fencing/hardware cloth help!

[mpoland33]

Good morning,
I'm hoping anyone, especially Maryland friends,might be able to help out.

I'm looking to buy hardware cloth for my run and windows/vents in the coop. My run is 16' long by 8' wide...havent set a height yet (building next week) but after seeing pricing on hardware cloth, I'm thinking of building it 7' or so just so I can stand comfortably (it'll be sloped so 7' on one side and maybe 6' on the other for the roof drainage.

Anyway, what size and more importantly where is the cheaper place/ place to buy that gives the most bang for your buck. I don't want to skimp on safety but I'm also on a budget

 

[Birdinhand]

the cheapest way to buy it that I have seen is in 100' rolls that are 48" wide. I frame out to about 46" on center and overlap by a few inches, making sure posts are square and plum, and I run the cloth from about 2' down then up the frame section, over the roof/ceiling and down the other side, using a screw and a washer as a turnbuckle to get the cloth taught, then fasten with fencing nails/U-nails and back out the screw/washer and reuse. I cut the cloth with tin snips. I really have to psych myself up for, it's a PITA to deal with but worth every penny and every ounce of work and results in a very solid envelope that lasts a very long time without the headaches. I have helped friends make several coops as well as added onto mine. If memory serves me, I go for the thick stuff that is galvanized maybe it's 14 or 16 gauge, it's 1/2"x1". avoid the really small mesh light duty stuff. to keep out the rats, no more than a 1/2" gap anywhere, including the gaps around the door, metal edge to metal edge. as for pricing, it's heavy, so a big factor is shipping, which usually means finding a source close to you by calling around or scoring a deal on the internet. if you have time and can scavenge, CL sometimes has used available for free if you are lucky. I find that a good deal and the thick stuff is about $250 for a 100ft roll. good hardware cloth is the key to critter sanity in the long run, IMHO! good luck on your project.

 

[mpoland33]

I had seen and been recommended to use 19 gauge. 250 per 100' is way out of my price range or I would have to shrink my run big time

 

[cjoffutt]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/YARDGARD-48-Inch-by-50-Foot-1-2-Inch-Mesh-Hardware-Cloth/20822528

 

[ewerbos]

I buy it on Amazon... Prices vary, but right now it is the same as at walmart (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C89QJU0/ref=psdc_2231042011_t1_B01D82U4DE )--I'd choose the amazon because I've got prime. I'm in MD--I haven't seen local places with prices as good (though I only check Home Depot/Tractor Supply, haven't looked at/called local hardware stores).

Actually, maybe buy now? This is the best price I've seen in a while, sometimes the lowest price I can find anywhere is like $80 for the 50' roll. I just bought two, since we're doing our run this spring also and I don't quite have enough!

 

[aart]

I'd choose the amazon because I've got prime.

Even without prime, amazon is likely the best price
(shipping is usually free with price of HC)

 

[Moose364]

I not sure if it would work for you but Home Depot sells a Red Brand Kennel Fence that has 1" squares https://www.homedepot.com/p/Red-Bra...elded-Garden-and-Kennel-Fence-70344/100319380 then do a 1/2" x 2' tall hardware cloth along the bottom

 

[GreenbrierChickens]

I'm inMD. Call J&B fabricators or a local farm supply store. I bought 2 100' rolls to do my coop and run. Bowens farm supply in Annapolis had decent prices.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

the cheapest way to buy it that I have seen is in 100' rolls that are 48" wide. I frame out to about 46" on center and overlap by a few inches, making sure posts are square and plum, and I run the cloth from about 2' down then up the frame section, over the roof/ceiling and down the other side, using a screw and a washer as a turnbuckle to get the cloth taught, then fasten with fencing nails/U-nails and back out the screw/washer and reuse. I cut the cloth with tin snips. I really have to psych myself up for, it's a PITA to deal with but worth every penny and every ounce of work and results in a very solid envelope that lasts a very long time without the headaches. I have helped friends make several coops as well as added onto mine. If memory serves me, I go for the thick stuff that is galvanized maybe it's 14 or 16 gauge, it's 1/2"x1". avoid the really small mesh light duty stuff. to keep out the rats, no more than a 1/2" gap anywhere, including the gaps around the door, metal edge to metal edge. as for pricing, it's heavy, so a big factor is shipping, which usually means finding a source close to you by calling around or scoring a deal on the internet. if you have time and can scavenge, CL sometimes has used available for free if you are lucky. I find that a good deal and the thick stuff is about $250 for a 100ft roll. good hardware cloth is the key to critter sanity in the long run, IMHO! good luck on your project.

This was really good info. I was able to find a source in Kent that has pretty much exactly what you describe (1/2 x 1). However, it's 75" high and in 48 ft rolls. For wanting to do a 6 foot high run, though, this will be perfect I think when taking into account the framing wood. It's 16 gauge galvanized steel going for $120 a roll.

 

[Latestarter]

Everyone talks about making their coops "fort knox" Many here are on a tight budget. Hardware cloth is very expensive. I bought welded wire fencing for the entire walls and then 4' welded wire to cover the bottom 4 feet of the run walls. I then ran it around the perimeter. You can bury it down a foot or so and only go 3' high and that will work as well. Then laid an additional welded wire apron to prevent digging. Where I was located, I didn't have to worry about weasels or mink (tunneling under through the welded wire apron)... A weasel can fit through a hole the diameter of a quarter. Raccoons will reach through welded wire and rip off heads or kill chickens they can reach.