Wire mesh is a highly versatile material that can be useful for many DIY projects.

Whether securing your garden beds from pests or looking to keep foliage at bay, wire mesh can come in extremely handy. But, which kind of wire mesh should you choose?

We're here to help with this handy guide on the different types of wire mesh. Keep reading to learn about which types of wire mesh are best suited to your projects!

What Is Wire Mesh?

Wire mesh is a fencing material made using interwoven wires. The wire's material and the distance between wires will vary depending on the wire mesh's purpose.

To give you an idea of whether you need wire mesh for your project, here are some of the most common uses of wire mesh:

• Protecting chicken coops - wire mesh is often used to create a perimeter around chicken coops, keeping chickens in and predators out.
• Protecting garden beds - wire mesh helps protect garden beds from pests that eat foliage, like deer, squirrels, and chipmunks.
• Dividing gardens - if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to wooden fencing to increase the security of your property's perimeter, then some wooden stake posts and wire mesh may be an excellent option.
• Creating day pens - if you have rabbits, dogs, and pets that like to spend their days on the lawn, you can use wire mesh to create day pens that stop them from escaping.

Knowing what you'd like to use your wire mesh for can help you to decide which materials and supplies you need to create a wire mesh perimeter. In the rest of this post, we will discuss the best materials, fixings, and connectors to use when using wire mesh for your DIY projects.

What Are The Types Of Wire Mesh?

Here are all the types of wire mesh you might consider for your garden, fencing, and DIY project. Consider the benefits of each type of wire mesh to determine which is best.

Chain-Link Fencing

When securing a commercial building from intruders, chain-link fencing is extremely handy. If you're building a fence to secure your property from large predators like bears, chain-link fencing is one of the most durable wire mesh options.

Chain-link fencing has wide gaps and is best suited for a larger-scale project. It is connected with interwoven wires, connecting similarly to the links in a chain, which is why it's called chain-link fencing.

The holes in chain-link fencing take a zig-zag pattern, and the gaps in the fencing are a diamond shape. The steel wires are difficult to cut unless you have the right tools, making it a great security solution.

Benefits Of Chain-Link Fencing

Chain-link fencing has many benefits, some of which are:

• It's highly durable - when you invest in chain-link fencing, you can expect it to last a long time.
• It is suitable for large fencing - if you want to create a large fence for property security, chain-link fencing is scalable enough to suit your needs.
• It protects against large animals - if you're looking to keep your crops and animals safe from large predators, then chain-link fencing is suitable. It is strong enough to help you keep bears out.

When Doesn't Chain-Link Fencing Work?

If you're looking for wire mesh for a smaller enclosure or chicken cages, you might find the gaps in chain-link fencing too large, and the material may be trickier to work with on a smaller scale.

Woven Wire Mesh

With woven wire mesh, the wires intersect, usually to form a square pattern. The wires are interwoven, weaving in front and behind to form a mesh material.

This mesh material is most frequently used in agriculture to protect animals and form cages and pen roofing. It also comes in handy for creating pet enclosures, allowing your furry friend to roam free on the grass all day without getting lost in the wilderness!

Benefits Of Woven Wire Mesh

The main benefits of woven wire mesh are:

• It's inexpensive: woven wire mesh is an inexpensive solution for smaller projects and agricultural purposes.
• It's strong: the woven wire mesh can help you to fortify an animal enclosure with solid panels that keep predators out and your flock in.
• It's easy to cut: woven wire mesh is easy to use for smaller purposes, as you can use mesh trimmers to cut the wire mesh easily.

Welded Wire Mesh

Welded wire mesh is similar to woven wire mesh. Although, when the welding wire mesh is manufactured, the wires are soldered together rather than interwoven.

This grid-patterned mesh is more robust than woven wire mesh and chain link fencing. It is commonly used in security planning and is highly efficient at keeping intruders out. There are significantly more wires in welded wire mesh than in chain link fencing, which makes it more difficult to cut (even with the right tools) and thus more secure. Welded wire mesh is perfect for gates to secure your location from intruders.

One key drawback is that a motivated intruder could bring tools to melt a hole in your welded wire mesh and gain entry to the property - however, this is an unlikely instance.

Benefits Of Welded Wire Mesh

Here are some advantages of using welded wire mesh for your building.

• Robust-welded wire mesh is strong with plenty of wires, which makes it difficult for intruders to cut through and gain access to your property.
• Difficult to climb - welded wire mesh is designed to be challenging to climb, which makes it perfect for keeping intruders out of your property.
• Wind-resistant - because the materials used in welded wire mesh are so strong, they are impervious to intense weather conditions like wind gusts.

Expanded Metal Mesh

When manufactured, expanded metal mesh starts as a single sheet of metal. During the manufacturing process, the manufacturers cut and stretch holes in the steel fabric, hence the name 'expanded metal mesh'.

Since it is formed using a single sheet of metal, expanded metal mesh is one of the strongest mesh materials. It will be challenging to find products matching the strength of this hardware. This is why it is an ideal barrier against vehicles over any other kind of mesh.

Benefits Of Expanded Metal Mesh

Here are some of the benefits of expanded metal mesh:

• It's the most robust mesh: since it has no joints, expanded metal mesh is the strongest kind of wire mesh for fencing.
• It is invulnerable to scissor jacks: intruders will have difficulty getting into your property using scissor jacks.\
• Sharp edges: cutting through the expanded metal mesh will leave sharp edges that make it difficult for an intruder to pass through.

Chicken Wire Mesh

Chicken wire mesh is popular for small DIY projects, such as creating a chicken run or making garden fencing on a budget. Chicken wire mesh uses thin interlaced wires to form a diamond or hexagonal shape. Since this mesh is made using thin wire, it is not as strong as other kinds of wire mesh. This makes it less suitable as a protective barrier.

Chicken wire mesh is suitable for weed control and creating pens for your animals. It won't keep predators out but is an excellent material for creating barriers.

Benefits Of Chicken Wire Mesh

There are several benefits to using chicken wire mesh on your property. Here are some of the key benefits that this product can provide:

Keeps predators out

First and foremost, if you plan to use chicken wire mesh in aviaries, chicken coups, and other animal enclosures, you'll stand a good chance of protecting yourself against predators like snakes. Australia has no shortage of predators that will love nothing more than to find ways into your animal enclosures, so using galvanised steel is a must for your animal's safety.

Not only is this a crucial part of keeping your animals and livestock safe, but this will also stop frequent attacks that cause undue stress to your animals and deter any predators from using your property as a buffet. This will also keep vermin such as rodents away from your animals, stopping the spreading of harmful diseases and faeces from rodents building up around your enclosures.

Keeps birds in

No one wants an escaped bird, so customers with chicken coups need to use suitable chicken wire to stop their birds from wandering away from their enclosure.

This is especially important to consider when considering the harm they could encounter if they managed to escape their enclosures. Our Chicken Wire/Bird Netting 1200mm x 50mm is the perfect solution for chicken coup projects and other general purposes.

Maximum protection against the elements

We don't need to tell you that seasons in Australia can be harsh, and direct sunlight or persistent rain can damage structures by diminishing structural integrity. You can rest easy using chicken wire from Trade Warehouse's online store.

Our chicken wire mesh is galvanised steel. This means that our steel is hot dipped in molten zinc. Our mesh's strong coating protects against corrosion and weakening from persistent sunlight or water damage. This provides longer-lasting protection against predators and the elements.

Versatile uses

One of the key benefits of using chicken wire mesh is that users aren't restricted to using items for aviaries, chicken coups or other wildlife structures. With chicken wire mesh, you can even protect your plant pots by using mesh to surround your garden beds and borders. This stops animals from trampling flower beds or using your vegetable garden as a drive-through!

Summary

Looking for quality wire mesh products? Look no further than Trade Warehouse. At Trade Warehouse, we have a huge availability of high-quality welded chicken and expanded metal mesh suitable for all your project needs.

We also stock the necessary supplies for your wire mesh projects with an extensive range of installation tools. We offer nationwide delivery to all our customers, so you don't need to worry about accessibility. 

Why not check out our Trade Warehouse blog for more insider tips and tricks to elevate your DIY project?