The above-ground apron

[Ccort]

From what I've read here it's about 50-50 between the people who put mulch on the wire and people who let grass grow up through it.

If you cover a foot of the wire and leave a foot then you've reduced the effective area of your wire skirt to only a foot wide.

Ugh. You're my bearer of bad news.

 

[Ccort]

Are your stakes coming out because your ground is too soft? We cut up some wire hangers and made a few extra long stakes to hold our apron down. We also let the grass grow through the apron so it is held down firmly now.

Possibly...we had a ton of rain that ended a couple of days ago. I'm thinking the quarter to half inch stakes would do the trick? I like the hanger idea too but I have a box of twelve 9f the 10 mm stakes.

Other question...for the corners where I need to add hardwrae cloth...can I just stake one piece of cloth to the other there? I'm worried about something pushing it up. Will attach a pic.

And one more thing....do you think this is good enough on the windows of the coop? Its a single piece of half inch hardwrae cloth with bolts on top. Also attaching pic.

Thanks folks.

 

[Ccort]

 

[Ccort]

 

[rosemarythyme]

I put down weed barrier cloth u der the hardwrae cloth apron...so that weeds/grass wouldn't grow through. Should I take that out ?

I would take it out, or at least some of it (like maybe outer 50%?_ Grass and weeds are incredibly helpful in holding hardware cloth flat on the ground.

Might also help, if you have soft soil, to pound a few landscape pins interlocking at an angle, and in alternating directions, and have those at key points like corners to try and lock them down a bit more. Like put one in 45 degree slanted towards the fence, then the next at 45 degrees slated away from fence. Um, it's like putting bobby pins in your hair and having them crisscross to hold each other in place?

And one more thing....do you think this is good enough on the windows of the coop? Its a single piece of half inch hardwrae cloth with bolts on top. Also attaching pic.

Window looks fine.

 

[Ccort]

I would take it out, or at least some of it (like maybe outer 50%?_ Grass and weeds are incredibly helpful in holding hardware cloth flat on the ground.

Might also help, if you have soft soil, to pound a few landscape pins interlocking at an angle, and in alternating directions, and have those at key points like corners to try and lock them down a bit more. Like put one in 45 degree slanted towards the fence, then the next at 45 degrees slated away from fence. Um, it's like putting bobby pins in your hair and having them crisscross to hold each other in place?


Window looks fine.

To confirm...do you actually use the mower and go right over the apron with it or a trimmer? The last thing I want to do is ruin this! That area of my yard grows mostly ivy/weeds, not grass, in case that matters.

And in the winter...when the grass and weeds die....I am assuming I would just add extra landscaping stakes to hold it down?

I feel like one of my middle school students, asking question after question.

 

[rosemarythyme]

To confirm...do you actually use the mower and go right over the apron with it or a trimmer? The last thing I want to do is ruin this! That area of my yard grows mostly ivy/weeds, not grass, in case that matters.

I mow over it, yes, and week whack at end of season (in the interest of not doing too much wear to the fence) just to make it a bit neater.

And in the winter...when the grass and weeds die....I am assuming I would just add extra landscaping stakes to hold it down?

I would think roots and dead stalks should still remain in place to hold it down, however I don't live in a climate where everything dies off so I can't confirm.

 

[perkolator]

I installed our skirt with landscaping cloth staples and covered it with a little mulch - then just let the grass and weeds grow so the roots are what holds it down as the staples rust away. No issues mowing or weed eating over it unless you catch an edge because over time it’s below the surface and not exposed

 

[3KillerBs]

Might also help, if you have soft soil, to pound a few landscape pins interlocking at an angle, and in alternating directions, and have those at key points like corners to try and lock them down a bit more. Like put one in 45 degree slanted towards the fence, then the next at 45 degrees slated away from fence. Um, it's like putting bobby pins in your hair and having them crisscross to hold each other in place?

Just what I was going to say.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I looks like you have received some great advice already Your window looks great - that is how we attach hardware cloth too.

Other question...for the corners where I need to add hardwrae cloth...can I just stake one piece of cloth to the other there? I'm worried about something pushing it up. Will attach a pic.

Normally, I would cut a square of hardware cloth for the corners with some tabs to overlap the edges. But since you are having issues with the landscape staples staying in, you might need to eliminate the double layer and cut a square to fit. You can then use extra crisscross staples to secure it.
We also mow over our apron. I live in a rural area, so I don't worry about the weeds right next to the coop very much. I periodically weed whack almost to the apron and individually cut any truly obnoxious weeds or dump boiling water on any toxic weeds. But, by the end of summer, it does look pretty rough...