I like it in theory, but the last two installations I saw were not pretty. The vinyl bands themselves were dirty, warped and nicked. It did not resemble board fencing at all.
Is there a certain brand/model that stays nicer looking? I do know the end posts have to be braced as specified by the manufacturer.
https://www.facebook.com/347546461986279/photos/pb.347546461986279.-2207520000.1439258761./347546821986243/?type=3&theater
This is my Ramm fence 4.25 in wide, been up 10 yrs now and still looks this good. I like the black the best would not do white.
[QUOTE=Helicon;8266959]
I like it in theory, but the last two installations I saw were not pretty. The vinyl bands themselves were dirty, warped and nicked.[/QUOTE]
What colour were they?
My black Ramm fence still looks fabulous.
Following this as I have the same concern, so I’ve been putting off my project. We have some white vinyl fencing (don’t like it, but can’t replace everything at once) and my dad wants to use white flex rail to match.
I LOVE my Centaur fence - but definitely wish we had done it in black. But no…my husband wanted white. So…he power washes it every other year.
Other than the mildew, our fence looks great after 7 years. Love it!!
White will turn green.
Black stays black and the only thing that is annoying is the white bird poop.
I have Centaur, we put it up ourselves last year. It looks great.
I think whether the white turns green with mildew or not depends a lot on where you are located, and where the fence is located. I have seen some here that has been up for nearly 10 years and is still perfectly white. Our summers are hot and can be humid, but not like the southeast. I also have seen some that was installed in a shady area with lots of trees – it has some green on it, but really not bad.
People do like the black, and if in a humid area prone to mildew, that would make sense. I cannot speak from personal experience as I have only had mine up for a few weeks. I do love it, though.
From the installations (photos) of posters I’ve seen here, it looks lovely. From what I saw irl, I was less than impressed. Of course I’m sure it has to do with types of posts used and the expertise of installer.
Proper installation is key. When things go wrong, the saggy look is not appealing (I have that right now due to bad bracing on a corner – can’t tighten the fence until that gets fixed). We have the Centaur HTP in brown and other than the bad install issue, it looks good after (10? I think?) years. Being in the NW, it has gotten green in some spots but isn’t as bad looking with the green as white would be. Most people around here with the white have to power wash annually or live with it being green.
Looks were only part of why we chose Centaur. Safety and security were big factors, and I’m still happy with our choice – although to save money and help with ease of installation, I might have rather gone with just one top wide rail and then the coated wire (White Lightning) for the lower strands. Still safe, still looks good, and we’d likely have been able to do more of the work and the cost would have been a bit lower.
As others have said it all comes down to the quality of the installation. Board fencing is the same though a lot easier to put up IME.
I would not want to use an installer that does not have a fair bit of experience installing it. We all learn from our mistakes, lack of attention to some detail. I don’t like “paying” for my mistakes and or learning curve but I hate paying for someone else’s education. I’ve been around the block a few times so it is pretty hard for someone to BS me about their experience.
When hiring a contractor I would want references of others they have installed for.
I have helped install this type of fencing for some friends. I found it to be a total PITA and a bit of slow going and a lot more expensive than installing Oak board.
Contrary to the propaganda put out by the manufactures IMO and experience it is not more “safe” than a properly installed Oak board fence. If a horse is going to go through a fence it is going to go through a fence. One way or another. A 1,200 pound horse running full tilt carries a lot of kinetic forces. If it hits near a post it will snap easily, the “rails” can and will “zipper” and the horse can get wrapped up in it. Or as has happened at a couple of farms I know the horse flips over it. 2 walked away with minor injury 1 broke his neck. Another one who snapped the post got wrapped up in the “rails”.
IME a horse that runs through a wood fence just the board break and “blow” out. We have a lot of horses behind 2 and 4 board oak. Over the years we’ve only had a few “break outs” none with any issues other than minor scrapes. Board fence is very simple to repair. We have never had a horse get its legs under and get trapped. Sure, there are exceptions to the norm just like plastic.
“Plastic” has its place for sure. But if I were located in an area that has easy access to Oak board I would never consider anything else. My farm is a lot bigger and diverse in scope than the average person on COTH. So I have a different way of looking at things. I couldn’t imagine having to power wash all of my fencing from time to time.
Personally I would never use white anyway. Studies have shown horses don’t see white very well from a distance. They “react” to the color after getting close to it. They see brown much better. And around here with our weather conditions white would be a maintenance hassle.
For my operation and horses I would never install “flex rail” fencing on the outside of the post. Too easy for young horses, some horses in general to “knock knees” on the post and or injury a shoulder. Seen it happen.
I have had horses hit my flex rail full tilt, one did flip over it, she tried to jump and hit the top rail, the others hit the fence full tilt/full body. I found hoof prints OUTSIDE the fence line by 8 " or more, just a couple of abrasions on the horses and no damage to the flex rail fence. I had my yearling filly get hung up underneath the bottom rail this past winter (have no idea how) her head, neck and front legs were outside the fence line. I was at the farm by myself and was able to free her with just releasing the bottom two rails from their brackets/tensioners. She scrambled up outside the fence line no worse for wear and I was able to retighten the fence no damage to it at all. Having been around MANY different types of fences over the years, flex rail by far is my favorite if installed correctly. Has saved several horses on my farm from serious injury and it still looks great. We chose Ramm because of the tensioners and how easy they are to use and the buckles that allow you to tie together long stretches of rails (our longest stretch without stopping is 1800 ft) without end posts. We put it up ourselves, much easier than board to install. Took us 6 months working every weekend with myself, DH, sometimes my dad and two helpers, 10,000 ft with much concrete mixed and poured. We have a curving driveway and used full 8" round posts with 160 lbs concrete each post in the curves. Shown here https://www.facebook.com/347546461986279/photos/pb.347546461986279.-2207520000.1439318761./347836501957275/?type=3&theater (yes this is GA, showing an unusual snow fall we had)
[QUOTE=khall;8266984]
https://www.facebook.com/347546461986279/photos/pb.347546461986279.-2207520000.1439258761./347546821986243/?type=3&theater
This is my Ramm fence 4.25 in wide, been up 10 yrs now and still looks this good. I like the black the best would not do white.[/QUOTE]
This looks really nice. What type of posts did you use? Did you paint them? Thanks!
jeniloohoo, those posts come that color they are creosote posts that are made not too far from our farm. They come in full rounds 8’ long and half rounds 7’ long. We have had to replace some posts that have rotted out (corner posts are a b*tch to replace!) and we are not sure why some rot and most do not. My vet put in board fence using these creosote posts and rails which is where we got the idea.
[QUOTE=khall;8270432]
jeniloohoo, those posts come that color they are creosote posts that are made not too far from our farm. They come in full rounds 8’ long and half rounds 7’ long. We have had to replace some posts that have rotted out (corner posts are a b*tch to replace!) and we are not sure why some rot and most do not. My vet put in board fence using these creosote posts and rails which is where we got the idea.[/QUOTE]
Thanks khall. I really love the black and to have the posts come that color is awesome to avoid painting and upkeep! I don’t know if we have those up here. I am going to do a search.
I just got an estimate for Ramm for $15 a linear foot. :eek: I am looking at doing a self install with a tractor guy digging the posts and helping me and my teens.
Thanks for your info!
Make it hot and they will stay a lot nicer. Otherwise horses stick there neck through and lean on it.
My Ramm fence is 10 years old now and I would build it again in a heartbeat.
It definitely depends on the installer, my guy did 8’ centers instead of the 10-12 they suggested, and we did all corner posts, none of the thinner line posts. I did go for the white and am happy I did because I’ve had 2 of my horses lose significant parts of their vision as they age, and the bright white is easy for them to see. Here in Kansas I haven’t had much discoloration, maybe a little grey-er than when I got it but it looks sharp still.
The only damage I have had to it is where it divides two turnouts, and one of my horses would stand and just CHEW at it because he couldn’t reach the other horses. Other than that 2’ section, it looks new. I’ve even had trees fall on it. Just chop up the tree, drag it off the fence, and re-tighten the fence.
My elderly/blind/sorta crazy arab took off playing in the mud one day, slipped and fell, and hit the fence HARD and I was just SURE that was the end. He came up under the fence, walked out and didn’t even have a scrape on him, and the fence popped back into place, and I went out and tightened it up a little the next day once I was sure the horse was fine.
My Ramm fence is 10 years old now and I would build it again in a heartbeat.
It definitely depends on the installer, my guy did 8’ centers instead of the 10-12 they suggested, and we did all corner posts, none of the thinner line posts. I did go for the white and am happy I did because I’ve had 2 of my horses lose significant parts of their vision as they age, and the bright white is easy for them to see. Here in Kansas I haven’t had much discoloration, maybe a little grey-er than when I got it but it looks sharp still.
The only damage I have had to it is where it divides two turnouts, and one of my horses would stand and just CHEW at it because he couldn’t reach the other horses. Other than that 2’ section, it looks new. I’ve even had trees fall on it. Just chop up the tree, drag it off the fence, and re-tighten the fence.
My elderly/blind/sorta crazy arab took off playing in the mud one day, slipped and fell, and hit the fence HARD and I was just SURE that was the end. He came up under the fence, walked out and didn’t even have a scrape on him, and the fence popped back into place, and I went out and tightened it up a little the next day once I was sure the horse was fine.
 I might have to tighten it once annually, takes all of 30 minutes.
The installer is very important and a couple things are huge benfits: serious posts and not placed far apart. There’s a lot of tension in these fences and the posts need to be able to handle the constant pull/tension on them.
I have the white 4.25 flex on top with 3-4 lines of 5/16 coated wire under it. A single line of braided electric rope on the top, but I never bother turning that on because I’m the only that gets zapped, LOL!
An easy way to keep the white fence white when it gets green on it is to spray it once annually. I walk around with a 2 gallon pump sprayer filled with 50/50 water and bleach. I just spritz the flex and walk away. It kills the mold on it in about 10-20 minutes and it stays bright blinding white for another year or so. That takes hardly any time. Keeping the white posts white is a little more work, but I’ve found a faster easier way to do that, too. I buy a few cans of Rustoleum white spray paint and I pay the extra $2.65 to buy one of the snap-on spray handles that make it SOOOOO much easier to use. (makes it like a windex bottle, but the spray is constant) As my posts start to get scrapes or discolored, I grab a can and snap the handle thingy on and walk around and touch them up quick.
The only down side, for me, has been that my land doesn’t hold the posts as well as some other areas. My posts are pounded in (highly recommend for tightness) and a couple of the end posts have slowly rotated from the tension of the fence coupled with the frost heave we’ve gotten from a few really rough winters in a row. (loosened the pounded posts on the ends only) The staples are now 45 degrees further over and I haven’t figured out yet how to rotate them back. I think my strategy is going to be drilling a small hole right through those 2 posts and using a steel rod through to have handles to twist it back and then I’ll concrete those.
Here’s a photo, right after it was installed. I had the waterer set into the fenceline so it serves both paddocks. The weird pale section of ground in the paddock in front of the scratching brush/post is a sand rolling pit.
[IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y172/MistyBlue5105/NewfenceandgardenMay2010001.jpg)
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