fence to help with too much wind?

11 years ago

We moved into a newly built house and I had a large clearing done. I was short sighted and had the loggers clear too much. Now we have a big very windy yard. I am going to plant trees and put of feces and over time try to build more of a fortress for wind around the house because now the house has no trees around it and big wind. So right now I want to put up a 6 ft fence, 48 feet wide, on a north facing hill that sits above our house. It is right behind the house and wide open from the north and the wind when it is from the north or northwest just rips right down. I don't know much about physics and this type of thing. But I read on one website that a fence with gaps will be better for wind blocking than a solid fence. I guess it defuses it or something? But if we are trying to block wind from our back yard, is it better o do a solid fence or one with gaps? We will plant some small trees in front of the fence. And over time we will plant an evergreen hedge ( maybe spruce trees) to make more of a wind blocking thing behind the fence. I am most concerned with putting the right fence in for the purpose of wind blocking. And also I am wondering if a fence wood can handle a lot of wind on I until the evergreen hedge matures in a few years. thanks

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Comments (3)

pixie_lou
11 years ago
You have an amusing typo in your 4th sentence.

I also don't know much about physics and wind, but it does make sense that gaps would diffuse the wind. I really think a reputable fence company would be able to answer these questions for you. When I recently needed a fence around my veggie garden, one fence guy just nodded his head and gave me a price for everything I asked for. The reputable fence guy explained to me why my ideas wouldn't achieve my goals, and gave me a solution that worked. And had 150' of fencing installed in a day.

You don't say where you are located, but I was very happy with a bulldog and Son out of framingham.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bulldog
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
11 years ago
A solid fence can act like an airplane wing and increase the wind speed. A fence with gaps doesn't do that. I have run across several good websites over the years that explain windbreaks and their relatives, snow fences. Done wrong, they can make the situation worse, but the calculations are fairly straightforward.
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spedigrees z4VT
11 years ago
Also, I was told by a fence company person that, in a high wind area, a solid privacy fence can be easily knocked down or uprooted by strong wind. He said that a chain link or page wire fence, even with woven privacy mesh, will circumvent this problem by allowing the wind to pass through. I opted for page wire and skipped the woven strips, preferring to just plant trees and bushes and tall plants on my side of the wire fence. Probably the gaps would be a good idea for you. Good luck!