Storm damage to cedar fence from last weeks storm

Last weeks storm and strong winds damaged many western red cedar fences.  Sterling Fence Inc can repair most fences without having to replace completely. Western red cedar is used for its beauty, its stability as lumber and for its longevity. Posts over time will need to be replaced. The fence itself generally will last twice as long as the post. In other words, in a projected 25 year lifespan, you can expect to replace the post once with normal soil conditions. Sterling Fence Inc does repair western red cedar privacy fence. Call and ask for a fence estimator to come and evaluate your fence this Spring

Fence Repair

Minnesota Winters are hard on all types of fencing, wood fence, chain link fence, ornemental and well as vinyl fence. Spring is a great time to take a look at your fence and evaluate its condition. Whether it is the frost moving the concrete footings, plowing snow into the fence or simply strong winds breaking the wood posts, Sterling Fence Inc can repair your fence. Wood privacy fences do not have to be replaced when posts break if the fence itself is intact and the wood sound. We can usually repair, replacing posts, using the existing fence, often saving hunreds of dollars.

Why does Western Red Cedar last so long? Tannin is the answer.

Sterling Fence Inc installs western red cedar fences all around the Minneapolis, St. Paul area. Customer always ask, " How long will it last? "  Western Red Cedar is used for fencing, siding and roofing for home and many other outdoor uses because of its inherent properties.

The presence of Tannin in western red cedar is the reason it lasts so long with outdoor use. Tannin is a natural oil found in western red cedar that makes the wood resistant to rotting and to insects. 

At Sterling Fence Inc we have found western red cedar to be a wonderful material to build our wood fences with. It is a stable wood which means it has a minimal amount of warping and twisiting compared to any kind of pine. We build our wood privacy fences as well as out picket fences with this material. Sterling Fence Inc will be happy to do a free estimate on any fencing project at your home,

5 Immediate steps to help prevent loss of pets to Coyotes.

The last few weeks at Sterling Fence Inc, we have received many calls from customers concerned about coyotes in their neighborhood and the danger they present to their cats and small dogs. Sterling Fence Inc can provide you with the most effective fence solutions to this problem. Her are 5 other non fence steps you can take to lessen the risk of loss that Sterling Fence Inc would recommend.

1) Remove bowls of food and water that you might have out for dogs and cats

2) Keep pets inside at dawn and dusk when Coyotes are most active.

3)Cut brush where Coyotes may be hiding toground level

4)Latch doggie doors to house or garage, Coyotes have been known to come into garages

5) Stop using bird feeders, they attract rats, mice and squirrels which attract coyotes

These are immediate steps you can take to start with which will help. Sterling Fence Inc has different ways to deal with the problem use fencing. We service Minneapolis and St. Paul. The coyote problems stem from the great habitat along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. At Sterling Fence Inc we  have received the greatest numbers of calls from Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka.

Coyotes in Minneapolis

A recent report by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says that Coyotes are thriving in the Twin City metropolitan are. While the report state that attacks on humans are rare, it is not uncommon for Coyotes to attack domestic cats and small dogs. Sterling Fence Inc has helped customers deal with this threat for many years.

Premix concrete versus site mixed concrete for fence installation, which is better?

In the residential fence installation business there is always a discussion on comparing the use of premixed concrete products such as Sakrete versus site mixed concrete to install fence posts. Site mixed concrete at Sterling Fence Inc. means mixing sand, gravel,portland cement and water in certain proportions  in a cement mixer and pouring the footings with that mixture. We at Sterling Fence Inc. have been installing posts for 37 years and have found a place for both. The goal is to give the  customer a solid concrete footing that will keep there fence straight and solid over its lifetime,

It is generally accepted that a compression strength of 2500psi is acceptable with fence installations, according to building code C387 which is the building code specification for packaged, dry combined matter for concrete. Premixed concrete such as Sakrete have  7 day compression strength of 3000psi and a 28 day strength of 4200psi.  Site mixed concrete will yield similar results.

How do we at Sterling Fence Inc. decide when to  mix concrete and when to use a premixed product? It almost always comes down to which method will give us the greater efficiency which translates to a better value for our customers. At Sterling Fence Inc we pour concrete footings on every post with our residential fence installations. We dig an 8" diameter footing for our Western Red Cedar wood fence installations and a 6" diameter for our 4' tall chain link fence installations.  Many projects require 30 to 70 concrete footings to be poured. Using the premix products is not  as practical as site mix for us in terms of cost or efficiency although the resulting quality is the same.. On the other hand, in doing repairs where we may be replacing 4 or 5 posts, the premixed products work well.

In summary, premix concrete products and site mixed concrete both have there place at Sterling Fence Inc. The main focus is to do the installation correctly with the fence looking straight and good over its lifespan.

Mountain Split Rail Fence

Split Rail Fence is a type of fence that is constructed by splitting standard logs and using these rails to build fencing. Sterling Fence Inc. carries split rail in Cedar and Mountain Split Rail

Before barb wire became available in the late 1800's, one of the traditional fences constructed of rails split from logs which were rot resistant such as Chestnut or Yellow Locust. The rails were stacked in an alternate fashion, in a zig-zag pattern with an occasional post at the corners. As a variation of this style and a precursor to our modern style the rails were stacked in an alternate style in a straight line and sandwiched between posts in the line where they met the next rail.

 

            

Today, our Mountain Split Rail fence is usually a 3 rail style, using hardwood rails and a treated Southern Yellow Pine or Locust posts every 10' along the fence line. The fence measures 48" to the top rail and the rails themselves overlap each other within the post preventing rails from falling out as horses push against the fence. With these heavy hardwood rails, this makes it ideal for equestrian uses, pastures and paddocks. It is installed without nails so you don't encounter accidents that loose nails can cause. Sterling Fence Inc has sold and installed mountain split rail for close to 40 years with many installation still in great condition on horse farms around the country.