Concentratedon installing a concrete fence
Want to live like a stone wall? Just build a concrete fence, and your dream will come true, and the construction will be much cheaper than stone. Products from the reinforced concrete unite two opposite characteristics of a capital protection - a strong design and esthetic appearance. You can see this for yourself by looking at photos of concrete fences.
Advantages of concrete fences
The advantages of concrete fences are many, so they are increasingly appearing both in urban areas and in suburban areas:
- exceptional strength and durability;
- fencing does not deteriorate with time, it is not exposed to natural factors;
- solid concrete fence has excellent sound insulation properties;
- if necessary, the fence can be made without joints and gaps;
- concrete surface is easy to finish with any finishing material;
- concrete is the most economical material of all capital.
The relative disadvantages include a large weight of structures.
The construction of such a fence will require considerable effort and mandatory installation of the foundation.
Concrete fences differ in their manufacturing technology and functional purpose.
Monolithic fences
This type of fence is the most durable and durable. It requires a solid or columnar foundation. The fencing itself is a solid reinforced concrete slabs, firmly connected to the pillars. Monolithic slabs can be smooth, grooved or decorated.
Stacked( sectional) fences
Stacked, or sectional, are called fences, each section of which consists of several plates or panels. Plates can have a different texture and be different decoration. The poles for the intake fence on the sides have grooves, which include panels.
The main difficulty for the construction of a sectional concrete fence is the exact installation of pillars.
The distance between them should correspond to the panel length. Otherwise, the panels will not be kept in the slots or will not go there at all. As a rule, a strong foundation is made under the pillars of such a fence so that they do not tilt after the freezing and thawing phase of the ground. The convenience of the dial fence is manifested in the assembly of panels into the grooves of concrete pillars for the fence. Each of the parts has a small weight; two or three people are enough for carrying and laying. The upper panels, which are set to a height of more than a meter, are usually made openwork. Due to the numerous holes they become much easier and easier to install.
Concrete block fence
Block fences are assembled from individual solid or hollow concrete blocks, bonding them together with cement mortar. A structure of this type resembles brickwork. A block fence needs finishing with decorative plaster or tiles with imitation stone.
Concrete block fence does not need to install pillars between separate sections, but masonry will require mason's skills.
Decorative concrete fencing
Decorative fences are made in a variety of styles and colors. With the help of decorative concrete casting, craftsmen create durable and aesthetic compositions that are perfectly combined with other materials - wood, openwork forging from metal, natural stone. Manufacturers offer a variety of options, made under the brickwork, stone of various textures. Concrete casting successfully imitates a balustrade and even wooden clapboard. Decorative concrete fences are in great demand when enclosing private properties, where solidity and respectability are primarily required.
Vibrotable can be purchased off-the-shelf or manufactured by yourself. To make their own hands from a metal corner, they weld a frame and strengthen the vibromotor on it.
Concrete panels can be manufactured without the use of vibration equipment, but their quality will be much lower.
Casting technology of concrete panels
A concrete mixer is loaded with rubble, filled with water and washed from dust and impurities. Then the water is drained and loaded with sand, cement and water. The exact proportions of the mortar for the selected cement grade are usually written on the packaging.
Currently, there is a wide range of plasticizers on sale - special additives to give concrete certain properties or to accelerate( slow down) the mortar setting. In the manufacture of a concrete fence, plasticizers are used to impart mobility, non-separability and additional strength to the solution.
The casting mold is placed on the vibrating table, lubricated with mineral oil against the adhesion of the solution and the reinforcement is prepared. The reinforcement scheme must be thought out in advance, based on the shape features. Ideally, the reinforcement should pass through the entire thickness of the panel, not protruding on the surface.
The form is filled to half the volume and include a vibrator. Then the reinforcement is laid, the solution is added to the top of the mold and the concrete is again compacted with a vibrator.
At the stage of the mold casting, fasteners should be provided to connect the panel with other parts of the fence - above or below the panels or posts.
After the mortar has dried, the form is removed - the separation of the finished panel from the mold. Then the product is overwritten manually or with machines to the standard form, the form is cleaned of the remnants of concrete and prepared for the next cast.
Installation of intersection pillars
In marked areas dig holes with a diameter of about 50 cm. Its depth must be at least the depth of soil freezing in the area. The bottom of the pit is rammed, covered with a layer of sand of 10–15 cm and rammed again. Then a column is vertically installed, secured in this position and poured with concrete to the level of the ground.
For complete curing of the foundation, it is necessary to withstand two weeks.
Assembly of the whole structure.
. Finished panels are laid into the grooves of the posts or they weld the reinforcement of each panel and columns put together beforehand to the surface.
At this stage, the installation work on the installation of a reinforced concrete fence can be considered complete. The finished structure is additionally trimmed with decorative materials - plaster, facade paint on concrete, tiles. Be sure to paint over weatherproof paint all welded parts to prevent corrosion.
The fences thus made retain all the advantages of a concrete fence. They do not absorb moisture, have low windage, excellent sound insulation, extremely durable. A solid concrete fence in a rural environment can be a reliable barrier to ground fire when spring grass burns, which leads to huge fires and human casualties.