When a customer asks us to advice on how to improve their security, it really boils down to budget. Security fencing is just a deterrent, a line of defense and not burglar proof. So, it’s best to look at what your requirements are and determine what you can afford.
The most cost-effective fencing solution would be Diamond Mesh fence, or as you would know it as, ‘tennis court’ fencing. Although this can easily be unraveled by hand and is only good enough to keep your dogs in, if you combine this fence with a small breed of dog, such as a Jack Russel, which alerts your big ‘muscle’ dog, such as a German Shepard, you have an early warning system.
A step up from this for a perimeter fencing barrier, would be Weld Mesh fencing which is welded at each join and cannot be unraveled by hand, but could be cut with a bolt cutter or side cutter. Weld Mesh style fencing also come in many grades, starting with your basic 50x100x2.5mm and 50x100x3.15mm class A Galvanised Wire Welded Mesh and 50x50x3.15mm class A Welded Mesh. The smaller apertures provide better security, as it is difficult to get a bolt cutter in the gaps.
Betafence Welded Mesh come in many different types, starting with your basic mesh fence for garden enclosures, up to high security fencing for prisons. They have Galvanised, PVC and Zincalu (consisting of 95% Zinc and 5% Aluminium) coating finishes available and combinations of these. These fences look modern and blend into the background as you can see through the Anthracite or Green PVC coated colored mesh. They also come as complete units including Bekafix secure posts, clips, and top rail spikes. Apertures range from 76x12mm up to 200x50mm, but once again the smaller apertures do offer maximum security. There are a wide variety and other similar alternatives when it comes to coated Welded Mesh fencing.
As a physical barrier, Bar Steel or Palisade Fencing also form a good first line of defense. It all depends on what ‘look’ the customer prefers. For residential, usually Bar Steel is recommended as Palisade has a more industrial look. Be aware when asking for quotes, the thickness of the palisade will play a part in how good a barrier this solution will be, as the thinner wall thickness can easily be bent.
The second phase would be monitoring of your perimeter. Electric fence strands above your perimeter fence and/or also clad from ground up to above the fence on the inside face would be your warning system. Linked to your alarm and/or monitoring Armed Response company, any break in the line of your fence would be detectable. We advise our customers to install spikes on top of the fence together with the electric fence wires because if for any reason the wires are broken, due to being cut or a tree branch landing on them, the alarm would be triggered, but then you would need to put off the electric fence and have it repaired, and during the time period between the breakage and repairs being done, you would be vulnerable. But at least if you do have an Armed Response company, they would be made aware of this and do additional patrols until such time as the repairs are carried out.
You could take your monitoring system further by installing beams and cameras which would detect and record movement along your perimeter. These could be set up for you to view on your cell phone or laptop and also linked to your Alarm company. Automatic notifications would be sent when movement is detected.
Electric fences come standard with battery back-up so will not be affected by loadshedding, however, your alarm monitoring company does have a couple of seconds delay when the electricity goes off and then on again. Gate motors also have standard battery backup, but electric locks and intercoms do not have this as a standard feature, however battery back up could be an additional extra for these devises.
So, to conclude: we offer a full security solution where you decide which phase suits your requirements and budget.
Should you need any assistance please contact Nigel Coburn to provide a tailor made solution for your requirements.