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In Autumn 2023, Davies Fencing was approached by Western Bay of Plenty Council to help design and build a dog park in Te Puke. This was the first dog park to be built in the Bay.

The design phase was a lengthy yet important aspect, where we gave design advice in response to their unique and varied ideas.

We advised and priced numerous options; concrete or metal footpaths, timber or metal fencing, different obstacles for the animals, rocks, trees and shrubbery.

There were two key aspects: good drainage was important because the designated area was prone to bog. The other key aspect was safety; the entire enclosure (fencing, gates, and accessways) needed to keep in every type of dog, from a Miniature Poodle to a Great Dane.

The final design was a 300m perimeter area, with 1.5m high chain link (supplied by Bayonet) with 3.6 No1 strainers and 2.7 No1 round posts (supplied by PermaPine). The posts were longer than required, but they gave more stability in the anticipated boggy ground.

We designed a double access area at each end of the large enclosure: imagine a 3m x 3m square area, where you open a gate to walk in, and then another gate to walk out into the main dog park. The gates were custom-made and self-closing. This entrance square had five box stays, which was a design we had used with goat fencing to prevent climbing. There were approximately thirty box stays in the whole enclosure.

The chain link fence also had to be anti-climb, so along the top we used a plumbing material called congulate and ran a wire through it so it would just spin if a dog managed to jump up and put its claws on it. There were also two other gates for a mower and maintenance vehicle to enter.

The Council then asked if we could price a similar but smaller dog enclosure attached to the big one, as a breakaway area for dogs who got overwhelmed in groups. This area also had a gated double-access entrance square.

Once we had the go-ahead and had committed to the deadline… it began to rain. And it rained and rained and rained.
The land became a soggy, swampy bog, but we started the project anyway and hoped for the best. The area became a mud bath, which quickly became our dog Buddy’s paradise. The dog park was a success before it was even finished!

We started by erecting the perimeter fencing to give us a shape and then began cutting the grass inside it for the footpaths. We brought in fill to mound up the footpath and make it higher, and then placed Geo-textile cloth on the fill and metal fines to create an all-weather walking track. Then, we brought in sub-contractors to install hundreds of meters of drainage while we were working on the entranceways.

Once there was a break in the weather we installed the dog obstacles, rock formations, seating, water fountains, planting and then laid grass seed.

The job took approximately three months, and we met the deadline for the official public opening.

One year on, we personally use the dog park with Buddy and often ask other dog owners for their feedback. We have only had positive responses. People travel from over 40 minutes away, sometimes weekly, just to give their dogs this experience. Dog owners have formed new friendships, and so have their dogs; some meet up regularly now.

From a contractor’s perspective, this is immensely satisfying. We have now been asked to replicate this for five more dog parks around the district. We’re happy, dog owners are happy, and the dogs are happy – a win for everyone.

Article written by Angelena Davies

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

In a recent collaboration with renowned construction firm Calder Stewart, Vet South of Invercargill has unveiled an exciting addition to its state-of-the-art facilities in Invercargill, and D Roberts Fencing was the one to bring this great idea together.

Following extensive renovations to its Invercargill clinic, Vet South has introduced an enclosure designed specifically for dogs. This unique space offers our furry friends the perfect balance of freedom and security, allowing them to enjoy the outdoors while remaining safely contained.

Calder Stewart had the idea, and Daniel from D Roberts Fencing made a few suggestions and ideas, and a plan for the enclosure to work efficiently. Featuring a concrete base for effortless maintenance, this canine sanctuary is a testament to both practicality and innovation. The enclosure came together without any problems, and all parties were pleased with the end result.

Gone are the days of worrying about muddy paws or difficult cleaning routines – with Vet South’s new enclosure, pet care has never been easier.

Client satisfaction, attention to detail and a damn good team.  That’s basically the motto for the D Roberts Fencing team. Daniel and Kirstin Roberts and their team are passionate about their work. Understanding client needs is the first box to be ticked when an appointment is booked.

Daniel, a perfectionist at heart, started fencing in 2020 after leaving his full-time job.

He leapt at the opportunity to buy the business that he used to help with on the odd occasion through the years.

D Roberts Fencing started as a one-man band, with Daniel installing industrial fencing, working out of his garage at home, but quickly increased to seven full-time staff and purchasing a yard in the CBD. In the beginning, Daniel was calling on friends, Kirstin and their two sons Deacon and Mason to help out when needed.

‘‘Without the help of friends, we couldn’t have done it in the beginning”.

The team is skilled at erecting multiple fence options – particularly specialising in commercial and residential. D Roberts Fencing source a majority of their materials from Boundaryline, Steel and Tube and Edgesmith.

It’s all about coming together and working with everyone to come up with an idea of what will work best for the client and their budget.

“Our team is the backbone of our company, without them we would not be where we are today.”

Article written by: D Roberts Fencing Ltd

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Most farm fencing is about keeping valuable livestock in. But increasingly, fencing is being installed to keep pest animals out.

Last year, a 2-metre high deer fence was installed along 1.2km of undulating land on Brent and Antonia Mountfort’s sheep and beef farm at Manawahe, just up the coast from Matata.

It’s not that Brent, the Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty president, was diversifying into venison production. Instead, in a combined project with Bay of Plenty Regional Council and QEII National Trust, the Mountforts were out to protect 6ha of bush full of rimu and four or five different varieties of rata, including some quite rare specimens.

This 6ha is in addition to another 30ha already under covenant on their property, as well as gullies, slopes and relatively unproductive areas the Mountforts have augmented or entirely planted out themselves.

Brent says some of the other bush areas are conventionally fenced, and it’s not too difficult for feral deer, pigs, goats and wallabies to get in and out. The BOP council and QEII Trust came to the party over the latest $66,000 fencing job, not just because of the bush biodiversity values, but also to monitor just how much the higher and more robust fence offers by way of keeping out the pests.

The difference is already noticeable, Brent says.

“The deer fencing was only finished eight months ago, but I’m already seeing plants growing to an extent I don’t see in the other bush blocks.

“It’s quite incredible how quickly the seedlings and ferns have come away because they’re not being chomped by feral deer.”

Brent credits fencing contractor Scott Graham of Specialist Rural Services with doing a “gold standard” job.

“It’s important to find the right fencer; we’re talking about a considerable capital expenditure. “I had a few come and look at the project, but Scott really impressed me. He wore me out walking the site and put a lot of effort into researching what was needed.”

The Mountfort’s wanted a traditional 13-wire fence rather than the increasingly common netting fence, out of concern that ewes and lambs could get their head stuck in the latter, and on quite a remote part of the farm, their predicament might not be noticed in time.

He’s loath to point the finger because he understands the funding constraints, but Brent says too many browsing ungulates are coming out of DOC and council public estate to graze bush and paddocks on farms.

“We’d be in even deeper trouble pest-animal wise if it wasn’t for the efforts of farmers, hunters, volunteers and organisations like QEII.

“It’s not just the cost of fencing, there’s all the money and time that goes into planting areas out.

“It’s hugely frustrating to dig in young trees and shrubs and do your bit on pest control, all the time knowing the pests are breeding on adjacent public land and are likely to re-invade,” Brent says.

Two farms away from the Mountforts, another landowner is also in the process of installing a deer fence to keep out ungulate invaders.

Just before last year’s general election, Federated Farmers joined with Forest & Bird NZ to urge political parties to boost control programmes targeting feral deer, pigs, goats and wallabies, to stop growing mobs of the pests undermining farmers’ livelihoods.

QEII Trust Team Leader Operational Services, Ben Johnston, says they’re also seeing the negative environmental impacts of rising feral ungulate numbers in the landscape.

In recent years, QEII covenantors on bigger stations on the East Coast of the North Island have reported herds of over 140 eating grass intended for sheep and cattle. Covenants that were in great condition in Canterbury have had years of regeneration chewed out in a few years. In Southland, one landowner removed 650 deer from their property over 18 months.

“We have heard reports from covenantors of feral ungulate pressure coming from adjacent council reserves and public conservation land, but the reality is that it is a landscape-wide issue that needs cooperation, leadership, investment and meaningful action to solve,” Ben says.

Fencing contractors and specialists have an obvious role.

QEII shares the cost of conventionally fencing new covenants equally with landowners. Due to pressure from feral ungulates, it’s becoming increasingly necessary to fence covenants with ungulate-proof fencing as opposed to ‘standard’ stock-proof fencing, which is considerably more expensive and often prohibitive for landowners.

Where landowners are willing to install ungulate-proof fencing and agree to permanent exclusion of domestic and feral ungulates from the protected area, QEII will share fencing costs 60:40.

“We’re also supporting existing covenantors to “top-up” their existing stock-proof fencing to deer-fencing through our contestable fund, the Stephenson Fund, and through our Jobs for Nature-funded deer exclusion project,” Ben says.

QEII was fortunate to receive $2 million of Jobs for Nature funding via DOC, to deer-fence and eradicate deer from selected, already established covenants where feral deer exclusion is considered the highest priority management intervention. It involves engaging fencing and ungulate-culling contractors to exclude pest deer and upgrade conventional fencing to deer-proof status in participating covenants.

Article written by Federated Farmers of New Zealand

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Asked to build a set of five-way lamb weighing and drafting yards with no prototype to work with, fencer Michael Conijn of Custom Fencing had to use basic ingenuity to bring it to life.

And the end result ended up being his ‘Magnus Opus’.

The yards, built near Dunback in Eastern Otago in 2022, are 45m long, 28m wide, with a height of 1100mm, and include 43 gates in the yard and 27 gates on the lane and pens. The drenching race measures 15m by 900mm.

Built on a lamb finishing farm, the yards needed to be able to process tens of thousands of lambs a year.

Michael said the yard’s main purpose was designed around a Prattley five-way portable weighing and drafting trailer, with the main focus being a flawless flow that required only one person to weigh and draft many thousands of lambs.

“We also needed to have the ability to drench and vaccinate all these lambs.”

This was no easy task, as five-way drafters involve challenging angles for smooth stock flow.

“I asked the client if he had any rough sketches or pictures of such a yard. He had found a couple that had a curve for three-way drafting but none of a five-way, so we did our best to come up with a pen layout that would have as many options to shift stock around within the yards, to be able to have large numbers put across the scales and taken away with ease.

“It’s got as much functionality as I could conjure up.”

Michael used a quality finish wherever he could, round edge routing the top rail on both sides and tops of posts in the main stock sorting zones – the weighing, drenching, and drafting zones – and routed one top edge of the top rail everywhere else.

“We also incorporated a full-length tray in the centre of the twin drenching race, to be able to have vaccines and to have animal husbandry tools close at hand whilst sorting stock.”

The main stock use areas were also boxed and had concrete pads poured in the main stock feed curve, which covers right under the Prattley five-way drafter and twin drenching races, to aid sure footing for stock and staff while processing thousands of stock units, plus a level surface for the scales.

In the main curved forcing pens, they also incorporated the ability to divert stock flow to a race that can have a conveyor backed up to it or an electro dip to dip stock or capsule ewes.

The race also allows stock to be run through the twin drenching race, which has an expanding race that can expand from 400mm wide to around 800mm, by way of two inlaid square steel pipes with a smaller diameter pole that slides inside at finished post height.

This can be removed and slide back in at the two different widths, which allows the drenching races to be fed from either end of the yards depending on which mob is needed to be processed first.

“The twin drenching races have five gates at each end for stock to easily fill and be let back out with ease, with the ability to either be released out of the yards or into the yards at each end.

“The project wasn’t expected to be quite as big as it ended up!

“I was told there was a bit of an outside yard to do, and then the yard became that. It just evolved from there.”

Michael had a good team behind him to get the job done.

“This project was not solely done by me. I can claim driving every strainer and post, but I have to give a lot of thanks to my offsider at the time, Charlie Mullooly, who did a lot of board fixing by himself and helped me with the entire project, and suggested good ideas along the way.”

Michael was also grateful to Garry Jones from earthmoving firm Skevingtons.

“He cleared and laid all the river gravel and spread all the lime chip dust, to aid in drainage and dust suppression in the yards.

“He also finished all the earthworks around gateways to give water runoff and smooth any humps and bumps out to make a safe free draining site for stock and staff.”

Considering it was his first crack at it, Michael was chuffed with the completed yards.

“Thanks to the Tomlinson family for letting me cut loose on them! I personally am very proud of the end result, and thought, it’s not bad for the first one I built from scratch.

“And to quote Charlie Mullooly, “that might be your Magnus Opus to date!’”

Article written by Rosa Watson

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Specifications and Rules

• Pre driven strainers;
• 3 wire electric – 1 and 3 hot connected in parallel at each end;
• Overall height of fence: 1175mm. Wires located at 75mm, 450mm and 800mm from the top of the post, or, match Y post holes. Rammed to a height of 1175mm
• Triplex (in-line strainer) 3 ways in the third panel
• Tension wires 1 and 3 at 100kg; dead wire at 150kg
• Crimp second panel
• Figure 8 fourth panel

Time allocation and penalties:

So how did we go?

Name: Caleb Eady
Course: Certificate in Fencing (Level 3)

“I’m doing the course to get a benchmark of where I’m at and improve from there. I’m the owner/operator of my company. I work for myself, and saw it as a way to upskill.”

Caleb Eady is a fencer who owns and runs his own business, Eady Rural Contracting. He’s currently undertaking the NZ Certificate in Fencing Level 3 with NorthTec, with plans to continue and complete the Certificate in Fencing Level 4 as well.

“I’m very supportive of what FCANZ (Fencing Contractors Association NZ) is trying to do with accreditation. When you’re in business for yourself, you start to realise that there are people out there who maybe don’t know as much as they should, or don’t take as much pride in their work, so it’s important to have a standard to work to. Making people do the work and learn the skills to get accredited is important.”

“I’ve been fencing for four years, pretty much always for myself. However, before that, I was working on farms and had done a lot of fencing. I already had a lot of knowledge on how fences need to be set up, where they need to go, and how the process works.”

With a wide range of experience at his fingertips, you might think there wasn’t much for Caleb to learn on the course, which is primarily aimed at people just starting out or a few years into fencing.

“I’ve definitely still learnt a lot. It’s still worth it. There are a lot of people on the course with different experiences, so there’s always something for people to learn. It’s been good, and I recommend it to people. I haven’t regretted doing the course at all.

“The tutors are really supportive. The only difficulty was trying to take days off to come in and do the course. I’ve got a lot of work on, and I work for myself, so no one else can do it. I had to prioritise it.”

“ I’ve definitely still learnt a lot. It’s still worth it. There are a lot of people on the course with different experiences, so there’s always something for people to learn

Article supplied by NorthTec

Published in the Training & Events Section in WIRED Issue 73 / June 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: NorthTec Student Profile: Emile De Greeuw

What kind of person is motivated to take unpaid leave from work for up to a week, travel many miles, volunteer themselves during this time, receive some cost remuneration, and stand around in the elements to judge an industry showcase? An NZ Fencing Competitions (NZFC) Competition judge.

NZFC organises and/or supports local and regional level competitions, and there are a number of NZFC judges who travel to these events. They are a dedicated bunch, with many being ex-competitors or those who run fencing companies, ex-builders, and industry sales reps (yes, that’s you, Warren Herlihy and previously Hugh Morrison).

Fieldays® National Fencing Competitions

The set-up for Fieldays® National Fencing Competitions starts for Chief Judge Owen Petersen on the Friday of the week prior, with layout for both the heats and the finals. Helping year after year are Fieldays® volunteers like Pete Anderson and Campbell Clarke. Norwood loans a tractor and front-end loader, delivering this on site, which is greatly appreciated in the busy, congested environment of Fieldays®.

On Sunday, there is a judges’ meeting to go over judging standards and to allocate judging aspects to the individuals on the judges’ team. The judges’ team normally consists of eight judges, plus four technical judges who carry out the strainer push test.

On the Monday of Fieldays® week, the qualifying heats take place, with the singles finals in the morning and the doubles heats in the early afternoon. While judges stand on hand observing safety, tidiness, or if a competitor calls out if they strike something in the ground, there is also some leniency in giving new competitors some direction, if required.

Once the first competitor finishes, some of the judging aspects can commence. Tension gets tested when the competitors have finished, appearance judging starts, moving along the lines. Then the technical judges come along; testing strainer push, and testing footings via an apparatus that lifts the posts and assesses the holding of the foot in the ground. There is also a sideload test on the ramming of the post, with a weight on a frame off the side of the post to measure defection.

Once an NZFC competition judge has finished marking their particular aspect, they collate the scores, double-check and submit their judging booklets to the scorer, who enters the results into a scoring computer system that was developed with the help of Wendy Morgan.

Over the past decade, NZFC has designed judges’ booklets for information resources and recording the scores into column grids. There has been much work on developing the judges’ booklets, instigated by Paul Van Beers, who is on the NZFC Judges Committee, and the process to streamline the judging standards is ongoing.

Owen Petersen, NZFC Chief Judge, comments “What’s required to be a NZFC judge is a willingness to give back to the industry, be consistent in their pattern, and not biased – the focus is on judging the line number, they are not judging the person. The ability to pick up and spot the details and see something easily. Much of the judging is done by measuring, gauging and a lot of detail by eye.”

Owen goes on to say, “Fencing competitions are highly recommended to help with workmanship, self-satisfaction and improving your approach to your everyday work and systems. It’s rewarding to see these fencers develop and turn up to competitions around the regions, they seem to get a lot out of the effort.”

Written by Debbie White from NZFC

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: Development of a World Championship Doubles Competition at Fieldays®

NZFC has been working over the past three to four years on the development of an international Doubles Fencing Championship Competition, which is proposed to be held within the Fieldays® Fencing Competitions.

The concept behind the incentive is to keep a focus on the New Zealand fencing industry and help promote the strong emphasis on industry best practice that the New Zealand fencing competition scene has embraced over the past 50 years.

With the advent of social media, we have seen an increase in the sharing online of fencing workmanship, and fencers connecting with each other from the other side of the world. We are noticing standards are lifting overseas, and there is strong interest in information sharing and improving systems.

As part of our planning, NZFC has built up relationships with several overseas competitions, who are working towards their competition winners competing in our World Championship, alongside the development of a winner’s exchange program whereby our Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship winners receive a prize of competing, on a rotational basis each year, in one of the overseas competitions.

While work is being undertaken to accommodate this World Championship, relationships have been, or are being, developed with several overseas fencing competitions, including those in England, the USA, Scotland, and Ireland. We aim to discover other competitions in Australia and European countries. In the meantime, we are using the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship to host these overseas winning teams in our competitions.

England competitors

The winners of the 2022 UK Tornado Fencing competition at Malvern, Mark Evans and Nic Quan, competed in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship in 2023. They were very well received by the New Zealand fencing competitor’s community.

This is a biennial arrangement and this year’s Tornado Fencing competition winners, as part of their first-place prize package, will receive a trip to New Zealand to compete in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship in 2025.

USA competitors

The winners of the 2023 U.S Platinum Strainer Doubles Championship at the East Coast Fencing Rivalry, Alex Masser and Jason Day will be coming to New Zealand and competing in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship this year, as part of their sponsored prize package.

Reciprocal arrangements

In July 2024, the winners of the 2023 Fieldays® Silver Spades doubles championship – Jeff Joines and Mark Lambert, will travel to the UK and compete in the Tornado Fencing competition on 30th July in Malvern.

The following day, they will attend an AFI (Association of Fencing Industries) Fencing Field Day and carry out demonstrations on New Zealand techniques and workmanship. Along the way, they will be meeting UK fencing contractors.

It’s proposed that the 2025 winners of the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship, or the top New Zealand team, will compete at the East Coast Fencing Rivalry in Virginia in August of that year.

NZFC, as organisers of the Fieldays® Fencing Competitions, welcomes the positivity we’ve received from the global fencing community around the introduction and development of the World Championship Doubles Competition. We are very grateful to our competition sponsors for supporting this opportunity.

Written by Debbie White from NZFC

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

On 8th August 2024, the Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated fencing industry excellence at the annual FCANZ Industry Awards. The Industry Awards were created to recognise and acknowledge those who exemplify the Association’s mission of raising the profile of fencing as a professional trade, delivering high-quality work, and adhering to best practice standards.

This year saw the addition of four extra awards categories, bringing the total number of awards being presented to six: Emerging Talent, Trainee of the Year, Level 4 Excellence, FCANZ Legends, Women of Influence and Industry Contribution. The Legacy Award, which was included in the inaugural event in 2023, was not presented this year as it is an infrequently awarded honour.

EMERGING TALENT AWARD – YOUTH

Murray Graham, from White Fencing in Clevedon, won the Emerging Talent Award for under-25-year-olds in the industry who have shown a commitment to fencing as a career and demonstrated growth and excellence in their workplace. Nominated by their employers, the finalists and winners were determined by a panel of independent assessors based on visual evidence provided and through interviews with finalists.

Judges said, “The three finalists are all sterling young candidates who have obviously earned the respect of their employers. We’d all happily employ any one of them and would love to know how to clone them. Murray seems to be passionate about the industry and showed a pathway for giving back to the industry through FCANZ and Fencing Competitions. He came across as quite knowledgeable about differing ground conditions and the fencing techniques required.”

TRAINEE OF THE YEAR – LEVEL 3

The Trainee of the Year award recognises a worker who was enrolled in an NZQA National Certificate in Fencing Level 3 course during 2023 and has demonstrated to the tutor that they have excellent knowledge and skills in fence line installation. There were 3 finalists for this award, with Martin Tomars from Whangarei taking out the honours. Judges’ comments stated that Martin “actively participated well on course days, he listened and followed instructions. He was involved in group discussions where he shared his knowledge with others. His quality of workmanship has improved since the start of the course with an eye for detail and Health and Safety.”

LEVEL 4 EXCELLENCE 

The first of the new awards for 2024 was the Level 4 Excellence Award. This award recognises the graduate of the NZQA National Certificate in Fencing Level 4 who consistently displayed excellence across their coursework. Awarded to only one of the 2023 graduates, this award acknowledges the student who consistently produced excellent work, identifying them as a true asset to the fencing industry. One graduate from each of the courses was nominated for the inaugural award, which was taken out by Canterbury fencer Scott Heasley of Heasley Fencing. Judges stated that Scott “participated to a high level, making a significant contribution to group sessions, leading discussions and willingly sharing his practical knowledge. His submitted work constantly improved as he advanced through the programme, demonstrating his willingness to learn and implement knowledge gained.”

FCANZ LEGENDS

Well-known South Island fencer and larger-than-life personality John “Noksee” Noakes was the recipient of the inaugural FCANZ Legends Award.

This award was created to honour individuals who have made a long-term contribution to FCANZ, whose unwavering dedication and tireless efforts have left an indelible mark on the Association.

INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION

Sarah Foley-Smith was presented with the first Industry Contribution award for actively advocating for the students within her school who have shown an interest in and aptitude for the fencing trade. This award was created to recognise and acknowledge individuals who go above and beyond to champion and support the fencing industry’s growth and development. As the organiser of the first-ever Secondary Schools Fencing competition held at the FCANZ National Fencing Field Day, Sarah was a worthy recipient.

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

The final award of the night was the Women of Influence award, recognising the achievements of women who have proven their mettle in this traditionally male-dominated industry, highlighting their vital role in the industry.

Recipient Debbie White has been heavily involved in many areas of fencing for some time. She has been on the FCANZ Board multiple times and is a stalwart within the NZ Fencing Competitions organising team.

Murray, Martin and Scott each have their names engraved on the annual trophy and took home a plaque and a new staple gun thanks to FCANZ Industry Partners Delfast.

Phil Cornelius, FCANZ President, summed up the 2024 industry awards “The calibre of nominees and recipients was incredibly high, and so we congratulate both the finalists and winners. Being nominated and making it as a finalist is recognition of the high regard that these fencers and their work are held in. We look forward to seeing what they all achieve in the coming years.”

Fencing Solutions Waikato Ltd (FSW Ltd) have been involved with many pool, school and park fencing projects, having been the contractor to Waikato Kindergarten Association, Central Kids, and many private Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres for their fence and gate needs.

Timing always poses a challenge – ideally, being able to get work done in their holiday period. If we have to work when kindergarten is in, then the next challenge is answering all the questions from the 4-year-old onlookers from behind a temporary fence. Fielding questions like ‘What are you doing?’.

The requirements for ECE fencing and gates are as much to keep the public out as it is to keep the children in. It is unbelievable the number of instances of vandalism or theft from such an organisation. The focus first is on function: fences now are generally 1.8m high with a maximum gap between vertical rods of less than 90mm, flat top panel and commercial grade. Gates have heavy-duty self-closing hinges and in all cases, a pull-top latch that is lockable. In some cases we have installed a two-step unlock process with an additional magnetic slide pull latch. All of our fencing materials are sourced from Modern Fence Supplies in Hamilton.

Pool fencing

Pool fencing is also one of the many services offered by FSW Ltd, working alongside pool companies who are installing a pool. It is often a step-by-step process where the pool builders will do all their ground works and surrounds. The pool needs to be fenced as soon as it has more than 400mm of water in it, in accordance with the Building Act 2004, the legislation that governs pool fencing requirements in New Zealand.

The Buildings Act 2004 requires all residential pools and small heated pools with a maximum depth of 400mm or more require a physical barrier that restricts access to the pool by unsupervised children under five years of age .

A temporary fence is installed at this stage to keep the work area safe and away from inquisitive children. We will install a fence with a panel that has a NZSA approved PS1. For commercial sites, we are required to submit a PS3, which is a producer statement to warrant that the work completed is as planned and follows any engineered standards.
Glass fencing is another option that can either be bolted down with spigotts or aluminium posts. Glass pool gates are required by the Act to self-close and self-latch. The Act also requires mandatory inspections every three years to ensure compliance with the regulations .

The Building Performance website provides a comprehensive guide for pool owners to understand the pool fencing requirements of the Building Act 2004 (the ‘Act’). The guide includes information on why pool fencing is important, the types of pools that require a barrier, the requirements for pool fencing, safety covers for small heated pools, applying for a building consent, and more.

Pool gates

Gates need to follow the rule of being at least 1200mm high, swinging away from the pool on self-closing hinges, and the pool latch needs to be self-latching. Over time, the springs in the self-closing hinges will soften. An easy self-check on gates is whether they can self-close from a distance of 100mm.
In the case of a glass gate, the opening latch must only be accessible from the inside and be 300mm lower than the top of the gate.

Climbing hazards

Another part of the Act that can be overlooked is that any climbable object must be at least 1200mm away from the outside of the fence and 300mm from the inside of the fence.
It is likely that local councils will require that the pool fencing be a part of the building consent. These plans will be approved by the council, and when the pool is complete, the fence will be signed off.

We get a number of enquiries from pool owners who have been notified that either their fence has failed an inspection or there is an inspection due. It is the responsibility of the pool owner that their fence passes the compliance test at any time.

Article written by Todd Sherburd from Fencing Solutions Waikato Ltd (FSW Ltd)

Published in the Pools & Schools Feature in WIRED Issue 72 / MARCH 2024  by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

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