Sep. 09, 2024
It is possible to make your garden fences and walls a little more difficult to climb by applying a topping of one sort or another. There's no guarantee that such a topping will stop the thief climbing over, especially if the thieves come prepared, but the extra aggravation will buy you a little time and the thief's attempts to remove the topping or climb over it might be heard by you or a neighbour. Take a look at the various suggestions below:
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Timber trellis is mentioned first in this section because I believe it to be the most effective climbing deterrent for a domestic fence.
A square shaped timber trellis of 300mm to 600mm in height with battens around 15 - 20mm² can be fixed to the top of a fence to deter climbing, but to be really effective it needs to be used as a support for a prickly shrub. Take a look at the tables in Defensive shrubs and trees for a wide selection of thorny plants. The strength of the trellis ironically lies in its weakness, for it was climbed by an intruder it would collapse under their weight. It is however very important to fix it very securely to the fence panel and or posts so that it can&#;t just be pulled off. It also needs a firm fixing to carry the weight of a climbing plant, especially if the fence is exposed to wind. The only downside with growing a thorny plant through a trellis structure is what to do when the timber starts to rot, so do use stainless steel or galvanised fixings and make sure you use a timber that has been pressure treated against wood-boring pests and wet and dry rot.
Your alternative to trellis might be to train the plant along plastic coated wires. The wires can be stretched between extension battens that have been fixed to the existing fence posts or wall.
The fence shown below is typical of that seen on a housing development seeking to gain 'Secured by Design' approval from the police. This fencing arrangement starts with a privacy screen and then continues down the garden with a panel and trellis combination. This allows mutual supervision of each other's garden and the opportunity to chat over the fence. If more privacy or security is desired the residents can use the trellis to support a throny shrub or two. The trellis is strong enough to carry a plant, but would break under the weight of an intruder.
If your fence panels are the standard 1.8m with a gravel board then the overall height of your fence will be 2m. Any extensions above this height would normally require planning permission, so although you don&#;t need planning permission for a prickly climbing plant growing above the fence do speak with your local planning authority first as the framing to carry the plant may technically need permission. Different planning authorities may have different interpretations in respect to structures used to support plants. (See The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
Although there might be some very special circumstances where the use of barbed wire and or razor tape may be required I would not generally recommend the use of these materials for domestic boundaries. Its appearance is ugly and hostile and if on a fence that borders lands to which the public have access it should only be used at heights above 2.4 metres, which will require planning permission! You&#;ll also have to put warning signs on the fence or wall warning of the specific danger. You&#;ll also be surprised at how quickly this stuff can be removed anyway by intruders coming prepared with heavy duty wire cutters and blankets. (See Highways Act Section 164 in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
Broken glass set into mortar on top of walls will require signs warning of the specific danger and I would not recommend its use below 2.4m. Frankly, I wouldn&#;t recommend it anyway as it looks horrible and you run the risk of falling foul of the Occupiers&#; Liability Acts should someone get injured. A burglar, a blanket and a hammer can usually put pay to a bit of glass in short order. (See Occupiers&#; Liability Act and Occupiers&#; Liability Act in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates and the true story below)
True story
I was casually walking the beat one day when a bin man came running up to me clutching a profusely bleeding wrist. I got out the &#;just-in-case&#; bandage and carted him off to hospital for some stitches. He&#;d cut his wrist as he threw a new black bin bag over a side gate of a house on his round. He hadn&#;t noticed the glass on top of the gate put there the week before by the householder. The gate was only 2m high and there was no warning sign to indicate the danger. With the help of his trade union he successfully sued the householder for compensation for his injuries.
There are various types including systems with very long angled spikes designed for use around commercial or government buildings and a 15mm high plastic type designed specifically to sit on domestic garden walls and fences. I&#;ve seen the latter and I think it may be effective against the unprepared opportunist thief. That said, a coat thrown over the top will render it useless. These prickly toppings come in strips that can be nailed, screwed or glued to the top of the fence or wall. You&#;ll need to check with the local highways authority before you buy it to see at what height they would allow its use if the fence or wall borders the pubic highway or other land to which the pubic have access. It all rather depends on how they interpret its injurious status in respect to the Highways Act. The use of warning signs specific to the product is recommended. (See Highways Act Section 164 and Occupiers&#; Liability Act and Occupiers&#; Liability Act in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
There is a large range of rotating toppings, normally used on commercial and government buildings&#; fencing systems, gates and walls. They are all intended to create an unstable top to a barrier to deter climbing. They range from non injurious split aluminium through sharp plastic devices that resemble cacti, to simple horizontal spinning tubes. The non injurious types can be fitted at 1.8m and above and the injurious types will probably have to be set above 2.4m. Once again, if you want to use this sort of device on a wall or on top of a gate that abuts the public highway or other land to which the public have access a quick chat with the highways and planning authorities before you start work would be wise. The use of warning signs specific to the product is recommended. (See Highways Act Section 164 and Occupiers&#; Liability Act and Occupiers&#; Liability Act in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
The above paragraphs make continuous reference to the use of warning signs. These not only reduce your liability in respect to the Occupiers&#; Liability Acts, but will also act as a deterrent in their own right. They should certainly be positioned on the public side of the boundary fence or wall at intervals whereby it can be reasonably expected that a person approaching the fence is going to see one. However, I recommend putting the signs on both sides of fence or wall in the event that you have people working in the garden. The normal interval between the signs is 3m. The signs should give a clear warning specific to the product you are using, such as &#;Danger Anti-climb Spikes&#; and should include a diagram of the danger. Black lettering on a yellow background is often used. (See Occupiers&#; Liability Act and Occupiers&#; Liability Act in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
Anti-climb paint can be purchased from some DIY centres and locksmiths. It&#;s usually supplied in 1 and 5 litre tins and is available in a few standard colours. It&#;s used to deter climbing up rainwater pipes and other building features and over walls and roofs. It shouldn&#;t be used on walls or fences or anything that is less than 2.4m in height as otherwise someone quite innocent could get covered in this dreadful stuff. You must also use it in conjunction with signs that warn of the danger of climbing, which is especially the case where it has been used on a vertical surface that could be used for climbing. It&#;s probably not a good idea to apply it in autumn if there are a lot of leaves blowing around! (See Occupiers&#; Liability Act and Occupiers&#; Liability Act in The UK Law concerning fences, walls and gates )
No matter how good your boundaries they can be overcome with ease if you leave things around your garden that can be used as steps-ups. The most often used step-ups include: Wheelie bins left behind or in front of the side gate; furniture left in the garden and step ladders. You can put away step ladders and maybe the garden furniture and you can chain up wheelie bins to prevent them from being moved around the garden.
The laws concerning fencing have largely been written to protect humans rather than other animals and so I think it is right to point out that some of the toppings described above may inadvertently cause injury to domestic cats and wildlife. Please consider this point before you top your fences.
True Story
During a crime prevention survey the lady of the house told me that until very recently her husband (who worked for a company and knew all about electricity) had experimented with electrified wires on top of his garden fences. &#;It was high voltage, but low amps mate so it wouldn&#;t have killed anybody&#; interrupted the husband. His wife went on to say that he&#;d eventually taken it all down as she got so upset watching rather dazed pigeons and squirrels falling onto the vegetable plot only to be attacked by her cat who sat there all day waiting for the next victim.
An anti climb fence, sometimes called anti climb security fencing or anti scale fencing, is precisely what it is named &#; a fence you cannot climb. These security fences prevent Intruders from achieving grip and footholds by employing tightly spaced welded wire, wire mesh, expanded metal, perforated metal and/or narrowly spaced palisades as the infill material between posts and rails. This design creates an unclimbable fence or unscalable fence.
Some anti climb fences are designed with an outward curved top section that creates an impossible angle to overcome. Several anti climb palisade fences use this outward curve atop the fence along with a pointed spear-like end to further deter intruders. Many of these fence systems also offer additional security options like Concertina razor wire and barbed wire as well as motion detectors and security lighting.
Welded wire is professionally referred to as &#;welded wire mesh&#; and this inclusion of the term &#;mesh&#; is where confusion begins. Welded wire consists of perpendicular or orthogonal steel wires that are connected at their cross sections/intersections using resistance welding (or electric resistance welding). This process uses a strong electric current to heat up the two metal components until they melt at their resistance points (where the wires intersect) whereupon pressure is applied to forge them together. This forms a very strong grid of openings, or apertures, that can be sized according to need and design. When welded wire is used for anti climb fencing, the apertures are extremely tight or small to prevent foot and hand holds as well as protect against compromise by breaching tools.
Woven wire mesh, often shortened to &#;wire mesh&#;, adds to the aforementioned confusion since both materials can be called &#;mesh&#;. Wire mesh is made from individual steel wires literally woven like cloth into an interlocking pattern. Generally, depending on the gauge (thickness) of the wire, woven wire mesh is more flexible and less resilient than welded wire.
Expanded metal is a process where small cuts are made in a sheet of metal and then the entire piece is stretched (expanded) making larger, pre-determined apertures. Like welded wire, these small apertures prevent scaling and breaching.
Perforated metal is a similar process in that the metal sheet has shapes (holes) punched out in various patterns and sizes.
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Many palisade fences are anti climb fences depending on how close together the &#;pales&#; are spaced. Pales are similar to pickets, the vertical bars or square tubes one often sees on wrought iron fences. Pales, however, are much stronger because they are made from roll formed steel and attached directly to the strength of the horizontal fence materials.
Originally, palisade fences were made of wood and were called stake fences because the pales were imbedded in the ground. A perfect example of this is the stockade forts of the old US West that used sharpened logs buried vertically in the ground to create a palisade fence.
Today&#;s modern steel palisade fences incorporate horizontal rails to affix the pales so they are not buried in the ground as an anchor point. You can find the best palisade, anti climb fences instantly using the Protogetic Filter.
While there are consumer rated anti climb fences suitable for residential properties, more typically one encounters this level of security at high value target locations such as nuclear and electrical power plants, airports, chemical and petroleum storage facilities and military installations. A no climb security fence not only keeps intruders out, but it also can keep people within their required confines like prisons and psychiatric facilities as well as bridges and overpasses at risk for accidents or suicide attempts.
In short, no. A security anti climb fence is not necessarily designed to prevent a Hostile Vehicle Attack (HVA). However, some manufacturers do make anti-scale fencing that is anti-ram. For an anti climb fence to qualify as an anti-ram barrier, the perimeter fencing has to be tested just like an anti-ram vehicle barriers using ASTM F criteria. You can find one of these special fences instantly at Protogetic.com.
An anti climb security fence prevents human compromise of the protected perimeter. The very small aperture of the infill material prevents scaling by eliminating hand and foot holds. These infill materials are typically steel and include: palisades, welded wire mesh, expanded metal and perforated metal. They are extremely robust so they can further slow or even thwart attempts to cut or breach the fence itself. This also makes most anti climb fences penetration resistant, sometimes simply called an anti-cut fence.
Not at all but many are because penetration resistant fencing can be achieved by creating a very small aperture in the infill material &#; in simple terms, this means the spacing of the mesh or welded wire is so small that it prevents tools from fitting in the openings and thus cannot exert any leverage or bite to cut the wire infill. As such, it also prevents climbing. Some of these infill systems have such small apertures that they even limit or completely screen visibility should complete privacy be required.
Similar to blast resistant doors, many anti scale fences are also customizable in their sizing as well as security options which include, spike toppers, Concertina razor wire, barbed wire, ballistic shield, motion detectors, infrared sensors and security lighting.
Anti climb fence heights, like regular residential fencing, vary by location and security levels. Research indicates that security fencing should be no lower than 2.1 meters or 6&#; 10 inches high. Quite obviously, the higher the fence &#; the more difficult it is to climb. Exactly how tall your fence needs to be to provide optimal security is also a function of budget as well as building and zoning codes. Many anti climb fences can be custom made or come in predetermined panel heights ranging from 8 feet to 20 feet. The Protogetic Filter helps you find the right height fence for your project instantly.
Most commonly, an anti scaling fence is made from steel, galvanized steel or stainless steel. This includes the vertical fence posts and the horizontal rails. The infill material, whether welded wire, wire mesh, perforated metal, expanded metal or palisades, is also usually steel though they can be made of aluminum, copper, brass and titanium.
There are unclimbable fence types that are non metallic and thus non conductive. These security fences are made of special fiberglass composites or fiberglass reinforced polymers. Installing a non conductive, non climbable fence is critical when securing unique locations like power generating facilities and sub stations where some metal fences could accommodate current leakage and flashover voltage (where a high voltage electric current is accidentally discharged) thereby creating a dangerous, if not deadly, result. If your needs require a metal anti climb fence to surround a sub station or power plant, you need to make sure it complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) grounding standards.
A non-conductive fence is also best installed where radar is active, like airports. A metal, non climbable fence can reflect radar, creating more interference patterns compared to a non-conductive fence. Protogetic has non-conductive fences from leading manufacturers. Tired of searching the internet? You can instantly find an anti climb, non-conductive fence using the Protogetic Filter for free!
An anti climb fence utilizes infill material that is stronger, tighter spaced and less flexible than a chain link fence. More material that is higher quality of course costs more. Some anti climb security fencing relies on engineering to curve the upper portion of the fence outward as well as make connections and hardware inaccessible to cutting or being used as a foot or hand hold. These added security designs also add to the cost, making a no climb security fence more expensive than traditional chain link or picket fencing. At Protogetic.com, you can inquire about price quotes instantly by directly messaging the manufacturer representative with one easy click. It could not be simpler. Stop burning up your work day endlessly searching for high security protective design products and get your project done faster with Protogetic.
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