Why a slab fence? The croaker itself is a waste that occurs when processing large logs in a sawmill. The appearance of the raw material differs depending on which side to look at. One of its sides is completely flat, as it was sawed off. The second is not cleared even of the bark.
What is a croaker?
The article presents photos of the slab fence. Naturally, the bark on the fence is completely absent on them, and the material itself is not always as bad as it seems. The thing is that there are two types of this material - business and wood. In this case, the use of raw materials is clear from the name. For example, the second type of board is considered unsuitable for construction. It is used only for kindling. The first type is already a better material with a greater thickness. It is actively used not only for the construction of fences, but also for the construction of household and non-residential buildings for various purposes.
It is important to add here that building a fence from a slab with your own hands, the photo of which is presented in the article, is quite simple. If we take into account the great possibilities of processing this material, then we can confidently say that even a beautiful and durable structure can actually be built from waste.
Preparatory work
Like any other work related to construction, the construction of the fence begins with the marking of the site. In this case, you need to know a few rules:
- The span width should be from 200 to 250 cm. If you make it larger, then there will be a strong loss in stability.
- The height of the fence from the slab should be from 150 to 220 cm.
Knowing these two parameters, it will be quite simple to calculate the total area of the fence. To do this, just multiply the selected width value by the selected height value. For example, the width is 1.8 m and the height is 2.3 m. This means that the total area of one span will be 4.14 m 2 . To find out the total length of the fence, it will be enough to multiply the area of one span by their number. All this is done so that it is possible to clearly calculate the required number of boards.
Material selection
There are many options for picking up slabs (for all photos, see the article). However, the difference between them is that different quality of material is used everywhere. The thing is that even among wastes such as croaker, there are good boards.
During the selection, it is preferable to buy those boards that are separate, since they are already sorted. It is very important to know what kind of wood this material was obtained from, for example, poplar is not suitable for building a fence. This is argued by the fact that such boards begin to rot too quickly. Quite a lot of problems can arise with birch wood. During the construction of the fence, you will have to drive a lot of nails from a croaker or screw in screws, and the dried birch is quite solid. Most likely, you will have to use a drill to make each hole.
In addition, strongly saving on source material is not recommended. The cheaper the croaker is, the more knots, bumps and other problems it contains.
Wood drying
It is very important to know what to do if you had to buy wet material. It is impossible to dry it in direct sunlight. The best place for such a procedure would be a dry and shaded space in the open. It can be dried inside the building, but then the doors need to be kept constantly open. If the raw material is not dried correctly, it will dry out and deep cracks will appear on the surface.
It is also important to pay attention to the width of each board. If it is more than 20-25 cm, then you should not take it. Such boards are characterized by the rapid appearance of cracks across the horizontal. Choosing a slab for the fence, it is necessary to take into account the fact that after a while each board will already be 1.5-2 cm. This happens because the wood dries. Therefore, during installation, you need to do a small overlap of 1.5-2 cm.
Beginning of work
Before starting the construction process, it is very important to process the wood. Firstly, the boards are sorted by their shape, and secondly, each bark needs to be removed. It is necessary to do this, since bark beetles will surely start in such an environment, mold or fungus will appear. In order to get rid of the bark, a carpenter's brace is used. Since not everyone has it, it is allowed to use an ax, a bayonet shovel. After that, to build a good slab fence, you need to remove all burrs and chips with a grinder. The final treatment is the coating of wood with antiseptics against mold and pests.
After that, you can proceed to the next step. The installation process begins with land work. Bushes, stones, rubbish, etc. are removed at the site. If there are bumps or pits, they are also leveled to make the correct marking.
The next step at the initial stage is the marking of each hole under the support pillar. A lot will depend on this, and in order not to make a mistake, a wooden peg is installed in place of the post, and a thread is stretched between them.
Work with holes and poles
After the end of the marking, you can proceed to dig out the recesses for each column. In order to make it more convenient to work, it is best to use a drill or a special screw shovel, rather than a bayonet. The width of each hole should be 20 cm, and the depth - 70 cm. Next, each hole is covered with sand and the material is compacted. To make the layer as dense as possible, it needs to be slightly moistened with water. The rammed layer should be at least 10 cm. On top of it, another layer is poured - gravel. The height is also 10 cm, and it must also be tamped.
After that, you can proceed to the installation of the supports in the recess. It is recommended to use wooden or metal poles. If wood is involved, then it is additionally treated with protective impregnation from moisture. The bottom is fired or coated with bitumen based greases. An additional layer of waterproofing can be roofing material. If metal pipes are used, then the lower part is brewed so that moisture does not get inside. It is also treated with a special compound that increases corrosion protection. 5x10 cm metal plates must be attached to the post. They are fixed parallel to each other at the bottom and at the top of the post. These strips will serve as lags for fixing the boards, if you need to make a fence from a vertical slab.
Installation of supports
Further, the columns are placed in the finished holes. They should stand strictly upright. To do this, you can use props that will hold the material while work is in progress. After installing the column, a small layer of gravel is poured, which is evenly distributed throughout the hole, and then rammed. For a strong foundation, pour the concrete base. Its height will be 10 cm above the ground, and therefore a formwork is needed. In order not to accidentally move the formwork during pouring, it is best to fix it with stakes.
Base fill
Any variant of the slab fence is best installed on a columnar foundation.
To make a good foundation, it needs to be reinforced. This procedure will strengthen the structure and prevent it from falling apart. As a reinforcing material, a volumetric frame of steel rods with a diameter of 8-10 mm is used. The rods are fastened together with a wire, and their height should be about 50 centimeters. The distance between the rods should be such that the pole installed inward does not touch them.
After that, everything is ready for pouring concrete. The solution is mixed using cement grade M 200. The mixture is poured into the hole when the column and fittings are already installed. After pouring, many bubbles will remain inside the concrete. To get rid of them, use a steel bar, which is lowered and immediately removed from the hole. When air bubbles are removed, the hole is covered with polyethylene. In this form, you need to wait for the mixture to solidify completely. The process takes from 3 to 6 days, depending on the weather.
Section mounting
After the concrete is completely dry, you can begin to work with sections of the fence. You can install the structure vertically or horizontally. When choosing the vertical method, it is necessary to fill the logs on which the slab will be mounted. Logs are fixed horizontally to the inner sides of the column. One board at the top and bottom will be enough.
You can fasten the skin itself in different ways. It is not worthwhile to install the slab next to each other, since it is uneven, sloppy gaps will form. Therefore, it is best to initially leave a small and uniform gap between each board. If you do not want to make a gap, then the boards are overlapped. In the end you get a design resembling a Christmas tree. There is another option to get rid of gaps. You can stuff boards on the other side of the fence to close them. In appearance, the fence will resemble a shield.
If there is a desire, then it is quite possible to make a beautiful fence from slab. To do this, the wood itself is recommended to be painted. Different coatings can be used to give a different structure to the wood. It is better to use a varnish coating. If there is a desire and skill, it is quite possible to apply a different type of patterned clipping. You can even make a small picture into several sections of the fence.