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Floating Brace

B

Ben H

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
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Location
Gorham, ME
Last weekend I read about a floating brace. I've built a lot of H-Braces and tried a few Angle Stay Braces. Sunday I built two of the floating braces. I'm talking with the NRCS about allowing me to use these on a project I'm working on. The hardest thing I deal with on my ground is getting the brace post exactly where I want it. These floating braces can solve that problem.

I'm planning on a 5 strand HT perimeter.

Has anyone had any problems with them? The NRCS's initial reaction is that they should work for 4 or less strands. I'm reading they're fine for 5-6, I've sent them a few rescources.

The other thing I thought about is that the horizontal brace in an H Brace pushes into the top of the brace post. Therefore your week point is that post. With a floating brace pushes into the ground, it seems like it should in fact be stronger.

I'm interested in hearing any pros and cons with either system from your experience.
 
I read your title and immediately thought that your orthodontist had screwed up and not gotten those shiny wires tight enough to straighten your teeth . . . .

J/K!
 
Sorry, my bad, I assumed I was te only one who hadn't heard of these.
floating%20brace.jpg

Just got approval from NRCS to do 5 strands.
Here's how you do it
http://www.powerflexfence.com/Article1.20.html
 
Ben H said:
Sorry, my bad, I assumed I was te only one who hadn't heard of these.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information... I'm probably the only one who hadn't heard of these, or at least what they were called. I've built them before (minus the concrete), by default when I couldn't get a second hole dug in all the lovely rock I have :lol:, but didn't know they had a name!

Are they more commonly used in electric fence building?
 
Looks like a pretty neat idea, Ben. I can see it being particularly useful where making post holes or driving posts is a problem. I had never seen or heard of it before.
 
I have done this, but a little different for anchoring the end of the brace.

Same concept, but at the end of the brace, I dug a hole for it to go into, then placed a piece of treated 2x6 for the brace to butt against.

The thing I like more about the way I did it is your brace can't move on you.

I would assume the brace can move on the floating brace, but probabaly not much??
 
sic 'em reds, I've done the one you're talking about, Gallagher shows it in their manual. It works ok, I like this floating brace better. With that brace wire tightened up it's pretty damn strong, you can't budge it up verticly, can kind of kick it a little side to side on the concrecte if you try, but that allos some flexibility.

NRCS is cost sharing, I get a higher percent for being a starting farmer (starting on my own anyway), therefore it has to be built to their specs which I don't think are unreasonable.
 
sic 'em reds said:
Same concept, but at the end of the brace, I dug a hole for it to go into, then placed a piece of treated 2x6 for the brace to butt against.
Click to expand...

I believe this is called a deadman brace.
 
I believe a deadman and bedlog are the same thing. They don't have a brace post, just the cross brace at the base of the post.
 
done em kinda that way myself but I make a spade hole and put one of them dang rocks into the hole to butt the brace against.Gotta use those stones for something and they don't seem to rot...
 
Since I got my cost share on all my cross fencing and started building this kind of bracing system I wouldn't do it any other way. I have built a lot of H braces with deadmen in my day but it seems like your wires that you put down into the ground will always break or rust through eventually and there goes the strength of your corner.

They are easy and fast to build too.
 
Never saw anything like this before - - - I like the idea! I have tried diagonal braces before but had problems with the end post lifting out of the ground - - - would this be a problem???
 
I had the same problem with the diagnol causing the end to lift, I don't anticipate this being a problem with the floating brace because of the wire on the bottom.
 
But the ground end of the beace needs to go in the concrete, not on top of it. As soon as somehting pushes on it you've lost it. Sounds like something the NRCS would come up with. None of them ever fenced in a cow or handled bull poop.
 
cedardell said:
But the ground end of the beace needs to go in the concrete, not on top of it. As soon as somehting pushes on it you've lost it. Sounds like something the NRCS would come up with. None of them ever fenced in a cow or handled bull poop.
Click to expand...
I disagree that it needs to go in the concrete. Jim Gerrish's instructions say to use a flat rock, disc blade or concrete slab. From the two prototypes I've built you have to work to move it. Also, with the shock my fence charger puts out, not much will be rubbing on it. NRCS didn't care for this design for barbed wire,
 
you better use a really heavy post on the end or it would pop right out of the ground (in my ground anyhow). It may take a little time but in a few years the post will be moving up. The braces are the most important part of the fence. If you are going to all the trouble to put in cement, why not build a h brace with a anchor and never have it give. Don't do the lazy way and just tie the brace wire at ground level to the post either, that is kind of like pissing into the wind, I see people doing that all the time and that pops the end post right out of the ground. Result is loose fence and spending time to rebuild the corner.
 

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