A floppy chain link fence just won’t do; it completely defeats the purpose of even having one in the first place. If you’re looking for ideas on how to secure your chain link fence at the bottom, you’ve come to the right place.
The quickest and easiest way to secure the bottom of your chain link fence is to use a garden border and line the bottom of your fence. Alternatively, you could get tent stakes and secure the bottom of the fence to the ground. Choosing the right option depends on your exact situation and needs.
Those are two great ideas: if you’re looking to keep a smaller dog from escaping or strong winds from wearing the fence down, there are other ways to get the job done. Continue reading to find out just how to secure your chain link fence.
As with any project, bug or small, if you do not feel comfortable or unsure about a skill, hire a professional.
How to Secure Your Chain Link Fence
If your chain link fence seems as if it’s getting a little floppy at the bottom, don’t worry; it tends to happen with age. It can be frustrating to watch your dogs every time you let them into the yard and then chase them down the street after escaping when you weren’t looking.
Not to mention the bottom of the fence being loose is an invitation for all kinds of unwanted and unwelcome visitors to come waltzing into your yard.
As frustrating as this situation can be, there’s no reason to grab the phone and call the closest fence guy. That can be an expensive route to take; you could, however, get crafty. There are several ways we could go about securing the bottom of that loose chain link fence, and the path you need to take will largely depend on the reason you need it secure.
For general purposes or cosmetic reasons, you really don’t have to get too elaborate or expensive; you’ve got two quick solutions to the issue here:
- Use the tent stakes; get just enough tent stakes to hold down each loop at the bottom. This is an excellent way to tighten up the fence, and it’s a hard repair to notice.
- If you feel decorative, there are some nice garden borders that you could find cost-effective—Line the border of the bottom of the chain-link fence with a style that catches your eye. There are many styles and materials available, such as this iron wire fence, and this wooden edging. You could also get a pack of little weatherproof, UV-resistant, zip ties, and after you stake the garden border down, secure it to the chain-link fence with the zip ties.
Either of these two solutions will work for the more general reason you want your fence secure. They are also quick, cost-effective, and easy to do yourself in very little time.
If these two options don’t seem like they’ll be adequate for you, there are more elaborate ways of securing the bottom of your chain link fence. They are more effective but will take more time and effort than the simpler options. Some are better left to professionals, too.
Install Tension Wire at the Bottom of Your Fence
Tension wire is a relatively simple solution; it’s a wire that runs along the bottom of your chain link fence. It keeps tension at the bottom of the fencing to prevent an animal from pushing through.
The tension wire runs between all of the posts and the chain links. Contrary to what many people think, you don’t have to weave the tension wire between the posts.
Though tension wire isn’t the hardest thing in the world to install, you will need a helper, if only to make your life a little easier and the installation smoother.
The only tools you’ll need for this is:
- T-bar with a hole at the end
- Wire cutters
- Pliers
- Hog ring pliers
- Spool of tension wire
- Hog rings
Here’s how to install tension wire:
- Once you’ve got the spool ready to go by cutting off the band, place it at a corner of the fence.
- Now that you got your spool set up, take the end of the wire and slowly start walking it to the other corner of the fence. Make sure that you have your partner controlling the spool and feeding you the sire as you go.
- Install a brace band at the opposite corner of the fence.
- Feed your tension wire between the nut of the band and the terminal. Give yourself about a foot of length to work with just to be safe.
- Once you have your wire fed through, wrap it around itself tightly no less than four times. Make sure that your loops are tight, or it may unravel themselves.
- Now head back to the end where your spool is an eye out enough slack to feed it through and wrap it.
- Install a brace band and feed your tension wire through just like another post.
- Slide the end of the wire through your T-bar and twist it tight. You want to make sure that you’re turning it toward the corner post.
- Once the wire is tight, untwist it making sure to keep the tension of the wire.
- Wrap it around itself at least four times.
- Install hog rings at the bottom of the fence to attach the tension wire to the fencing.
It’s not too complex, but if you don’t feel comfortable handling it then a pro can do this for you in no time.
Install a Bottom Rail
Installing a bottom rail is a viable option; it’ll help keep critters out and everything else in. So, if you’ve installed a tension wire and that armadillo just doesn’t care and continues to help himself to your garden, it’s time to take things up to the next level.
A bottom rail is much sturdier than the tension wire and takes up more space, so it’ll be much harder to push through and give a little more security against unwanted guests or escapees.
This isn’t a very hard installation either, but as always, if you find this to be beyond your means, call a pro; there’s no shame in it.
For this job, you’re going to need:
- A saw with a metal blade
- A wrench
- Long Tape measure
- Rail bands
- Rails that match your top rail
Here’s how to install your bottom rails:
- Install your rail bands on each post to make sure they are loose enough to move and adjust.
- Measure from the back end of the rail fitting to the back end of the adjacent fitting.
- Now cut your rail to the length that you measure out.
- Remove the bands from the post and attach them to the rail.
- Install the rail, tightening each of the bands to a post.
- Cut more and repeat.
No problem, right? Just be sure to measure what you need; eyeballing It can get expensive.
Barricade the Hole with a Planter Box
Lining the bottom of your chain-link fence is a great way to beautify your yard, giving it some character and securing the bottom. In this case, you can go out and buy some planter boxes, but it might be better to build the boxes yourself.
Buying your planter boxes from the store can make this task more complex than it has to be. Though, of course, it is a less time-consuming and labor-intensive method.
But it does make it hard to really get the customization down, and if you can’t find the right combination of sizes in one particular fashion, you might end up with a short fence border or a mitch match of opposing themes.
Your best bet is going to be to DIY this one. It’s a simple task that doesn’t take much know-how at all and will save you a little money compared to buying a bunch of planter boxes.
Here’s what you’re going to need:
- Hammer
- Trim nails
- Circular saw, or hand saw.
- Long Measuring tape
- Several 1 x 6 x 8 boards / choose the size that fits your yard
There are a couple of key things to point out here to make this project go smoothly and prevent any unnecessary frustration:
- Make sure that you buy one or two more boards than you need if this is your first project. You might mess up one of the cuts and need an extra one.
- Remember you’re going to need three times your measurement plus one or two extra boards, depending on how long your fence line is.
- Wear safety gloves and goggles when making your cuts.
For the sake of simplicity, we are going to just make several independent boxes that will fit tightly next to one another along the fence line.
Let’s get those boxes made:
- Cut three boards to the desired length.
- Stand two of your boards on end separated by the width of the boards.
- Now place the third on top; if you want to, you could use the wood glue to help secure the board; if you do, give it a moment to dry before nailing the bottom of the box down.
- Flip the box over and measure the open ends. If you got one by six boards, then you’ll need to cut out two pieces of wood that are 4-inches wide.
- Line each of your 4-inch wide pieces with wood glue and slide them into the open ends.
- Put a nail at each corner after the glue has dried.
- Repeat the process
If you want to get fancy, you could drill small holes in the side of the box that will but up to the fence so you can attach it. It also wouldn’t hurt to place a coat of paint on it just to give it a little character.
Otherwise, you’ll just have a plain wood box lining your fence, and while that’ll secure the bottom of the chain-link fence just fine, it’s kind of ugly. Even a simple coat of white paint can go a long way.
Use a Decorative Garden Fence
Decorative garden fences are a great way to secure the bottom of your chain link fence, and they are cost-effective. This is a cheap easy to install way to secure your fence, and on top of that, it can look terrific.
Before you go and buy your favorite garden fence, make sure you measure your fence line so you know how much you’re going to need.
You won’t need much here in the way of tools:
- Long Measuring tape
- UV-resistant zip ties or fence ties
- Garden fence
Here’s how to install it:
- Push a section of the garden fence into the ground.
- Connect the garden fence to the chain-link fence with a zip tie.
- When installing the next piece, make sure it connects properly with the first section of the garden fence and secure it to the chain-link fence with a zip tie.
- Repeat until the entire fence is secure.
Adding a garden fence at the bottom of your chain link fence can give your yard a unique flare and set your fence apart from the others in your neighborhood.
Use Some Old Tires
Old tires aren’t the most beautiful of solutions, and if you have a long stretch of fence that needs to be secured, it’s probably not the most practical solution.
But if you got a small stretch of fence that needs to be secured ASAP, then this might be a good quick solution. While it might be super ugly, it is super effective and can keep the cost down if you got some tires laying around.
The best thing about using tires is there’s no installation required. Just roll it over and set it down or have your kid do it; really, anyone can do it. You might even get the urge to paint them on, do something creative or keep them there until you can install tension wire or a bottom post.
You should only use this option if you have some lying around somewhere. By no means should you head out and get yourself some used tires just for the purpose of lining the bottom of your fence.
Put Down Cinder Blocks
If you’re going for nice, this cinder block trick isn’t much better than throwing some tires in front of the problem area and calling it good. Unless you are a creative person, then it can be just as decorative as anything else.
While the center block isn’t the cheapest solution, they are probably one of the most effective. Not many critters will push through that barrier and if you want to double up on the effectiveness, drive some stakes down behind them to make them a more permanent fixture.
Run a Wooden Board Across the Bottom
Running a couple of boards across the bottom of the fence could do the trick for you. This is another solution that you could put a personal feel to if you’re an artsy person. If not, no problem, slap that board up and call it good.
Even if you prefer to put your creative juices to work elsewhere, put a coat of white paint on it. You don’t have to paint a mural, but if you put the extra effort in, your yard will look all the better for it.
Here’s what you need:
- Drill
- Wrench
- Long measuring tape
- Pipe grip ties
- Wood planks
Here’s how to get the job done:
- Measure out the space between each post.
- Cut the boards to the length that’s needed.
- Line the flat side of the pipe grip up to the middle of the boards and mark the holes.
- Drill a hole through the marks you just made.
- Repeat the process for each board that you need.
- Now that you have your boards ready to go, install a pipe grip at the bottom of each post so that your boards are almost touching the ground.
- Bolt each of the planks to the pipe grip.
- You’re done; give yourself a big pat on the back.
It’s a pretty simple process; just remember to wear your safety gear while sawing and drilling.
Final Thoughts
There are many different ways that you could secure the bottom of your chain-link fence. The real questionsare how much time and effort you can put into it and what your budget looks like for the project.
If you’re trying to bring some life into the yard, using a decorative planter box or garden fence to secure the bottom of a chain link fence can really liven things up. If you’re just trying to keep pesky critters out and dogs in, then cinder blocks or old tires will get the job done. However, you get the job done so long as it works and you’re happy with it, then it’s a job well done.