Windbreak Boards vs steel?

[Big Muddy rancher]

Up here most windbreak /porosity fence is built with 1X6 boards 8feet long. I haven't priced boards yet this year but wondering how they compare to the steel fence Soapweed puts up.
Soap do you have any pictures of your steel fence?

 

[Denny]

I use inch boards just because we have lots of sawmills here and I get logs sawed out for corral planks and there are always inch boards. Were getting alot of logs sawed out this fall and winter as I am going to build a barn next year on our new place then a new shop and in 5 years a house.

 

[Aaron]

I bought 1x6 8 footers here, Red Pine and Spruce, #3 grade for $2.00 a board. 47 boards every 30 feet. Out of a local quality sawmill and got to pick through them. Regular lumber stores and most small-time sawmills want almost double that price.

 

[RSL]

$139 for a half cord of 8' slabs. These are not end cut. They are flat both sides. Covers about 90' of windbreak. They are not as nice and square as the boards. I use a framing nailer to assemble. 60' took 45 minutes the other day.

 

[S.S.A.P.]

They've used a nailer of some kind here - hate them! They aren't a twisted ardox so the wind will eventually (sooner rather than later) loosen them and a gust will knock the board off, as will an animal. My other pet peeve is to long of a nail which sticks out the other side of the bull rail ... horses hips will find them :?

 

[Soapweed]

Here are a variety of windbreak pictures. I like the big corrugated steel because they are both durable and easy to build. The steel sheets come in twenty foot lengths, and don't need stringers. We put the posts ten feet apart. Some of our older windbreaks have upright posts eight feet apart, with four sixteen-foot 2" x 8" stringers. The corrugated tin is put on vertically, and they are eight feet in height. The very best windbreaks are tree lot shelter belts, which are nearly as good as being in a barn.

 

[littlejoe]

Nicely done, as usual with you~~On the last photo--would you put that gap in between courses if you were to do it again? I'm dealing on a big pile of heavy duty tin that came off of missile base buildings, heavier than heck as govt deal. So could put them sideways and eliminate nailers.

I'm wanting to build some 'Wyoming style'---a solid sided V facing into prevailing wind---not around working facility but out in middle of some winter pastures. Anybody tried these?

neat pictures, thanks for posting them.

 

[Faster horses]

Nicely done, as usual with you~~On the last photo--would you put that gap in between courses if you were to do it again? I'm dealing on a big pile of heavy duty tin that came off of missile base buildings, heavier than heck as govt deal. So could put them sideways and eliminate nailers.

I'm wanting to build some 'Wyoming style'---a solid sided V facing into prevailing wind---not around working facility but out in middle of some winter pastures. Anybody tried these?

neat pictures, thanks for posting them.

Our neighbor did the Wyoming V with hay bales and it worked really well.

Soap, on those windbreaks, do you put the bottom right on the ground,
or do you leave a space there?

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah- I've seen several of the V wind breaks-- especially up toward and north of the border where they have more blowing snow... They seem to work quite well... The extension office has a pamphlet out about building them- and the extra coverage the V gives over a straight windbreak... I couldn't find it on the net- but a few years ago I was judging 4-H speech's for the Fair- and a young fellow put on quite a demonstration of how much more coverage they offer...

I also have a neighbor that built his hay pen/stack so it creates a V windbreak and he talks highly of it...

 

[Soapweed]

On the last photo--would you put that gap in between courses if you were to do it again?

The gap seems to eliminate some of the swirling effect that occurs otherwise. Years ago I read that about one fourth of a windbreak could actually be open space, and still be more successful than solid windbreak. In other words, for every up and down 2" x 6" board, a 2" gap should separate it from the next board.

Soap, on those windbreaks, do you put the bottom right on the ground,
or do you leave a space there?

It is best to be right on the ground, or better yet just a little bit under the ground. Gaps between the steel and dirt can be a sharp cutting edge if a cow's or horse's foot happens to get underneath.

 

[4Diamond]

Is the girl included with the wind break?