Fence base

Abstract

A fence base 12 including two spaced part ground stakes 2 attached to a beam 1, the beam having an engaging member e.g. connector plate 10, for attaching to an upstanding vertical fence post 9 when gr

Description

The invention relates to a fence assembly and related methods. Fences are often constructed by digging holes in the ground which are filled with concrete. As the concrete sets, fence posts are located in the holes and set to an upstanding orientation. Once the concrete has set, the fence post is retained in the upstanding orientation and a fence panel can be attached between two adjacent fence posts. There are several problems with this arrangement and installation method. It requires large amounts of concrete, which has a high carbon footprint. It requires substantial earthworks to dig the required holes. It is very vulnerable to bad weather because the holes are difficult to dig and concrete is difficult to pour during periods of wet weather and the following periods when the ground is still wet. This can lead to substantial delays in installation. The installation process for these fences can also be incompatible with existing sub-terranean services such as sewage pipes or electric cables, due to the large size of the holes which need to be dug. Once these fences have been installed, they are very difficult to move. A new set of holes will need to be dug and the installation process, entailing the pouring of more concrete, will need to be repeated. If it is desired to build on the site of the old fence, the old concrete bases will need to be removed. This is clearly a very labour intensive and inconvenient process. It is amongst the objects of the invention to solve one or more of these problems. The application discloses a fence base comprising; two ground stakes and a beam, wherein the ground stakes are attached to the beam such that they are spaced apart from one another, and wherein the beam comprises an engaging member for engaging a fence post with the beam. The fence base may be configured such that when the ground stakes have been driven into the ground, a fence post engaged with the engaging member is upstanding from the ground. The use of two spaced apart ground stakes and the beam to which they are attached provides a robust fence which does not require the use of concrete, or ground works for installation. The ground stakes can be driven into the ground. This avoids the potential for delays due to wet weather, and reduces the carbon footprint of the fence installation. It is also much easier to remove than the concrete-based fences of the prior art. The ground stakes may be removably attached to the beam. This is particularly useful for transportation of the fence base because it can be packed down into a small size. It is also useful when the ground stakes need to be individually driven into the ground, for example when the ground stakes are ground screws. The beam may have an H-shaped cross section. This type of beam is sometimes known as an I-beam or a universal beam. The beam may alternatively have a T-shaped or C-shaped or U-shaped cross section. The beam is preferably straight and rigid. The beam may be made of a metal, which may be steel. These features provide a rigid fence base. The beam may be formed from a bent sheet of material. The material is preferably a metal, which may be steel. The beam may have been formed by rolling a sheet of material to form bent portions. This reduces the cost of the base, whilst maintaining rigidity. The bent sheet of material may have an I-shaped, T-shaped, C-shaped or U-shaped cross section. These cross sections may be generally straight sided. The general shapes of the cross sections described above may also be provided with flanges which run along the length of the beam to improve the rigidity of the beam. The ground stakes may be provided with a connector for removably attaching the ground stakes to the beam. This provides a robust connection, whilst allowing for the ground stakes to be detached from the beam for installation or transport. The connector may be a plate which is attached to an upper end of the ground stake. The connector may be provided with fastener holes which correspond to holes on the beam, and through which a fastener such as a bolt may be inserted to connect the ground stakes to the beam. The two ground stakes may be located adjacent to opposite ends of the beam. This provides a robust and stable fence base. The fence base may have a plane of symmetry around the mid-point of the beam when viewed from above (when the fence base is installed in the ground). This is useful because the symmetry means that the fence base cannot be installed ‘the wrong way around’. The engaging member may be located in a middle portion of the beam. The ground stakes may be ground screws. That is, they may be provided with features, such as a thread, which may be driven into the ground by a twisting force. The ground stakes may in some embodiments be unthreaded stakes which can be driven into the ground by a downwards impact from a mallet or a pile driver or similar (i.e. a non-twisting force). Where the ground stakes are threaded, the thread may not extend over whole length of ground stakes, or it may extend over the whole length of the ground stakes. An upper portion of the ground screws may be unthreaded. The ground screws may taper to a point. The ground screws may be provided with an attachment member which is suitable for attachment to a driving device, such as a digger, a pile driver or a handheld driving handle. This attachment member may be a plate, a lug, a recess or a hole. The attachment member may be formed as part (or all) of the connector for removably attaching the ground stakes to the beam (discussed above). The ground stakes may be attached to the beam using a fastener such as a bolt and corresponding holes. The engaging member for attaching a fence post to the beam may be a hole or a plurality of holes for fasteners such as a bolts. The engaging member may also be a plate which is provided with fastener holes. The plate may be connected, permanently or removably, to the beam. The plate may be welded to the beam. The ground stakes may be parallel to one another. This provides a robust (when installed in the ground), yet easily installed arrangement. In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a fence assembly according to claim 1. The fence assembly may comprise more than two fence bases and corresponding panels arranged in series. The beams of adjacent fence bases may be parallel to each other. The beams of adjacent fence bases and the fence panel may form an H-shaped configuration when viewed from above. The fence posts may be round posts, square posts, or comprise a rolled metal section. Preferably the beams are about the same length. Preferably the length of the beams compared to the height of the fence posts is between the ratios of 1.5:5 and 3:5. Preferably the ratio is around 2:5. This provides a stable arrangement. Preferably the fence panel comprises a mesh panel, a fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) panel, a glass reinforced plastic (GRP), a panel comprising a similar material or a panel which comprises a combination of those materials and / or features. The slab in the fence assembly may cooperate with the beam. In some embodiments the slab need not cooperate with the beam, but it may be sized so that it can lie on the ground surrounding the base of the fence. This slab provides a resilient barrier at the base of the fence. One of its functions is to prevent a hole from being dug underneath the fence. The fence assembly may comprise two slabs, wherein each slab cooperates with the beams and lies parallel to a plane defined by the beams, such that one slab is positioned on each side of the fence panel. In some embodiments the slab need not cooperate with the beam, but they may be sized so that they can lie parallel to a plane defined by the beams, such that one slab is positioned on each side of the fence panel on the ground surrounding the base of the fence. In some embodiments the slab or slabs need not cooperate with the beam or beams. They can simply lay on the ground or be affixed to the ground adjacent to the fence and parallel with a plane defined by the beams. The slabs may also be covered with earth or otherwise landscaped over, once installed. The slab or slabs may be provided with a lip or recess or recesses which cooperate with the beam. The lip or recess or recesses may run along the whole or part of the length of a side of the slab. The slab or each slab may be generally rectangular or square in plan view. In embodiments where two or more slabs are present, each slab may be provided with a lip or a recess or recesses which cooperate with the beams. The slab or slabs may comprise concrete and may be wholly formed from concrete. The slabs may be provided with a feature which interlocks with a feature on an adjacent slab. This interlocking may happen as a slab is laid next to another slab which has already been laid. These features may include a channel at one end of a first slab and a tongue on the other end of the first slab, such that the tongue of an adjacent slab can be located into the channel of the first slab. These features provide a robust connection between slabs, which adds to the security of the fence. A gap between adjacent slabs may be filled with sealant, for example a wet pour grout. These features provide a robust connection between slabs, which adds to the security of the fence. The slab may have a cut-out which is located around the engaging portion of the beam when the slab is laid to cooperate with a beam of the fence assembly. The cut out may be adapted to accommodate an upstanding fence post. This ensures that the edges of adjacent slabs may abut one another, providing a complete and secure ground covering. The slab length may be the generally the same as the distance between beams in the fence assembly, which is about the same length as a fence panel. This ensures that at the base of the fence, the surrounding ground is completely covered by a slab. A gap between the fence panel and the slab or slabs may be filled with a sealant such as a wet-pour grout. The fence assembly may comprise three or more fence bases as described herein and two or more fence panels attached to fence posts which are engaged with the respective fence bases. The length of the fence assembly can therefore be expanded to any required length. In embodiments where two or more fence panels are present, the fence panels preferably do not overlap one another. This provides a greater length of fence for the minimum amount of fence material. Preferably the fence panels are not directly connected to one another but are each independently connected to a fence post. They can therefore be added or removed from the fence assembly independently. In a further aspect the invention provides a method of constructing a fence assembly according to claim 9. The method may further comprise the step of laying a slab such that it cooperates with the beams. The method may further comprise the step of attaching the ground stakes to their respective beams after the ground stakes have been driven into the ground. The method may further comprise laying a further slab, such that each slab cooperates with the beams and lies parallel to a plane defined by the beams, such that one slab is positioned on each side of the fence panel. The method may further comprise the step of interlocking a slab with an adjacent slab. Preferably the fence panel comprises a mesh panel, a fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) panel, a glass reinforced plastic (GRP), a panel comprising a similar material or a combination of those materials and / or features. The method may further comprise digging two trenches to accommodate the beams of each fence base. This allows the lower ends of the fence posts to sit flush with the ground. The fence assembly constructed in the method may be according to any of the fence assemblies described herein. Also disclosed is a kit comprising the components of any example of the fence bases or any embodiment of the fence assemblies described herein. For example, the kit may comprise the components mentioned in claim 1 in a disassembled form, in which the beam is not attached to one or two of the ground stakes. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which : Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a fence assembly according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a side view of the fence assembly shown in figure 1. Figure 3 shows a front view of the fence assembly shown in figure 1. Figure 4 shows a plan view of the fence assembly shown in figure 1. Figures 5A and 5B show cross sectional views of beams for use in the invention. Figure 1 shows a fence assembly 11. The fence assembly has fence bases 12 which each comprise a beam 1 and two ground screws 2. The beams are arranged parallel to one another. The beams are steel I-beams, which have an H-shaped cross section. The H-shaped section is arranged so that the flat flanges of the H-section are located at the top and bottom of the beam. The ground screws of each fence base are parallel to one another and extend downwardly from the beams 1. The ground screws are provided with a metal plate 14 at their upper ends. This plate 14 is removably connected to the ends of the beams by bolts 13 which are connected through holes in the flanges of the beam and corresponding holes the plate 14. The ground screws are threaded and tapered to a point at their lower ends. An upper portion of the ground screws is not threaded. The beams are provided with connector plates 10 which are located in the middle of the upper flanges of the beams. The connector plates are bolted to holes in the beams. Fence posts 9 are connected to the connector plates 10. The fence posts comprise a flat metal portion 16 which is connected to a rolled metal section 7. A mesh panel 15 (shown schematically) is connected to the fence posts by being sandwiched between the flat metal portion of the fence post and the rolled metal portion. The rolled and flat portions are then bolted together via the bolts 8. Two mesh panels may be connected to each of the fence posts so that there is no overlap between the mesh panels. The second mesh panel (not shown) would be connected via the same sandwiching process as described above, and bolted together via the second row of holes and bolts 8. The fence assembly also comprises two concrete slabs 3 and 4. These slabs are manufactured off-site and do no require pouring / setting on site. The slabs are rectangular when viewed from above. Each slab lies parallel to the beams 1. Each slab is provided with a lip 17 which runs along a first side of the slab. The lip is formed by an L-shaped recess in the body of the slab. An identical lip 18 is provided at the opposite end of the slab. These lips cooperate with the beams 1 to prevent the slabs from moving and ensure that they are seated properly during and after installed. The slabs prevent a hole from being dug under the fence immediately next to the fence panel. The slabs are each provided with channels 20 in each end of the slab which run along the length of the ends of the slabs. The channels are U-shaped in cross section. The channels 20 are located above the lip 17 when the slab is in its installed orientation. The channels are adapted to receive either a sealant, or a tongue from a further slab (not shown), to allow the slab to interlock with a further slab. When the fence assembly is expanded by the addition of further fence bases, panels and the corresponding slabs, any gap where the slabs from neighbouring assemblies abut one another is filled with a sealant such as wet pour grout. The connector plates 10 fit into recesses in the slabs 3 and 4. The slabs 3 and 4 abut the mesh panel. In other embodiments the slabs 3 and 4 abut one another and the fence sits above the slabs. Any gap between the fence and the slabs can be filled with a sealant. Between the ends of the slabs which comprise the lips and channels, the sides 19 of the slabs are planar and continuous. Figure 2 shows the channel 20 and the lip 17 running along the whole length of the side of the slabs 3 and 4. The lip 17 ensures that the slab lies flush against the beam 1. Figure 3 shows a front view of the fence. A flat planar side 19 of the panel 4 is shown. The L-shapes lips 17 are also shown resting on the top flange of the I-beam 1. Figure 4 is a plan view of the fence assembly which shows the location of the connector plates 10 which connect the fence posts 9 to the beam 1. The flat metal portion 16 and the rolled metal portion 7 (which has a U-shaped cross section) are shown. The plates 14 (which are optionally made of metal) are just visible where they protrude from the sides of the beam 1. These plates 14 connect the ground screws to the lower flange of the beam. The H-shaped arrangement of the beams 1 and the fence 15 is shown in this view. The fence assembly will generally be delivered to a site as a kit of parts. The ground screws 2 will be provided detached from the beam 1. The ground will be measured and marked to show the desired location of the fence and the ground screws. A shallow trench will then be dug to accommodate the beam. Each ground screw will then be driven into the ground which forms the bottom of the trench (near to opposite ends of the trench) via a twisting action. Once the connector plates 14 of each ground screw are generally flush with the bottom of the trench, the connector plates are bolted onto the beams 1. The beam will sit in the trench such that its upper surface is flush with the ground (i.e. the top of the trench). The fence posts 9 are then connected to the connector plate 10 by bolts. The fence panel 15 is then attached to both fence posts via the sandwiching and bolting process described above. The fence assembly’s length can be expanded by installing further fence bases adjacent to either end of the fence assembly shown in the figures. Further fence panels can then be added to span the gaps between the fence posts attached to the further fence bases and the fence post attached to the fence assembly shown in figure 1. Figures 5A and 5B show cross sectional views of beams which may be used with the invention. These beams are formed from a single sheet of material which has been bent into shape, preferably by rolling. The beams may each be made from a sheet of metal. Figure 5A shows a beam having an I-shaped cross section. Figure 5B shows a beam having a C-shaped cross section. The C-shaped cross section has generally square corners. Figure 5B shows that the C-shaped cross section is generally straight sided and is provided with flanges 51 which run along the ends of the C-shaped cross section and along the length of the beam (although a single flange would still have the effect of improving the rigidity of the beam). The beams shown in the figures 5A and 5B have similar lengths to those shown in figures 1-4. They are also provided with corresponding features for attaching a connector plate for engaging a fence post, although other ways of attaching fence posts to the beams will also be apparent.

Claims

1. A fence assembly comprising two fence bases and two fence posts, wherein each fence base comprises:two ground stakes and a beam,wherein the ground stakes are attached to the beam such that they are spaced apart from one another, andwherein the beam comprises an engaging member for engaginga fence post with the beam,such that when the ground stakes have been driven into the ground, a fence post engaged with the engaging member is upstanding from the ground,wherein each fence post is engaged with a respective engaging portion of each fence base,wherein the fence assembly further comprises a fence panel which spans the space between the two fence posts, anda slab which lies which lies parallel to a plane defined by the beams, wherein the slab lies on the ground surrounding the base of the fence assembly to prevent a hole from being dug underneath the fence assembly, and wherein the slab has a feature which interlocks with a feature on an adjacent slab.

2. A fence assembly according to claim 1 wherein the beams of adjacent fence bases are parallel to each other.

3. A fence assembly according to claim 2 wherein the slab cooperates with the beam.

4. A fence assembly according to claim 3 comprising two slabs, wherein each slab cooperates with the beams and lies parallel to a plane defined by the beams, such that a slab is positioned on each side of the fence panel.

5. A fence assembly according to either of claims 3 or 4 wherein the slab or a slab is provided with a lip or recess which cooperates with a beam.

6. A fence assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the slab or a slab is adapted to interlock with another slab as it is laid next to another slab which has already been laid.

7. A fence assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the interlocking feature is a channel at one end of the slab or a slab and a tongue at the other end of the slab or a slab, such that the tongue of an adjacent slab can be located into the channel of the slab or a slab.

8. A fence assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the slab or a slab has a cut-out which is located around the engaging portion of the beam when the slab or a slab is laid to cooperate with a beam of the fence assembly.

9. A method of constructing a fence assembly according to any of claims 1-8 comprising the steps of;installing first and second fence bases according to claim 1 by driving their ground stakes into the ground such that the second fence base is spaced apart from the first fence base,attaching a first fence post to the engaging member of the first fence base, attaching a second fence post to the engaging member of the second fence base,attaching a fence panel between the first and second fence posts, and laying a slab on the ground surrounding the base of the fence assembly such that it lies parallel to a plane defined by the beams to prevent a hole from being dug underneath the fence assembly.

10. A method according to claim 9 further comprising an additional step of interlocking the slab with an adjacent slab.

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