Security Fence

358 is a welded wire mesh panel named after its mesh: openings of 3" x 1/2" in 8 gauge wire. It is also known as prison mesh or anti-climb mesh. The mesh is so dense that it stops climbing and cutting while you can still see through it, which matters where a site is watched by cameras or guards.

On an ordinary wire fence, a hand or a shoe fits through the mesh. On a 358 panel the openings are only 1/2" wide, so there is no finger hold and no foothold. The close spacing also leaves no room to get a cutting tool around one wire at a time, so the panel is hard to cut through, and every crossing is welded.

• Mesh: 3" x 1/2" openings on every panel.
• Width: 8'3" on the Light panel.
• Light: 8 GA horizontal and vertical wires (8/8 GA).
• Heavy: 8 GA horizontal wires and a heavier 4 GA vertical wire (8/4 GA).
• Light Duo: two 8 GA horizontal wires around each 8 GA vertical wire (8/8/8 GA).
• Heavy Duo: two 8 GA horizontal wires around a 4 GA vertical wire (8/4/8 GA), the heaviest panel in the range.
• Heights: 4 ft, 6 ft and 8 ft in Light, Heavy, Light Duo and Heavy Duo; 10 ft in Light, Light Duo and Heavy Duo.
• Finishes: Light and Heavy in black or hot-dip galvanized (HDG); Light Duo and Heavy Duo in black.
• 358 S10: an 8/000 GA panel with the same 3" x 1/2" mesh, 8 ft or 10 ft high.

All four panels have the same mesh, so all four are anti-climb. The difference is how much the panel resists bending, cutting and forced entry. The Light panel suits storage areas, logistics sites and general perimeters. The Heavy panel adds a thicker vertical wire for a stiffer panel. The Duo panels double the horizontal wire at every crossing, which makes them markedly stiffer than the single wire panels. Choose the Heavy Duo where the perimeter has to hold out longest, such as correctional facilities and critical infrastructure.

A 358 fence mounts on 3" x 3" square steel posts in 12 GA or 9 GA, black, in whole-foot lengths from 6 ft to 14 ft. Use the heavier 9 GA post for tall panels, corners, gates and exposed runs. As a rule about 2 ft of the post goes into concrete, more for tall fences, gates and soft ground: an 8 ft post for a 6 ft fence, a 10 ft post for an 8 ft fence and a 12 ft post for a 10 ft fence. Check the local frost depth too.

• U-brackets with strips: hold the panel to the post, in sizes for 2-3/8" and 3" posts, with corner U-brackets and corner strips where the fence turns.
• Security fence brackets: in a Single version for single wire panels and a Duo version for Duo panels.
• Spider brackets: also Single or Duo. Fenceweb recommends spider brackets for a 358 installation.
• Coverplates: straight or corner, in both post sizes and in lengths of 4, 6, 8 and 10 ft to match the panel heights. They run along the post face over the panel edges.

The Horizontal Rail System stiffens a security fence and makes it harder to tamper with. The rails are 2" x 2" 16 ga steel tube, 96" long, galvanized and powder coated black. They mount on the back of the fence between the posts: each rail end slides over an 11 ga rail bracket screwed to the side of the post, so the connection is hidden inside the tube, and the mesh is fixed to the rails with spider brackets.

• 2-rail kit: two rails with four rail brackets and screws, for a top and a bottom rail.
• 3-rail kit: three rails with six rail brackets and screws, for a top, mid and bottom rail.
• For fence heights of 6, 8 and 10 ft. Posts, panels, spider brackets and bolts are ordered separately.

For extra height, a 45 degree barbed wire arm made for 3" x 3" posts carries three strands of barbed wire above the mesh. It is listed with the other parts for that post size.

Fenceweb supplies data centers, correctional facilities, utilities and industrial sites. Typical uses for 358 mesh are site perimeters, substations and power stations, airports and rail infrastructure, government sites, storage compounds, logistics centers, and indoor cages and partitions in warehouses.

Where the perimeter has to change, Capra temporary security fence elements come in Straight, Boom and Y-Boom versions, hot-dip galvanized or black. They suit construction sites, event venues, storage areas and port facilities whose layout changes, where a perimeter has to be both secure and quick to rearrange.

1. Set out the line with a string and mark posts at the panel width, plus corners and gates.
2. Set the square posts in concrete, plumb and in line, at a depth that suits your soil and local frost depth.
3. Fix each panel to the posts with U-brackets and strips, security fence brackets or spider brackets.
4. Use Duo brackets on Duo panels and corner U-brackets where the fence turns.
5. Fit coverplates on the post faces and, where needed, add a horizontal rail system on the back.
6. Check every fixing once the concrete has cured.

Order panels, posts, brackets and coverplates in the same post size and color. Fenceweb delivers 358 security fence to every US state and to Canada.