How to Brace a Barbed Wire Fence
Building fences is necessary to contain or exclude livestock in the country or on a farm. There are several types of fencing and ways to build a fence. When building a multi-strand barbwire fence, the fence must be braced occasionally to keep the strength and integrity of the fence high.
Materials Needed:
- Three fence posts
- Shovel
- Level
- Cordless drill
- Large, long screws
- Brace wire
- Fencing staples
- Hammer
- Two pieces of rebar
- Plant two wooden posts. The posts must be in line with the rest of the fence or where you want to place the fence. Plant the posts about 6 feet apart. The holes should be made approximately 4 feet deep. Use a level to ensure the posts are straight from top to bottom, checking several times while tamping the ground around the posts.
- Use a drill and thick, large screws to secure a horizontal beam between the two vertical beams. The horizontal beam needs to fit snugly between the vertical beams, the screw going through each vertical beam and into the end of the horizontal beam.
- Wrap brace wire between the vertical posts. Firmly wrap the wire in a loop from the top of one fence post to the bottom of the opposite fence post. Make a loop five times. When wrapping the wire, wrap it as you would wind the cord on a vacuum cleaner when putting it away.
- Hammer staples to the posts to keep the wires in place.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4, going in the opposite diagonal direction.
- Tighten with a piece of rebar. Take a piece of rebar about 2 feet long, and place it between the brace wire to the left of where it crisscrosses. The rebar needs to be on the inside of one set of wires and the outside of the other set. Twist the rebar to bring the brace wire together and tighter. Twist the rebar one or two times. Repeat on the right side of the fence. Continue to twist the rebar evenly on each side until it cannot be twisted anymore.