Wire

The Wire section has three categories. Start with the job you need to do:

• Barbed Wire: rolls of barbed wire and barbed wire arms, to top a security fence or run strands along a farm fence.
• Wire Mesh: flat welded wire mesh panels in a Hot Dip Galvanized or a Copper Washed finish, for guards, cages, shelving, displays and enclosures.
• Galvanized Wire: hot-dip galvanized wire on coils in nine diameters, for tying, line and tension wire and for fence production.

Barbed wire is steel wire with sharp barbs twisted on at intervals. On a security fence it runs along the top to stop climbing; on a farm it keeps animals in. Our Barbed Wire category has two rolls:

• Coated barbed wire on 820 ft rolls, with a PVC coating in black or green that blends in with dark or green fence panels.
• Galvanized barbed wire on 656 ft rolls, the classic zinc finish for long-term outdoor use.

To mount strands above a fence, the category also has a double barbed wire arm angled at 45 degrees, listed as a 3 wire arm.

Welded wire mesh is a grid of steel wires that are resistance welded at every crossing, so the panel stays rigid when it is cut, bent or framed. Our Wire Mesh category has the same type of panel in two finishes, each with its own subcategory:

• Hot Dip Galvanized: coated with zinc for rust protection, the choice for outdoor and damp locations.
• Copper Washed: a thin copper layer that gives the mesh a warm color, suited to indoor fabrication and display work.

Mesh openings run from 1" x 1" to 4" x 4", including narrow openings such as 3" x 1/2". Wire thickness runs from 12 GA to 6 GA.

Our Galvanized Wire category has hot-dip galvanized steel wire on coils in nine diameters, from 0.087" to 0.295". Hot-dip galvanizing dips the wire in molten zinc, which leaves a thicker zinc coating than electro-galvanizing. Fence makers use this wire to produce chain link, welded wire and woven wire fencing, and installers use the thinner sizes for tying and tensioning.

In the US, wire is often sized by gauge (GA). The lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire. These are the sizes used in our mesh panels:

• 12 GA: about 0.106", for light shelving, displays and partitions.
• 10 GA: about 0.134", a common all-round size for guards and cages.
• 8 GA: about 0.157", for heavy guards and security grills.
• 6 GA: about 0.197", the heaviest mesh wire in the range.

Galvanized wire coils are listed by diameter. The 0.157" coil equals 8 GA.

Hot-dip galvanizing protects steel by covering it with a layer of zinc. It is the finish to choose for anything that stands outside, on a farm, near water or in a humid building. A copper wash gives the mesh an attractive copper color and suits indoor work where the look matters, such as displays, shelving and interior partitions. If the mesh will be outdoors, choose galvanized.

1. Decide what the wire must do: stop climbing, enclose or guard, or tie and tension.
2. Pick the category: Barbed Wire, Wire Mesh or Galvanized Wire.
3. Choose the finish: galvanized for outdoors, coated or copper washed where color matters.
4. Choose the size: roll length, mesh opening and wire gauge, or coil diameter.
5. Check the quantity: fence length times number of strands, or the number of panels or coils.

Wire jobs rarely need one product. A security fence topping needs barbed wire, barbed wire arms and tie wire to fix the strands. A mesh enclosure needs panels plus wire or clips to join them. A farm fence needs line wire, tension wire and tie wire. Order the parts of one job together, so the finishes match and everything arrives at once.

Fenceweb delivers to every US state and to Canada. We supply contractors, farms, utilities, industrial buyers and homeowners. For larger quantities, such as wire for production or a long run of barbed wire, ask us for a quote. A size without a price on its product page is sold on request.