Categories: Property

Not all fences are created equal

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-987" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2014&sol;08&sol;SND06-wk1-Property-Fencing-Balfour&lowbar;School&lowbar;300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND06-wk1-Property-Fencing-Balfour School 300x225" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>Once schools were a neighbourhood facility&colon; an open environment and gathering place for education&comma; community and family events&period; Fear of crime&comma; abduction and indeed terrorism over time has caused a shift&comma; leaving some schools looking like locked-down facilities&period; Although some of these fears are very real&comma; schools need to adopt perimeter security measures that are not only safe and sturdy&comma; but also aesthetically pleasing&period; The aim is to keep kids safe while providing a more welcoming atmosphere&period; So&comma; with this in mind what do you need to consider in both perimeter and specialised fencing&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In terms of the safety of students&comma; security of your school&comma; and separation of various areas&comma; there are many prerequisites to consider before purchasing your fencing&period; But if you are an education provider&comma; you do not just want to meet the minimum requirements&comma; you also want it to look great and you want fencing that will suit your needs for the long term&period; There are various factors to consider when deciding on the types of fencing in your school&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the sales manager at Boundaryline™ fencing systems&comma; Hugh McGaveston&comma; &&num;8220&semi;school fencing needs to be cost-effective&comma; durable for the long-term and low-maintenance&&num;8221&semi; and most importantly needs to &&num;8220&semi;comply with the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987 even if the fences are not being installed for special need requirements&&num;8221&semi;&period; Boundaryline™ has a long history of supplying fences to schools throughout the country&comma; from Kaitaia in the far North to Tuatapere in the Deep South&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They work with designers&comma; school boards&comma; project managers&comma; and fencing contractors to provide a complete project package to meet the required regulatory specifications and also provide gates to suit the projects&comma; including wheelchair access gates&comma; childproof gates and automated access systems&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mr McGaveston makes other recommendations&comma; &&num;8220&semi;a minimum height for perimeter fencing should be 1&period;5m&&num;8221&semi; and if there is neighbouring properties that you need to shield from noise &&num;8220&semi;acoustic fencing&&num;8221&semi; can be used&period; If privacy is a requirement of the school or indeed the neighbours&comma; this will decide whether or not see-through or solid fencing is required&period; Of course schools may have some personal and very specific individual requirements such as&colon; is the fencing is required for protection of special-needs students&comma; or for security&quest; Or are there any local by-laws or property covenants regarding height restrictions or colour&quest; He also explains&comma; &&num;8220&semi;Schools must also consider what access is required to fenced areas and whether the fencing is bordering sports courts&comma; therefore requiring ball retention&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>At first glance&comma; this can be a daunting experience for many fledgling schools&comma; so the recommendation is to completely evaluate your location and your local legislation to make sure you avoid any controversy&period; Or indeed seek expert advice from experienced security and perimeter-fencing experts&period; Now that you know what to consider&comma; take a look at a few of the latest designs and trends in the fencing industry to help you make a decision&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Knowing your height&comma; transparency&comma; security and colour requirements&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s important to consider your material&period; The traditional choice for school fencing in years past has typically been &&num;8220&semi;galvanised wire fencing&&num;8221&semi;&period; However&comma; Mr McGaveston claims &&num;8220&semi;tubular metal fencing like the Boundaryline Durapanel range is now the most common choice for fencing&comma; providing a strong and a good-looking fence and aluminium is becoming a popular choice for schools due to low-maintenance and its suitability for coastal environments&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But what about installation&quest; A 200-300mm-wide concrete mowing strip below the fence is a common choice as this helps keep things tidy&period; Boundaryline™ DuraPanel in the Polo style is a common choice for school perimeter fencing because it has a long anti-scale gap but with a flat top&semi; that means there are no spikes or rods to injure&comma; should someone attempt to scale the fencing&period; However&comma; if security is your primary concern&comma; according to Mr McGaveston&comma; &&num;8220&semi;A school should consider Boundaryline™ SentryPanel RodTop or SpearTop panel in 1&period;8 or 2&period;1m&period;&&num;8221&semi; Or if a more high-tech approach is required to accommodate special needs students&comma; you should consider&comma; &&num;8220&semi;sliding driveway access gates with remote control openers&&num;8221&semi; or &&num;8220&semi;self-closing hinges and a magnetic latch to fasten the gate automatically as it closes&&num;8221&semi; for pedestrian gates&period; And for those schools bordering residences&comma; &&num;8220&semi;pre-finished metal fencing like Boundaryline™ ColourPanel is a good choice&&num;8221&semi; as it provides a visual barrier and it is very low-maintenance for the caretaker&comma; requiring only an occasional wash-down&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This has covered some essential points for boundary fencing&comma; but what about the all-important specialised sporting fences&period; These fences need to be transparent but strong and sturdy&period; Jay McGaveston the marketing manager for Boundaryline™ fencing systems has an opinion on these too&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Boundaryline™ KiwiMesh chain-link fencing at 3&period;0-3&period;6m high is typically used for tennis courts and similar applications&comma; where ball retention is required&period; This is often done in black to enhance the appearance&period;&&num;8221&semi; However for those louder games&comma; you may want to consider &&num;8220&semi;Boundaryline™ EliteWall&&num;8221&semi; that &&num;8220&semi;is a smart-looking solution for acoustic fences to reduce sound&&num;8221&semi;&period; For extra safety it&&num;8217&semi;s recommended that you consult your fencing firm to enhance your project&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The advice is sound&comma; but as consumers you need to see these options put into practice before a final decision can be made&period; That&&num;8217&semi;s where successful projects such as the brand-new Pegasus School in Canterbury shines as an example&period; They chose Boundaryline™ DuraPanel aluminium fencing as their solution&comma; Polo style&comma; black finish&period; They also installed &&num;8220&semi;some custom-made timber bollards and rope for a feature area inside the school grounds&&num;8221&semi;&period; This project was completed within the construction timeframe required and has yielded very positive results&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For all fencing needs it&&num;8217&semi;s recommended that you contact a fencing expert for advice in the early stages of your project&period; There are many different fencing systems available from that schools may not have traditionally considered&period; Schools should also take note that architects&comma; construction companies and fencing contractors are all involved and will make a decision that is best for your school&period; With this knowledge you can provide your students with the safest&comma; securest and most aesthetically pleasing fencing options possible&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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