How to Build a Long-Lasting Barbed-Wire Fence

I have been fortunate to have a number of animals in my life, namely cats and cows currently. One thing that keeps my cows safe is a good fence line. Barbed wire is an economical way to protect your livestock from wandering away from your home. The fences are easy to install and will last indefinitely with proper installation and minor up-keep.

My dad and mom originally purchased the ranch in the 1960's. My dad and his family built barbed wire fences to enclose the borders so that we could raise cattle. Many of those original fences are still in use today and only need minor upkeep to keep our animals safe.

Fence Corners and Braces Installation:

The corners and braces provide the durability of the fences. By spending extra time on them, your fence will last for over fifty years. The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service can provide free technical assistance to design your fences. My experience has shown that putting a little extra sweat equity into your fence line in the beginning will pay off big time in the longevity of the fence line.

Corner posts are oversized when compared to the posts between corners and braces. My dad recycled old electrical posts for his corners. You can also recycle railroad ties for your corner posts. These posts are a minimum of 12" diameter and take a pretty good sized hole to get them buried. The posts need to be sunk a minimum of 40 inches to prevent the posts from being affected by the ground's freeze and thaw cycles. You will also want to use concrete in the bottom of the hole to anchor it in place from the constant pull of the wires.

Braces posts are similarly oversized and buried deeper than the posts between. Braces are installed on either side of a gate opening and every ¼ mile of a straight run of fence. Barbed wire is sold in rolls that are 80 rods, or one quarter mile long. The braces act as stretching and tie off points for the wire.

A brace set is a system of two posts with a horizontal bar near the top of the post. The "H" formation of the posts is the key to providing durability to a fence line. Corner sets are actually two "H" sets which use a shared post as one of the up-right posts.

Dead-Men Installation on Your Fence

One thing I recommend to increase the longevity of a fence line is to place "dead-men" at each corner and brace set. A dead-man is a diagonal wire that runs from the top of the second post in your H-brace to the bottom of the corner or H-brace posts. It continues in a straight line beneath the ground.

Use short a stick to twist the wire until it is tight and will lock into place against the horizontal brace. Think of it as using a matchstick to tighten a rubber band between two fingers. The best wire to use for a dead man is galvanized barbed wire to prevent rust and decay.

The wire is anchored to a three foot length of wood that is buried below ground level. While some may consider this overkill, the fact that a fence line will last well beyond fifty years is evidence enough that any fence line I install will include dead man as part of the corner and brace sets.

The cost of installing a dead-man is a few extra feet of wire and a short three foot post. The sweat equity is about an hour per dead-man. This is well worth the cost when considering an additional 10 to 30 years of fence longevity.

Installing Wires and Finishing your Fence:

Once your corners and braces are installed, the rest of the fence building process goes fairly rapidly. Running fence posts should be installed every 12 to 20 feet. To make sure your fence line is straight, use a string line. Install all of the running posts before you begin running the wires. If you are using T-posts, be sure you turn all posts in the same direction. The T-posts have nubs on one side of the post to help hold the wire in place.

To install the barbed wire, begin with your top wire. It should be about 44 inches from the ground. Tie off one end of your wire to a brace or corner posts. Insert a shovel handle or similarly shaped pipe into the center of the roll. Use the pipe or shovel as a handle to unroll the wire along your fence line.

Tighten each wire and fasten to all of the posts before continuing to the next lower wire on your fence line. The bottom wire should be about twelve inches above the ground. Install your gates and your fence is complete.