03
Chain Link and Farm Fence
Chain link and farm and paddock fence for containment on acreage, from a business North Alabama has trusted with property lines since 1983.
Chapter 01
What actually fails on a containment run
Chain link that has been up a few years around a North Alabama yard usually fails at the top rail first. A rail that was never quite tensioned right starts to sag in the middle of a long run, the fabric follows it down, and a dog that could not get through a taut fence finds the new gap within a week. Line posts lean the same way once clay heave gets a season or two of freeze and thaw to work on them, which is exactly why a fence that looked plumb on install day can be leaning by its third summer.
Farm and paddock fencing along a rural roadside carries a different set of problems. A rail that is only nailed or screwed to the post, rather than properly through bolted, works loose under the weight of livestock leaning on it, and a single loose rail on a long paddock run is often the one place an animal gets out. Corner and gate posts on any containment fence take the most strain of the whole run, since every pull on the fabric or the gate transfers back to them first.
White vinyl three rail farm and paddock fence along a rural roadside, installed by Athens Fence Co for livestock containment
How we build it so it holds
We set every post in concrete regardless of material, on chain link and on farm fencing alike, because a post standing in bare dirt is the single fastest way a containment fence comes loose again. Line posts and terminal posts are not interchangeable in our layout: terminal posts take the corners, the ends and the gate openings, get the heavier bracing, and carry the tension for the fabric or the rail between them, while line posts simply hold the run straight in between.
Our own FAQ lists chain link, wood, vinyl, aluminum and farm fencing as what we install, and containment work across acreage is a regular part of that list for us, not a sideline. Fabric is stretched properly rather than hung loose and left to sag, and on a farm or paddock run the rails are set to a spacing that actually holds a dog or livestock in rather than one that just looks like a fence from the road.
Chapter 03
Gates, and keeping it that way
A gate on a containment fence gets opened and closed more than any other part of the run, so it is where sag shows up first if the hardware or the post behind it was undersized. We hang and square every gate before we leave the property, on chain link swing gates and on farm gate openings alike, so it does not drag or bind by the following season.
Every job carries a one year workmanship warranty, so a rail that works loose or a post that shifts is a call to our office, not a repair project for you. Reach us at (256) 203-1243 and we will get someone out to look at it.
Athens Fence Co has set line posts and terminal posts across North Alabama farms and yards since 1983. Call (256) 203-1243 for a free estimate.