Snow fences work by causing turbulence in the wind, such that it drops much of its snow load on the lee side of the fence. Thus, snow fences actually cause snow drifts, rather than preventing them. Snow fences have been reported to save lives and reduce maintenance costs.

A snowdrift is a deep pile of snow formed by the wind.

noun. a mound or bank of snow driven together by the wind. snow driven before the wind.

Strong winds and steady snowfall make for a lot of drifting snow. But lots of snow moves in strong winds without falling snow, if there’s enough snow on the ground and it’s not too icy. However, this snow can’t blow forever. Even though it is hard to imagine, snow is evaporating as it is blown along.

The basics of snowdrift control are (1) keep a blizzard wind moving, or (2) slow it down where you want the snowdrift. You might eliminate a problem snowdrift in a road cut, for example, by reshaping the cut bank (to keep the wind moving), or by building a snow fence upwind (to move the snowdrift out of the cut).

Should the Fence Touch the Ground? In most cases, no fence materials other than your fence posts should touch the ground. Allowing your fence to touch the ground makes yard maintenance more difficult and may increase the speed at which your fence suffers moisture damage, depending on the fence material used.

To keep the wood from rotting, apply a wood preservative to seal it. “It’s like wax on a car,” Holt says. “It helps protect it from the elements, from water, from sprinklers.” Water-repellent preservatives and sealants are sold at home-improvement and hardware stores.

You can use chicken wire, hardware cloth, or a piece of chain-link fence attached to the base of the fence. Some people bury it for aesthetic reasons. But you can also lay it on top of the grass and hold it down with rocks, gravel, mulch, or even planters.

A fence kickboard is also known as a rot board. It’s essentially a piece of wood that is installed on the bottom of your wooden fence. The kickboard is in direct contact with the ground and they are normally pressure-treated.

Plinths are the perfect product for filling unsightly gaps under colorbond and timber fences. They can also be used for retaining. The plinth sits under the bottom of the fence. It makes the fence look neat and tidy as it fills unsightly gaps and keeps weeds, debris, and rubbish from entering your yard.

Timber fencing is the most cost effective fencing in the market, a colorbond fence is generally 30% more expensive than timber, however it last 100% longer than a timber fence. While Colorbond is more expensive upfront, there are no ongoing costs with a colorbond fence, a colorbond fence is an investment.

How to Install a Retaining Wall in 5 Steps

1. Step 1: Gather Materials & Set the Line. Acquire the materials needed for this project after studying how to build a retaining wall.
2. Step 2: Dig Post Holes.
3. Step 3: Align & Install Posts.
4. Step 4: Install Colorbond Plinths (Wall)
5. Step 5: Add Backfill.

Aluminium sleepers are renowned for their versatility. Made up of hollow sockets on the inside, they can be used as either a plinth under steel panel fences or a sleeper for retaining walls. They’re also a great way to level or increase the base height of a new or existing fence on uneven terrain.

A quick and easy solution would be to get a 2″ x 12″ x 10′ P.T.board and bury it a few inches into the ground along the fence and screw it into the bottom of the fence. You could extend it as far as you needed along the fence. Get a board rated for ground contact.

Center the kickboard under the bottom rail (secured with a cleat), or nail it to the face of the post and the bottom rail. Allow the kickboard to extend at least 4 to 6 inches into the ground to discourage animals from digging under the fence. After you’ve attached the kickboards you can begin with the siding.

Constructing a retaining wall out of upright sleepers is pretty straightforward. Simply dig a trench, lower the sleepers in vertically side by side, and then backfill with a dry concrete mix, that you can ram down around the railway sleepers untill the wall is rigid.

As a rule, hardwood oak sleepers tend to last the longest naturally with an expected lifespan of around 100 years. An untreated softwood will last for between three and five years if it sits on the ground, whilst treated softwoods can last between 20 and 30 years if they are maintained correctly.

Using wooden stakes to secure your sleepers is another popular method for adding stability. Sink around 60% of the stake supports into the ground, setting with cement if preferred then simply drive your fixings through the sleepers and into the supports.

The most important thing is that the railway sleepers are laid on a surface that is level and firm. Perfectionists and Engineers will do this on a foundation of concrete, but more mortal people will often simply use gravel or hardcore or sand or even the soil itself if it is solid.

Wood Preserver Wood preservative treatments provide garden sleepers with protective properties that help prevent rot, mould and fungal growth, as well as help to form a defence against the elements. It is best to apply a wood preservative before installation of your sleeper, so that you can paint all sides.

Sleeper walls are fine. The important thing is to allow it to weep so that water doesn’t pool behind it as with any retaining wall. A dpm behind the sleeper wall may offer additional protection.

You may want to add bricks or stones at the bottom before the soil to increase drainage. Our timber sleepers are made from a specific class of timber for use in ground and water contact, so lining the beds is not essential.

Railway sleepers will last for years, with our softwood treated sleepers they can last around 20 to 30 years due to the pressurised treatment. If they are untreated they will still last around two to five years, whilst our oak sleepers will last for 30+ years.

For one, you can simply place your sleepers directly onto soil, allowing the heavy sleepers time to bed in. Whether you’re using sleepers to form new edging around your landscape or are building a raised planting bed, gravel and sand foundations are certainly worth considering.