The longest lasting fence in India, and how to choose between the types

What are the main types of fencing in India?

There are four common ways to fence a boundary (tarbandi) in India: barbed wire strands, conventional galvanised chain link, a high tensile knotted fence and a precast or masonry wall. Farmers also use solar-powered electric fences to deter animals. They differ in what they stop, how long they last and how much civil work they need. Barbed wire or concertina coil can also go on top of any fence as a topping.

Chain link and a knotted fence are the two wire fences most buyers weigh: knotted fence vs chain link compares them on strength, life and posts. SIMO Securon makes the Q-Knot fixed knot fence to keep animals out and ZS-Knot™ (Anti Climb) to keep people out; its 4 x 2 inch grid is the anti-climb one.

Do you need a fence or a wall?

Most farms, plots, solar parks and factories need a fence, not a wall. A wall gives privacy, screening and noise reduction, but it needs a continuous foundation and a long build. A high tensile knotted fence keeps people and animals out with equivalent strength to a precast or masonry wall, goes up about twice as fast and needs a concrete foundation only at each post.

Choose a wall where privacy or noise is the real need, and a crash barrier where vehicles are the risk. The full comparison, for plots, farmhouses and factories, is in compound wall vs fencing.

Which type of fence suits which problem?

Start from what you are keeping out, not from the product. Animals need height and tight wires at ground level, people need a grid too close to climb and a topping, and privacy needs a wall. If the site is near the sea, the first step is an engineer’s advice, not a catalogue.

For nilgai and cattle, SIMO Securon suggests Zeta Nova or Alpha at 6 ft; Pi suits wild boar and smaller animals. Farmers can read how to protect crops from nilgai and wild boar and cattle fencing, or see farm fencing and plot and farmhouse fencing.

How long does a fence last in India?

Conventional galvanised chain link usually lasts 2 to 5 years in Indian conditions. SIMO Securon’s knotted fence is rated for 10 years in Pi, 20 years in Zeta Nova and 35 years or more in Alpha, with correct installation. The difference is the coating: the heavier and more protective the coating on the wire, the longer before red rust breaks it.

Zn-Al 90/10 is a zinc-aluminium coating of 90 percent zinc and 10 percent aluminium.

Fertilisers and chemicals touching the fence, welding the fabric and rusted posts all shorten a fence’s life, whoever makes it. The three grades are compared side by side on knotted fence products.

How do you check the quality of fence wire?

Ask for three numbers and the test reports behind them: the tensile strength in MPa, the coating mass in grams per square metre (GSM) and, for coated wire, the salt spray hours without red rust. Reports should come from an NABL-accredited laboratory, to the Indian Standard for each test.

Then look at the fence itself: the height and number of line wires, the spacing of the wires at the bottom, and whether the joints are fixed knots or can slide. SIMO Securon wire is tested at NABL-accredited laboratories: tensile strength to IS 1608 (Part 1) for Alpha and Zeta Nova, salt spray to IS 9844 for Alpha, and coating mass and adherence to IS 6745 for Zeta Nova. See which tests apply to each SIMO Securon grade.

What should a fencing specification for a project include?

A specification that names the tests lets you compare bids like for like. For a solar park, a factory or any long boundary, state:

• The fence: height, number of line wires, grid and knot type.
• The wire: tensile strength in MPa, tested to IS 1608 (Part 1).
• The coating: type and mass in GSM, tested to IS 6745, and salt spray hours without red rust, tested to IS 9844.
• The posts: section, gap and foundations, with braced terminal and corner posts; see QvikFixrr posts and fittings.
• Toppings and gates: barbed wire strands or concertina coil, and where the gates go.
• Joining: rolls joined by splicing and twisting the line wires, never by welding.
• Evidence: test reports from an NABL-accredited laboratory for the wire you will receive.

SIMO Securon builds to your tender specification and shares test reports with project buyers on request. Send an RFQ with your drawing, boundary length or BOQ for a material list and proposal.

How is fencing priced in India?

Fencing is priced on the length of the boundary, its corners and gates, the height, the wire and coating, the posts and their foundations, any toppings, the site and whether installation is included. Posts are a large part of it: a fence with a post every 5 metres needs around half the posts of one with a post every 2.5 metres.

The fencing cost guide works it out per acre, per running metre and per km, and the fencing cost calculator does it for your land, with your price on WhatsApp.

Estimate my fence

How do you judge a seller’s promise on fence life?

A promise about how long a fence lasts is only as good as its written conditions. Before you buy, ask for it in writing and check what it covers, from when, what you must do to keep it, what it excludes and how you claim. A promise with no written conditions tells you little.

• What it covers: a specific failure, such as the wire breaking from rust, or something vaguer?
• From when, and for how long: from the invoice date, and for how many years?
• What you must do: register within a set time, store the fence dry, have it installed properly on sound posts.
• What it excludes: sites near the coast, chemicals and fertilisers, welding, impact, natural disasters, normal wear and tear.
• How to claim: by when, with which documents, to whom.
• Who stands behind it: a named company, with an address, that will still be there.

A design life is a different thing: how long a fence is designed to last in stated conditions, with the evidence behind it. SIMO Securon calls its design figure rated life; read how rated life is calculated.

How do you choose a fencing installer?

A fence is only as good as its installation. Choose an installer who sets posts in concrete, braces every end and corner post, lets the concrete cure before tensioning and joins rolls without welding. Ask who is responsible if something goes wrong: one contract for supply and installation is simplest.

• Posts: at the gap the fence is designed for, in concrete, with braced terminal and corner posts on larger foundations.
• Tensioning: with a fence puller and tensioners, only after the concrete has cured.
• Joining rolls: by splicing and twisting the wires, never by welding, which damages the coating.
• Fixing: clips at every post, fabric locks at strain and corner posts.
• Responsibility: one point of responsibility for the materials and the installation.

1. Diagonal brace at 45 degrees on every terminal post
2. Horizontal stay between the terminal and first supporting post
3. Terminal foundations at least 45 x 45 cm and 75 cm deep; corners 60 x 60 cm, braced both ways
4. Fabric tensioned only after the concrete has fully cured
5. Posts set at least 50 cm into concrete; concrete posts at least 150 x 150 mm

SIMO Securon offers supply only, supply and installation by its own trained crews, or training for your team: see installation services. To start, let the fencing cost estimator suggest a fence and work out the posts and rolls for your land.