3 Steps To Choosing The Most Secure Perimeter Fence Possible For Your Private Day Care Center
If you own a private day care center, then you know that it is important to keep your children as safe as possible while they are at your facility. Your perimeter fence needs to do more than just keep your children from wandering off your premises in today's crime-ridden society. It needs to keep even the most determined criminal from entering your playground and indoor facility. You have to choose your security fencing more carefully than many businesses, though, because you also need to ensure it does not pose a hazard to your children in any way. To make your final fence decision easier, here are three steps to choosing a fence that helps ensure the safety and good health of your children while keeping criminals out.
1. Consider Chain Link
There is a good reason why commercial chain link fencing is so popular and why it's chosen as perimeter fencing for prisons and other government facilities. When you choose the right chain link fence, there is simply no other type of fence that can keep intruders out so well without posing a safety hazard to adults and children inside the fenced-in area. This type of fencing is made of galvanized steel wire, which is steel that is coated with zinc. Steel is the strongest metal alloy that exists and is actually composed of a mixture of iron and carbon.
While you may be considering another type of fencing for its curb appeal, remember that what appeals to parents is their children's safety. Also, you can choose a vinyl coating on your fence that changes the typical gray color of it to almost any color you would like without sacrificing strength.
2. Choose the Right Mesh Size and Wire Gauge
You may at first worry that your children will attempt to climb a chain link fence and end up falling and injuring themselves. That is a valid concern and the reason why you must choose the mesh size of your fence carefully. The mesh size is the diagonal measurement of the spaces between the fence wires. Fences that can be climbed have very large mesh sizes that enable a foot to be placed inside of them. A good mesh size for your fence is no bigger than three and a half inches, which is the size recommended by the NRC, or The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. You can find security fencing with mesh sizes as small as 3/8-inch, but a mesh size too small can pose a hazard to little fingers.
While there are no NRC recommendations on the gauge of the mesh wire you choose, a heavy or thick wire gauge not only makes it more difficult to cut your fencing with wire cutters or other tools, but it also adds to the overall strength of your entire fence. Gauge is measured by a number, and a wire gauge of a higher number is thinner than a gauge labeled with a lower number. There are no disadvantages when choosing the lowest gauge possible for your fence, so go as low as you can manage while staying within your budget.
3. Pick Secure and Safe Framework
Once you have the mesh size and wire gauge chosen, you need to look into your framework options, including line posts, terminal posts, and top rails. Terminal posts are also called corner posts, since they are typically installed at each corner of your fence. The chain link mesh will be stretched from one terminal post to another. Line posts are placed as additional fence support between terminal posts. These posts and rails are also measured in gauge, but they also have a tensile strength rating. The top rail is a horizontal post that tops off your fence. Choose posts and rails with a low gauge and high tensile strength, as this will ensure thick, strong posts and rails. A greater number of line posts can also add strength to your fence.
Your entire fence should be at least 6-feet high to keep intruders out and discourage children from attempting to climb the fence, although an 8-foot high fence offers even more security. Make sure your fence installation experts comply with all NRC fence guidelines . The bottom of your fence should also have no gap underneath it at all for security and the safety of your children.
It is important to keep your private daycare center as secure from intruders as possible, and the right security fence can make that possible. A good-quality chain link fence made up of all the right components can keep predators out of your playground and away from your facility. Installing a security fence is also a great way to show parents considering leaving their children in your care that you are committed to keeping their children as safe as possible.
Share