When you own property, you want to do what you can to protect it. This is true regardless of if you own commercial property, industrial property, or residential property. One of the best ways to protect your property is by putting up a fence around it and installing the right gates. With the right fence and property, you can increase the overall security of your space. At Magic Fence, we want you to know the best fence and gates for your situation. We are here to provide you with lots of information about gates and fences, so you will know precisely what your property needs.
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Helping You Protect Your Space with Fences and Gates
Metal Fence Corrosion And How Contractors Can Help Prevent It
Ricardo Obrien
If you have a fence made entirely of metal, or just one with metal fence posts and gates, you may wonder how to protect the metal from corrosion and what puts it at a greater corrosion risk. Fortunately, metal fence contractors can help you design and build or modify a fence to reduce or avoid corrosion. Here are two types of corrosion that could occur on your metal fence, why they occur, and how your fence contractors can help protect your fence against corrosion.
Rusting
Rusting is a widely known and easily recognizable form of corrosion. Rust itself is the residue that occurs when iron or steel corrodes. These types of metal are very susceptible to the reaction to moisture and oxygen that causes this type of corrosion. As you can imagine, iron and steel fencing materials designed to be used outside will need to be protected from rust.
Your fencing contractor can protect iron fencing from rust by using materials that are galvanized (meaning they have a protective coating of zinc on the outer surface). In addition, your contractor can apply a protective paint or another waterproof coating to further seal off the metal surface from oxygen and moisture.
Bimetallic corrosion
Also known as galvanic corrosion, bimetallic corrosion typically happens when two metals come into contact with each other. In the context of a fence, this could be when a metal fence uses fasteners (such as screws) of a different metal, or a metal gate uses a hinge or latch of a different metal. Your fence contractor will have to choose these materials and components carefully to avoid this type of corrosion.
When the two metals touch, they can exchange electrons. This can lead to corrosion if one metal is extremely electron-hungry since it can remove enough from the other metal to leave the second metal compromised. The electron-depleted metal can then start to appear damaged. The process can speed up in the presence of water.
Not all metals react in such an extreme way when placed together. Your fence contractor can help you find metals that are more similar to each other in their physical makeup since these types of metals are more compatible and can be used together. Using protective coatings can also help avoid too much exchange of electrons.
As you can see, metal fences can be susceptible to corrosion, but your fence contractor can help you implement solutions to prevent or avoid rust and other corrosion types. Get in touch with a local fencing company today to learn more, like Associated Fence.
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