Hardware cloth bending

[Fetz]

Hi all,
Our 16 chicks arrive tomorrow! My wife and I are very excited. We are putting the finishing touches on their coop and run. My carpentry skills are weak at best, but I have been able to work my way through most of our problems so far.

One thing I cannot figure out is how to get hardware cloth to lay flat. Are there any sort of relief cuts I can make to get rid of these waves and bends? I am worried they will make potential entry points for small predators where the sections overlap. I really don't want to have to undo any of the framing at this point.

Also glad to have any opinions/ recommendations on the project as a whole! We converted a barn stall into the coop and the run is right behind it. Built with room for expansion up to a flock of 25. Obviously still need to get the feeder, waterer, chicken door, and perches figured out.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hubby rolled ours out in the yard and laid lumber on it. To make bends at the bottom, he used a 2x4 to bend it.

If you don't want to undo it to pull it tighter, you could either put more screws/nails in or make your relief cuts but then use some wire to "sew" them back together.

For our feeders we use the 5-gallon DYI PVC, and waterers are all horizontal nipple buckets.

More ideas here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/feeders-waterers.26/

 

[perkolator]

To me, installing HC is similar to installing window screen or stretching a canvas, or welding thin sheet metal - it's an art form of it's own and basically you can't just go at larger expanses without a plan, or it will likely wrinkle/warp like you experienced. If you start only in one corner it's likely not going to end up flat; you kinda need to even out the majority of the expanse first, add tension/stretch it a little and tack it in place, before the final fastening.

When I did my walls I used vertical orientation and used pneumatic staples to attach it. The sections were cut longer than the wall height to add in the anti-dig skirting. I first stapled the top edge only in 2-3 spots nice and straight, then placed a 2x4 over the skirt flap and put a foot on it to add tension to the HC and stretch it out nice and vertical along my framing - then I tacked the edges with widely spaced staples to hold it on. For the final fastening I did much closer spaced staples (~3-4"), I was able to play with angling the staple gun to change the tension on the HC and even out many of the wrinkles. Staples have to be added sporadically, you can't do them in a linear sequence or it will wrinkle, hope this makes sense.

If you need to make actual bends in the HC, I found it easiest with a few 2x4s to bend across, sort of like a makeshift metal brake.

To fix the wrinkles on what you've currently got, I'd probably try removing a few fasteners and grab the HC with a pair of vice grips or stitch in a piece of wire you can pull to add tension and pull the wrinkle out while you re-fasten it

Hope this helps. Good luck