Do-it-yourself wattle fence to the country today is made by many craftsmen. Recently, this has become the most common for the reason that the rustic style is gaining popularity in the exterior of rural landscape design. If you want to get the effect of natural naturalness, then it is worth using a wicker fence during the design of the site, it will perfectly combine with decorative benches and wooden arbors. Making your own wattle in the country with your own hands for a flower bed is quite simple, it can be mastered by anyone.
Varieties of Wicker Fences
Before you make wattle with your own hands at the cottage, you need to think about what kind of fence you will have installed. You can select a specific height and determine the functional value. Thus, it is necessary to make a low fence, the height of which is equal to or less than 1 m, if there is a need for a decorative element of landscape design on the site. This fence will protect the path or flowerbed. The fence may be slightly higher. This element is created for zoning the territory. A medium-height fence, as a rule, is used to emphasize the boundaries of the territory, however, the illusion of isolation will not be created. But higher fences, the height of which is 2 m, are created as full-fledged fences. They are set along the external borders of a private territory.
Selection of material for wicker fencing
Before you make wattle at the cottage with your own hands, you need to choose the material. This must be done correctly, since the life span of the fence depends on it. Thus, if you choose a cattail or reed for weaving a fence, you must be prepared for the fact that the design will last no more than 4 years. But if you want to make a more durable fence, the life of which will reach 10 years, then you need to use the vine, as well as willow or hazel. However, these periods of use of the fence can be extended by applying the method of processing wood with antiseptic compounds. In addition to the material, it is necessary to choose the weaving method, which may involve the use of vertical or horizontal weaving techniques.
Choosing the foundation for future designs
Do-it-yourself wattle for the cottage should begin to be performed after the base is selected. As it can serve as pillars and sections. For their implementation, it is necessary to use thin rods or branches that are previously well interwoven. It is permissible to use wooden stakes or steel supports to equip the fence. But it must be remembered that if wood is used for this part of the structure, then it will rot faster and shorten the life of the fence. In order to establish stakes, it is necessary to use the method of initial preparation of pits, on the bottom of which sand is laid. This will protect the wood from prolonged exposure to water, which can linger in the ground. Whereas the sand will act as a layer through which moisture will go deeper for a short time. This will prevent wood rot.
Features of the installation of stakes
Do-it-yourself wattle fence to the cottage will be made on the basis of stakes, the surface of which before installation must necessarily be treated with a chemical antiseptic composition. In order to increase the stability of the fence, the stakes must be buried by 0.5 m, no less. Steel supports should be used when there is a need to build a high fence, the height of which is more than 2 m. But if you have to work on a low fence, then the stakes can be made of wood. You must choose those that have a thickness of at least 5 centimeters. They must be installed vertically, using a level for this.
Do-it-yourself wattle cottage should be made taking into account decorativeness, which is why all related items should be painted in the color of the vines or branches used in the work. The step between supports or stakes should be equal to 0.5 m. As practice shows, the mentioned distance is most suitable for weaving flexible willow twigs and rigid branches. However, the master can choose the distance independently, given the flexibility and thickness of the rods. Individual design ideas are also important.
Along the trenches, the supports should be located at the same pitch, while closer to the edges of the fence, it is preferable to mount them more often. This technique will allow you to get a kind of lock for fixing the ends of the rods.
Features of the preparation of rods before weaving
Do-it-yourself wattle cottage, as a rule, is made of willow, hazel or willow branches. However, if it is not possible to buy or stock up on a flexible vine, you can apply annual thin branches of fruit trees planted in the garden. If you decide that you will make a high fence, then it is permissible to use branches with a thickness of 3 cm, while low fences intended for decorative purposes are preferable to make from 2-centimeter rods.
You need to cut off long shoots that are quite even. They are initially dried and stored in bundles in bundles. So workpieces can lie for a long time. For the manufacture of the fence, it is permissible to use freshly cut rods on which there are green leaves.
Preparatory work
If you decide to make wattle at the cottage with your own hands, it is advisable to watch the master class or read carefully the information in this article. The branches that you prepared for weaving should be soaked very well. This will make them more flexible. Such blanks simply lend themselves to weaving. To steam the workpieces and make them more flexible for a certain period, it is recommended to arrange a “steam bath”. After this procedure, the branches will dry out and gain their former strength. However, the described procedure can only be used with untreated and unvarnished rods.
Features of weaving
If you decide to make wattle at the cottage with your own hands, the master class can be read in the text. Weaving must begin from the bottom row, rising to the top of the fence. The rods are held alternately between the supporting posts. The blanks should wrap around the support stakes, the result should be the figure eight. In order to prevent the fence from moving to the side, and it remains perfectly even, the supports in their upper part must be fixed to even slats, and after weaving is completed, these elements can be removed and the fence will take on a complete look. When braiding the rods, make sure that the ends of the workpieces are located strictly on the inside of the fence, otherwise the appearance of the fence will not be attractive. Before you make wattle at the cottage with your own hands, you need to prepare a wire that will be used to fix the ends of the rods. But the tails need to be cut with a knife. The ends in the last row do not need to be tucked; they are tucked along the stakes.
Decoration of the fence
If you are thinking about how to decorate the wattle fence at the cottage with your own hands, then for this you can use varnish, which should be chosen to match the landscape design. It is permissible to use clay pots, artificial sunflowers and other attributes that fit the rustic style as decorative elements. You can use a variety of wooden exterior items. Do-it-yourself wattle cottage, the photo of which is presented in the article, can be easily made independently.