Fencing in the Playground

[Shawn]

Hello again,

So I just moved to a house that has a huge yard but isn't fenced in. I'm a renter so I have to put up a fence that can be removed whenever we move out.

I'm thinking about going with vinyl-coated wire mesh fencing with steel post. I will make a gate for entry and exit.

Has anyone every used a temporary fencing system for your daycare playground? If so was it approved by licensing for those of you who are licensed?

Thank you.

[Mike]

I don't know about regulations, but a quick search tells me the Missouri frost line is 20" so if you drive the posts in at least 20", the fence will be fine and no reason it shouldn't be approved. If you put the posts in without cement footings, they won't be too hard to pull out later. They may need straightening every couple years, but that's not a big deal.

Check what your actual frost line is to be sure of depth.

[Thriftylady]

I don't know about regulations, but a quick search tells me the Missouri frost line is 20" so if you drive the posts in at least 20", the fence will be fine and no reason it shouldn't be approved. If you put the posts in without cement footings, they won't be too hard to pull out later. They may need straightening every couple years, but that's not a big deal.

Check what your actual frost line is to be sure of depth.

Why does the frost line have anything to do with depth? I mean some places the frost line would be one or two inches and that wouldn't be used to hold a fence up! Can you explain this?

[Mariahsaint]

Why does the frost line have anything to do with depth? I mean some places the frost line would be one or two inches and that wouldn't be used to hold a fence up! Can you explain this?

It's because of the pressure it puts on the post. If the depth isn't at least as deep as the frost line is high, the pole won't be as stable.

[Mike]

That, and if a support is above the frost line, freezing and thawing will gradually push it up. There is obviously a minimum depth for support, but any form of inground support needs to be at least below the frost line.

Here, a bit farther up North, our frost line is 3.5'.

If Shawn drives the posts down 4', they will be more stable, but will also be harder to pull later.

[Thriftylady]

That, and if a support is above the frost line, freezing and thawing will gradually push it up. There is obviously a minimum depth for support, but any form of inground support needs to be at least below the frost line.

Here, a bit farther up North, our frost line is 3.5'.

If Shawn drives the posts down 4', they will be more stable, but will also be harder to pull later.

I guess 4" doesn't seem very deep to me for a fence post. Of course I grew up on a farm. So when we ran fence, if we wanted a 4' fence, we would buy a 7'fence post and drive it 3 feet. Of course those are T posts, and if you need to remove it for some reason, you can dig around it a bit and cut it off then recover it.

[Josiegirl]

I had a fence just like that for a lot of years and it worked just fine. Sometimes the wire would break near the posts but I'd just take some other wire and fix it up. That is until I had my foundation redone and they made a terrible mess of my whole backyard.
If you want to make sure it'll be cleared by licensing you should probably call and ask them. Is it 100% with your landlord? And insurance company too?
Ours was easy enough to pull up, it took some wedging back and forth and tearing away of grass that had grown all around it but we got it out.

[JackandJill]

I would call and ask, but I used something like this for a few months while we fixed our fence. I'm in MA, and licensing approved it.

I still use mesh on my post and rail fence, so kids can't sneak out the bottom! Just double check with licensing!!

[Blackcat31]

That, and if a support is above the frost line, freezing and thawing will gradually push it up. There is obviously a minimum depth for support, but any form of inground support needs to be at least below the frost line.

Here, a bit farther up North, our frost line is 3.5'.

If Shawn drives the posts down 4', they will be more stable, but will also be harder to pull later.

Even farther up north here where I am, our frost line is much deeper. Heaving is a normal part of living here.

"The frost line is the maximum depth where the ground will freeze in the winter. In Minnesota, footings are required by code to be between 54 and 60 inches/4.5 to 5 feet deep."

My DH just put in a chain link fence around my daycare.

It was partially fenced before but is now completely enclosed. He even made custom gates that are self-closing for the sidewalk (our sidewalk is extra wide) and two 6 foot wide gates that are removable for snowplowing in the winter.

@Shawn Have you asked your landlord if installing a permanent fence is an option or not? Sometimes, a fenced corner lot is MORE valuable than a non-fenced yard so perhaps, if you are footing the bill for the fence, the land lord may be okay with it?

[Blackcat31]

I guess 4" doesn't seem very deep to me for a fence post. Of course I grew up on a farm. So when we ran fence, if we wanted a 4' fence, we would buy a 7' fence post and drive it 3 feet. Of course those are T posts, and if you need to remove it for some reason, you can dig around it a bit and cut it off then recover it.

He didn't say 4 INCHES....he said 4 FEET.

If Shawn drives the posts down 4', they will be more stable, but will also be harder to pull later.

[Thriftylady]

He didn't say 4 INCHES....he said 4 FEET.

Oops, I saw that wrong! That makes much more sense now!

[thrivingchildcarecom]

I did. I used pvc to make a lightweight gate for a portion of the yard I needed to make inaccessible to the children. My analyst gave it a thumbs up so I guess its approved. If you would like me to share a few pics, just send me a PM with your email address and I would love to share how it turned out.

[Mike]

Oops, I saw that wrong! That makes much more sense now!

Yup ::