poly pro Privacy Screening Strips PP, Pack of 10, 190 x 2530 mm

They fit onto any fence with the usual mesh size of 50 x 200 mm – and that is the standard for double-rod mesh. The wire gauge makes no difference: 5/4/5, 6/5/6, 6/6/6, 6/8/6 and 8/6/8 all have the same mesh height, so the same 190 mm high strip fits everywhere. It is different with single-rod mesh, wire mesh panels with a 100 mm mesh or close-meshed fence panels – there it is better to measure beforehand.

Calculate by rows, not by area. The number of rows is the fence height divided by the mesh height of 200 mm. A 1.20 m high fence has six rows, a 1.80 m high one has nine. Multiply this number by the length of the fence and you have the linear meters. Example: 20 m of fence at a height of 1.20 m gives 120 linear meters, which is four rolls of 35 m.

For individual strips, calculate rows times the number of fence panels instead. The bottom row of mesh often sits so close to the ground that it is awkward to work there - many people simply leave it open.

Strips are cut to panel length and are quick to fit: thread them in, done, no measuring. In return, a butt joint appears at every post, which is visible in backlight.

Rolls run continuously across several panels, which makes for a calmer appearance. In exchange, you have to trim them yourself at the end of each run and will sensibly want an unwinder. For straight, long fences the roll is the better choice; for angular plots with many short panels, the strip is.

The strip is held solely by friction between the rods - there is no other fastening. Across the panel that is enough, at the ends it is not. There the material works its way out in the wind, first by a few centimeters, and after two summers the top row sits crooked.

That is why every end of a run needs a clamping rail or a clamping strip. It costs a few euros and is the difference between a fence that still looks straight after five years and one that frays.

Yes. An open mesh lets wind through, a closed surface does not - this gives the fence a wind-catching area it did not have before. That mainly affects the posts and the foundation.

For a fence set in concrete in a normal location, this is usually uncritical. If the fence stands free and exposed to wind, on top of a wall or on bolted-on base plates, talk to us beforehand - then we will calculate it with your dimensions. As an alternative there is mesh fabric, which deliberately lets air through and still blocks the view.

Yes, that is exactly what the material is made for. Nothing is screwed, drilled or dismantled - the strip is threaded into the standing panel from above. The fence may have been standing for ten years, that makes no difference.

Clean the mesh roughly beforehand where ivy or moss is caught in it. And check the posts: whatever is already wobbly will wobble considerably more with a closed surface.