LYSAGHT® Fence Installation Section 2 - Fence and Post Selection

FENCE SELECTION

 

Installation Environment

LYSAGHT® fences should not be used within 1km of marine, severe industrial or other corrosive environments. The fence must be installed clear of the ground.

Take extreme care if the fence is near a swimming pool because pool water splashed on the fence will void the warranty.

These fences are not to be used as a retaining wall.

Wind Region

 

The information in this guide is suitable for use only in regions A and B of AS 1170.2-2002 SAA Loading Code, Part 2: Wind Loads. Cyclonic regions are covered in our cyclonic fence guide. If you have any doubt about the region your fence will be in, get advice from your local building consent authority.

 

Find Out Your Terrain Category

Select the terrain category that best describes the area in which your fence will be. If you want to build on the top of a hill, adjacent to an escarpment, on a ridge, or in terrain category 1, you need engineering advice beyond the scope of this publication.

Category 2: Open terrain including sea coast areas, airfields, grassland with a few well-scattered obstructions such as isolated trees and uncut grass, having heights generally from 1.5m to 10m and water surfaces. Typically acreage-suburbia with less than 10 houses per hectare.

Category 2.5: Terrain with a few trees, isolated obstructions (e.g. agricultural land, canefields or long grass to 0.6 m). This category is typical of developing outer urban areas. Less than 10 houses per hectare; or more than 10 houses per hectare, 500m apart and in 2 rows.

Category 3: Terrain with numerous closely spaced obstructions the size of domestic houses 3 to 5m high. Typically residential-suburbia with 10 or more houses per hectare.

Hill Sides and Exposed Situations

If your fence is situated on the side of a hill or in an exposed location, we recommend you upgrade to the next fence type.

SELECT YOUR FENCE TYPE

Fence Height (mm)	Terrain Category	Fence Types* Wind Regions A B
2100	2.0 2.5 3.0	2 1 1	- 3 2
1800	2.0 2.5 3.0	1 1 1	3 1 1
1500	2.0 2.5 3.0	1 1 1	2 1 1

* Data is based on level fences

Fence Types

(LYSAGHT NEETASCREEN® Fences Shown)

Fence Type 1

Fence Type 2

Fence Type 3

Selection Of Posts

Check the number and type of posts you will need, starting with a sketch of your fence site. Mark on it the type of posts you will need (below). You will need to consider:

• Posts in a fence run, that don't form a corner (typically at the front of a property next to road);
• Intermediate posts (they are always two standard posts screwed back-to-back);
• The various configurations of posts at corners;
• If the fence is to be stepped;
• If the ends of the fence are to be tapered;
• Gate posts; and
• That ball post caps are designed to fit on two standard posts screwed back-to-back, and this may affect the post configurations you choose.

Selection Of Post Caps

Fix post caps on all fence posts to give the perfect finishing touch and to protect against any sharp edges. Choose your post caps based on your post configurations and personal preference.

LYSAGHT® post caps fit two standard posts screwed back-to-back. For a single standard post, it is easy to cut a cap in half with a sharp knife in the groove moulded into the underside. Trim the edges straight after cutting.

There is a wide range of decorative spears, available from retailers and hardware stores, that you can fit to these caps to customise your fence. There are grooves moulded under the cap to help locate fasteners.

Ball caps are often used for NEETASCREEN® Plus, SMARTASCREEN® Plus and MINISCREEN® Plus fences, but can be used on any LYSAGHT® fence. They are designed to fit two standard posts screwed back-to-back.

Domed caps suit square posts and are usually used at corner junctions and gate openings.

Download Post Caps Installation Guide (228 KB)

 

DETERMINE POST LENGTHS

If the ground is not all level, consider whether the fence will be stepped or raked. For aesthetic reasons, people often choose to step rather than rake when using a lattice.

Fences may be installed raked on slopes of 1 in 20 (117mm in 2350mm) for LYSAGHT NEETASCREEN® and LYSAGHT SMARTASCREEN®, or 1 in 30 (78mm in 2350mm) for LYSAGHT MINISCREEN® without cutting components to fit.

For steeper slopes you will need to:

• step your fence; or
• cut the infill sheets, lattices and rails (described later)

If some of the ground is level and some sloping, or if the slope varies markedly, you might need posts of different lengths.

 

1) Determine Basic Post Lengths

Basic post length = (footing depth - 40) + (Height above ground)

Get the footing depth from the table in "Footings" below and height above ground from:

Height of post above ground = A + B + C + D

Where:

A = Height of infill sheet (see figure below)
B = 50mm ground clearance
C = If using lattice: 300mm (see figure below)
D = If a stepped installation: height of the step (see figure above)

2) Select Standard Lengths

Use the table below to select the lengths you need to order. The standard lengths are 2100, 2400, 2700 and 3000mm.

Post Lengths

Calculated Basic Post Length		Length of standard post to use
Minimum (mm)	Maximum (mm)	(mm)
2100	2210	2100
2211	2399	2400*
2400	2510	2400
2511	2699	2700*
2700	2810	2700
2811	2999	3000*
3000	3110	3000

* Cut so that dimension E in the figure above is between 40 and 150mm