Hardware Cloth - Any tips?

[6chick*start]

The intention was to stain the wood this morning and start on the hardware cloth.
Well it was so dang windy here today, NE OKlahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains, that applying the stain was out of the question. The thin stain would have taken off in the wind.
Sooo, I got more done inside the coop and husband decided, due to wind sweeping down the plains, he should put braces up on all the vertical frames.
Not satisfied with that he went ahead and put 4 - 3ft threaded rods in the ground. This run ain't a'goin' anywhere!
Hopefully not so much wind tomorrow and I can stain in the morning and when Jeff comes home from work start on the H-Cloth.
Big storms due on Wed/Thurs and we really want to get this done.

I like the idea of pulling cord through the overlaps. The other day I suggested we do that with wire. Jeff said nah we don't need to do that.
After showing him the post ... as usual I win!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

That's looking great! I hope your weather cooperates soon. I wanted to plant a few more garden seeds outside this morning, before the storms hit later. It's really windy here right now, too. I'm thinking I'll be planting the neighbor's yard if I'm not careful.

Ranchhand, I winced when I read about your eye. That must have been incredibly painful.

 

[off-grid hen]

I would suggest a quilted carhartt coverall, hazmat gloves, and a welder's helmet. I hate the stuff. No matter what I do it looks like I rolled around on a briar patch when I'm done.

 

[terrilhb]

Everyone above is right. Gloves, long sleeves. I always seem to forget these things when working with it.

Then I get tore up. Oh my bad. Looks awesome.

 

[Gardengirl 2011]

I'm glad my wire part is already done. I looked like I had a fight with 20 cats by the time I was done, lol. Long pans, sleeves and eye protection. As already suggested, bend the wire the oposite direction it's rolled in to make things go easier. It's looking great!

 

[melschicks]

We're planning on using poultry staples... but I'd be interested in hearing how the washers/screws work. I imagine they are easier to install... the staples are a pain and I end up hitting my finger as often as the staple (and I'm usually pretty good with a hammer!). Any tips on poultry staples for attaching the hardware cloth would be good too!

 

[Gardengirl 2011]

LOL, tap lightly at first to set the staples. THEN hammer like hell. My thumb nail still has a nice black mark on it

 

[Schwartzfarmnc]

Screws and washers are a pain, believe me! We started with those, but ended up using a power stapler and over 3000 staples were put into our run shown below, and the staples were much cheaper too.

 

[dbounds10]

HWC is nasty stuff and you can forget about not bickering with the spousal unit. I swear I thougt I was getting divorced over this crud!

Oh and we used zip ties to attach to the metal fencing

 

[ladybug99]

We simply used a power stapler to put all the dang stuff on to our coop... it did take two of us and we could have used more hands.....that wire seems to have a mind of its own!!