular wavy slate has a natural grayish tint. There are also painted varieties of such material on sale.

• plastic slate.

  

  Plastic slate is similar in appearance to classic asbestos, but it weighs less and is easier to install

All of these materials are intended for roof installation, but are also great for fences. When choosing, you need to focus on the characteristics:

• plasticity;
• rigidity;
• hardness.

When buying new fence material, many people prefer flexible slate. It probably won't be broken by a strong wind. Such a building material has a rectangular shape, its surface is either flat or wavy. The downside is the following: the declared service life is only 15 years, and every 5 years it is necessary to replace the protective layer. The interior of flexible slate is subject to burning.

Video: flexible polycarbonate slate

Calculation of the required amount of material

The standard sizes of wave slate are 1750 by 1135 millimeters

The long side of the sheet is usually mounted horizontally. The wave material must be mounted on an overlapping fence, for which there is a reserve of 125 mm. This makes it easier to calculate the length of the fence. It is easy to guess that for 1 meter of the building, one sheet is needed, placed horizontally by a wave.

Interestingly, it is when working with wave slate that you should not be afraid of incorrect markings, because the sheets can hide all the errors between the posts.

Flat material is available in four sizes:

1. Length 3 meters, width 1.5 meters.
2. Length 2 meters, width 1.5 meters.
3. Length 1.75 meters, width 1.13 meters.
4. Length 1.5 meters, width 1 meter.

Most often they try to buy the third option, paying attention to the thickness. This parameter should be equal to 10 mm, then the sheet itself will weigh 40 kg. For comparison: a thickness of 8 mm is already lighter - 30 kg.

Calculating the amount of material is very simple: you need to measure the total length of the fence and divide it into one sheet. More precisely, by the amount that remains without overlap. Having received the required number of units, it is necessary to purchase with a stock of 2 or 3 pieces.

An example of calculating the number of sheets of wave slate

Let's say the total length of the perimeter is 40 meters. Wave slate 1750 by 1135 mm in the amount of 40 units is in operation (the working surface of one sheet is 1 m). With a margin, they buy not 40 sheets, but 42–43, because defects and mistakes in construction are inevitable.

Necessary tools for building a fence

When installing on your own, it is better to work in pairs, but without the following set of tools you cannot cope:

• a grinder or a screwdriver with a cutting attachment;
• drill;
• welding machine;
• spanners;
• levels;
• plumb line;
• construction hammers;
• mounting bolts.

A step-by-step guide to making a slate fence

The work is performed in the following sequence:

1. Use a hand drill around the perimeter of the marking to arrange holes for the posts. When there is no such tool, they take an ordinary shovel to work and carefully dig deep, but not wide holes. They try to make the further filling with the solution economical. Pits are made one third of the length of the posts.

   

   It is better to make the pit smaller, otherwise a lot of solution will go away

2. Install the pillars. The support can be corners made of a metal profile or pieces of pipes. These components, together with the pillar, must be poured with concrete or cement in the future. The distance between the posts is no more than two and a half meters.

   

   A monolithic frame for a fence is assembled from a metal profile or pipes, concreting them in the ground

3. Install veins. Between the pillars, you need to fix horizontal strips, which are usually made of timber, and for budget construction - from poles. These elements must be secured with screws. If the veins are made from a profile pipe, they are mounted using a welding machine. In the absence of such a tool, you can drill holes in iron posts and fasten any kind of pole to bolts. When this part of the work is completed, it is advisable to protect the frame of the fence with automotive mastic. Usually they try to apply more than one layer, then the frame structure will be completely protected from corrosion.

   

   In the absence of a welding machine, all connections can be made using bolts

4. Lay out the preparation base along the entire fence line. Old brick is being used, less often a special platform is poured.

   

   The fill protects the slate sheets from contact with the ground and prevents the entry of small animals

5. Install the fence. Slate sheets are alternately fixed on the frame with nails or self-tapping screws.

   

   The slate is attached to the frame with nails or self-tapping screws. Nails that have gone beyond the border of the frame must be bent

Video: how to paint fence posts correctly

Finishing and decoration of a slate fence

It is not difficult to protect, decorate and maintain this type of fence. It is enough to follow some established rules:

1. The slate sheet is not attached to the very surface of the earth. Maintain a distance of 10-15 centimeters from the bottom point, arranging a special filling below. This will keep the material dry.

   

   Slate sheets are mounted at a height of 10-15 cm from the ground. Make a special bedding or concrete pouring from below

2. To increase the service life of the fence, it is better to use slate sheets, acrylic coating. This is a paint for outdoor use, resistant to any temperature extremes.
3. Garden crops are not planted next to the fence, because gradually growing trees can destroy a leaf or create a crack in it.

Any mechanical damage to slate is thought out in advance, otherwise its service life is reduced several times

Video: installing a slate fence

The slate was invented for the roof, but it is not always worth creating reliable fences or barriers from it. They stop at this material only if there is a large leftover after construction or there is no suitable modern material in the store. Although in the backyard of the countryside, where the likelihood of stealing good material is too high, nailing old slate on poles will be the best solution.