Sustainable School Fencing

Sustainable Steel Fencing

It takes a great deal of energy to produce steel: involving the mining of ore, the smelting and rolling processes, and transportation and manufacturing to create the finished product. But once manufactured into steel fencing and gates, you should expect a long and largely trouble-free service life.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. As with timber, there are different types of steel and metals suited to different applications. In fencing and gates for example, the use of solid steel bar has largely been replaced by hollow section tubular steel which is not only lighter and less costly, but by using the correct specification and size of steel section, is stronger and more durable. It must be treated correctly, as rust destroys steel in the same way rot degrades timber.

To reduce cost, some manufacturers apply a primer/undercoat of red oxide or zinc rich coating on to bare metal to give a basic layer of corrosion protection. By way of contrast, the hollow steel sections used in a Jacksons fence or gate are hot dip galvanised inside and out to BS EN 1461 after manufacture, for total protection against rust; and if required, subsequently powder coated in a range of standard or special BS and RAL colours to BS EN 13438 at our own powder coating plant. If a fence or gate is to be used within 500 metres of an estuary or in a corrosive atmosphere, a ‘Marine Coating’ should be applied after galvanising for lasting protection against the elements.