Concrete as run apron

[Wolf27]

My partner is quite extra and wants to make the run ‘last as long as possible’ and ‘do the construction right so it lasts’ which I definitely understand. So no fence posts in concrete but instead attached to metal brackets on concrete footers, etc.

Our run will get quite a lot of rain that goes through it- on the downhill side on a large field with only the county road and some trees in between. We also live in a predator heavy area. He doesn’t want the hardware cloth apron that goes under ground to rust away so instead he wants to put in a roughly 2 foot deep concrete barrier along the outside perimeter and attach the fencing directly to it.

Is this a good idea? Secure? Any other ideas?

 

[Ridgerunner]

As long as a predator cannot squeeze between the bottom of the fence and that concrete footer it should work. I'm not sure how he is planning on making that connection.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

^^^ If he plans to use chain link, it will stop a lot of large predators, but allow many small ones straight thru. In that case, you secure the bottom either with a bottom rail, or by mechanical attachment to the concrete footer - likely by connection to a length of metal (like perforated angle iron) so bolts are easily installed. Warning, these solutions are expensive.

If he's using 1/2" hardware cloth, then the hardware cloth should be firmly affixed to a wooden frame, the verticals of the fram attached to your posts, and the lower horizontal attached to your concrete footer via tapcons or similar. The wood is protected from rot by both ressure treatment and a foam seal, just like stick built construction of a home on a concrete foundation. He can also set lag bolts and washers in the wet concrete pointed upwards and allow to cure. Once that is done, you predrill holes in the lower horizontal, lay your gasket in place, drop the wood frame over the bolts, then install a washer and nut to secure - again, just like building a home. Your keywords are "sill on slab" or "sill plate on slab".

 

[Chicken Chat]

You don't have to bury the apron, you can lay it flat on the ground. Grass will eventually grow thru it. I think 18 inches of hc is the usual width from the structure.

 

[Krugerrand]

How about stainless steel hardware cloth?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134683724580

I extended my run by 4'. Pulling the hardware cloth out with the grass growing through it was a bit of a pin. Moving buried concrete would have been a lot harder.